Koules was born and raised in La Grange Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.[1] As a child, he took figure skating lessons where he developed an interest in playing ice hockey, later dropping out of high school to pursue a career as a professional hockey player.
Koules was not drafted by an NHL team, but he attended two tryout camps for his hometown Chicago Blackhawks.[7] After his hockey career, Koules became a commodities trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1983.[6] He was one of the youngest members on the floor and eventually purchased a full membership to the Exchange. He sold his seat and left the exchange in good standing in 1991.[8]
In 2003, Koules and Mark Burg saw a seven-minute teaser of a film written by Australian screenwriters, Leigh Whannell and James Wan, and agreed to produce the film. The film would later become the original Saw film that was
released in 2004.[2] The budget for the film was $1.2 million with $1 million of the funding coming direct from Koules and Burg. Production was done under a newly formed subsidiary of Evolution Entertainment called Twisted Pictures. The film turned in the Saw franchise with the sequel released in 2005 and the franchise making $420 million at the box office by 2007.[6] Evolution Entertainment was also responsible for the production of Two and a Half Men starting in 2003.[2]
In 2007, Koules started his pursuit to purchase the Tampa Bay Lightning from Palace Sports and Entertainment.[10] In 2008, he agreed to purchase the team through OK Hockey LLC, an investment group he controlled, for $206 million.[11][12] The group sold the team to Jeffrey Vinik, a minority owner in the Boston Red Sox, for $160 million in 2010.[13]
In June 2011, Koules sold his ownership in Evolution Entertainment, but continued to own and oversee the Saw franchise and Two and a Half Men.[14] The Saw franchise has grossed more than $1 billion from box office and retail sales as of 2021.[15]
Koules produced the 2021 horror film Spiral: From the Book of Saw, a spin-off and the ninth installment of the Saw film series.[16] He also produced the 2023 horror film Saw X which served as both a direct sequel to Saw (2004) and a prequel to Saw II (2005).[17] Koules partnered with his son Miles Koules in 2022 to form the film production company Koules Productions.[18] He signed a multi-picture deal with Republic Pictures through Twisted Pictures in 2024. The first film, Trust, began production by both Oren and Miles in 2024.[19][20]
Koules married talent agent Risa Shapiro in 1994. They had one son, Miles, in that same year.[6] Miles Koules is currently a professional ice hockey player, playing for the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL (Columbus Blue Jackets).[21] Koules and Shapiro separated in 2005 and eventually divorced in 2007.[22] In 2008, Koules married Shereen Arazm, a businesswoman and restaurateur. They met by happenstance on a flight from Toronto, where Arazm is originally from, to Los Angeles where Koules was filming Saw II.[23] The pair have two daughters together, Sam and Neve.[24]
Koules has been nominated and won numerous awards. He received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his work on Two and a Half Men and won both a TV Land Award for his work on the same and a ShoWest Award for his work on the Saw film series.
