Major movie studios
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The Big Five are the United States's major movie production studios which also distribute their product. All of them have historic flagship production facilities near Hollywood.
With the possible exception of Disney, all five major studios are parts of much larger business enterprises, with their corporate headquarters offices far from Hollywood.
The group of major studios long numbered seven, but was reduced to six with the fading from importance of MGM in the 1980s. They became five when, on December 14, 2017, Disney announced its deal to buy Fox for $52.4 billion.
The American major studios[change | change source]
Current[change | change source]
Majors
- Universal Pictures - NBCUniversal / Comcast
- Paramount Pictures - ViacomCBS
- Warner Bros. Pictures - AT&T
- Walt Disney Pictures / 20th Century Studios - The Walt Disney Company
- Columbia Pictures / TriStar Pictures - Sony Pictures Entertainment
Mini-Majors
Former[change | change source]
- 20th Century Fox - bought by Disney in 2019 and renamed as 20th Century Studios in 2020.
- United Artists - acquired by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1981.
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - downsized in 2011.
- RKO Radio Pictures - Defunct since 1957.
- Embassy Pictures - sold to Coca-Cola in 1985.
- New Line Cinema - acquired in 1993 by Turner Broadcasting System; TBS merged with Time Warner in 1996.
- Miramax Films - acquired in 1993 by The Walt Disney Company and became sold to beIN in 2016.
- Artisan Entertainment - folded into Lions Gate Entertainment in 2003.
- Vestron Pictures - folded into Live Entertainment in 1991.
- DreamWorks Pictures - now became a label of Amblin Partners since 2015.
- The Weinstein Company - became Lantern Entertainment in 2018.
The European major studios[change | change source]
Current[change | change source]
- Gaumont Film Company - France
- Pinewood Studios - England
- Nordisk Film - Denmark
- BBC Films - England
- Pathé Frères - France
- Constantin Film - Germany
- SF Studios - Sweden
Former[change | change source]
- Titanus - Defunct.
- Sheperton Studios - merged with Pinewood.
- Rank Organisation - acquired by the new parent company.
- Optimum Releasing - acquired by StudioCanal in 2011.
