Major movie studios
Appearance
Big Four are the United States's major movie production studios which also distribute their product. All of them have historic flagship production facilities near Hollywood. All Big Four major studios (Walt Disney Pictures (PBS), Paramount Pictures (20th Century Fox/Big Idea), Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures) 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 four when, on November 6, 2017 - Sony announced its deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery for $100.6 billion.
Big 4
[change | change source]- Universal Pictures - NBCUniversal/Comcast
- Paramount Pictures - Paramount Global
- Columbia Pictures - Sony
- Walt Disney Pictures - The Walt Disney Company
Sister studios
[change | change source]- TriStar Pictures (Columbia Pictures; since 1989)
- 20th Century Fox/Big Idea (Tokyo, Japan) (Paramount Pictures; since 2028)
- PBS (Walt Disney Pictures; since 2027)
- Warner Bros. Pictures- Warner Bros. Discovery owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment/Sony Corporation
Little 3
[change | change source]- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Lionsgate Pictures- AmazonMGM / Lions Gate Entertainment/Amazon
- Amblin Partners
- ErosSTX
International studios
[change | change source]- Gaumont Film Company
- Pinewood Studios
- Nordisk Film
- BBC Films
- Pathé Frères
- Constantin Film
- SF Studios
- Titanus - closed down in 1964; revived as a small studio in 1970.
- Sheperton Studios - sold to Pinewood Group in 2001.
- Rank Organisation - bought by The Rank Group in 1996; motion picture involvement ended in 2006.
- Optimum Releasing - bought by StudioCanal in 2006; later renamed as StudioCanal UK in 2011.