The six big film companies
Louise Barnes
1. Warner Bros. pictures
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros.
 Pictures or simply Warner Bros. (though the name was occasionally
 given in full form as Warner Brothers during the company's early
 years), is an American producer of film, television, and music
 entertainment.

One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with
 its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York. Warner
 Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros.
 Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive
 Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation,
 Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC
 Entertainment. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network.

Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of
 America (MPAA).
2. Paramount pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is a film and television
  production/distribution company, consistently ranked as one of the
  largest (top-grossing) movie studios. It is a division of American
  media conglomerate Viacom.

The company dates its beginnings to the 1912 founding date of the
  Famous Players Film Company, one of the companies that merged
  into Paramount Pictures (then known as Famous Players-Lasky
  Corporation) in 1916. Paramount is the fourth oldest existing film
  studio in the world behind Universal Studios, Pathé and Gaumont
  Pictures. Also, it is the last major film studio still headquartered in
  the Hollywood district of Los Angeles.

Paramount Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of
  America (MPAA).
3. Walt Disney
Walt Disney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney
 Company. It is also a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main
 production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney
 Studios, based at the Walt Disney Studios.

Animated features produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar
  Animation Studios, DisneyToon Studios and Studio Ghibli (North America
  distribution) are usually released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
  under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Exceptions include Who Framed
  Roger Rabbit and The Nightmare Before Christmas which were originally
  released under Disney's Touchstone imprint, though the Roger Rabbit
  theatrical shorts and re-releases of Nightmare have been under the Disney
  banner.

Beginning in 2011, the studio's production logo and on-screen credit was
  shortened to simply "Disney". However, a petition has started on
  Change.org to change the logo and on-screen credit back to "Walt Disney
  Pictures" on November 6, 2012.
4. Columbia pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. (CPII) is an American film production and distribution company.
   Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony
   Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film
   companies in the world, a member of the so-called Big Six. It was one of the so-called Little Three among
   the eight major film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age.

The studio, founded in 1918 as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe
   Brandt, released its first feature film in August 1922. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name in 1924 and
   went public two years later. The name is derived from "Columbia", a national personification of the
   United States, which is used as the company's logo.

In its early years a minor player in Hollywood, Columbia began to grow in the late 1920s, spurred by a
    successful association with director Frank Capra.

With Capra and others, Columbia became one of the primary homes of the screwball comedy. In the 1930s,
   Columbia's major contract stars were Jean Arthur and Cary Grant (who was shared with RKO Pictures).
   In the 1940s, Rita Hayworth became the studio's premier star and propelled their fortunes into the late
   1950s. Rosalind Russell, Glenn Ford, and William Holden also became major stars at the studio.

In 1982, the studio was purchased by Coca-Cola; that same year it launched TriStar Pictures as a joint
    venture with HBO and CBS. Five years later, Coca-Cola spun off Columbia, which merged with Tri-Star to
    create Columbia Pictures Entertainment. After a brief period of independence with Coca-Cola
    maintaining a financial interest, the combined studio was acquired by Japanese company, Sony in 1989
5. Universal studios
Universal Studios (also known as Universal Pictures), is an American film studio, and one of the six major
   movie studios. It is one of the longest-lived motion picture studios to be located outside of Hollywood. It
   is a division of American media conglomerate NBCUniversal.

Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William
   Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour, it is the oldest movie studio in the United States of
   America. It is also the third oldest in the world that is still in continuous production; the first being
   Gaumont Pictures, the second oldest is Pathé and the fourth oldest is Paramount Pictures. On May 11,
   2004, the controlling stake in the company was sold by Vivendi Universal to General Electric, parent of
   NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc.
   remained the name of the production subsidiary. In addition to owning a sizable film library spanning the
   earliest decades of cinema to more contemporary works, it also owns a sizable collection of TV shows
   through its subsidiary NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It also acquired rights to several prominent
   filmmakers' works originally released by other studios through its subsidiaries over the years. Selected
   clips and footage shot by Universal Studios are available for purchase from the NBCUniversal Archives.

Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and
    other corporate offices are in New York City.

Universal Studios is a Member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
6. 20th Century fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation- also known as 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox
  Pictures, styled as 20th century fox, or simply 20th or Fox— is one of the six major
  American film studios as of 2011. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west
  of Beverly Hills, the studio is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

The company was founded on May 31, 1935, as the result of the merger of Fox Film
  Corporation, founded by William Fox in 1915, and Twentieth Century Pictures, founded in
  1933 by Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Raymond Griffith and William Goetz.

Twentieth Century Fox's most popular film franchises include Star Wars, X-Men, Ice Age,
  Rio, Die Hard, Predator, Alien, Planet of the Apes, Home Alone, plus famous TV shows
  such as Batman, M*A*S*H, The X-Files, Cops, In Living Colour, Family Guy, American
  Dad!, and 24. Among the most famous actresses to come out of this studio were Shirley
  Temple, who was 20th Century Fox's first film star, Betty Grable, Gene Tierney, Marilyn
  Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. The studio also contracted the first African-American cinema
  star, Dorothy Dandridge.

20th Century Fox is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).

The six big film companies

  • 1.
    The six bigfilm companies Louise Barnes
  • 2.
    1. Warner Bros.pictures Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. (though the name was occasionally given in full form as Warner Brothers during the company's early years), is an American producer of film, television, and music entertainment. One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank, California and New York. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, New Line Cinema, TheWB.com, and DC Entertainment. Warner owns half of The CW Television Network. Warner Bros. is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
  • 3.
    2. Paramount pictures ParamountPictures Corporation is a film and television production/distribution company, consistently ranked as one of the largest (top-grossing) movie studios. It is a division of American media conglomerate Viacom. The company dates its beginnings to the 1912 founding date of the Famous Players Film Company, one of the companies that merged into Paramount Pictures (then known as Famous Players-Lasky Corporation) in 1916. Paramount is the fourth oldest existing film studio in the world behind Universal Studios, Pathé and Gaumont Pictures. Also, it is the last major film studio still headquartered in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles. Paramount Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
  • 4.
    3. Walt Disney WaltDisney Pictures is an American film studio owned by The Walt Disney Company. It is also a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Studios and the main production company for live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios, based at the Walt Disney Studios. Animated features produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, DisneyToon Studios and Studio Ghibli (North America distribution) are usually released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures under the Walt Disney Pictures banner. Exceptions include Who Framed Roger Rabbit and The Nightmare Before Christmas which were originally released under Disney's Touchstone imprint, though the Roger Rabbit theatrical shorts and re-releases of Nightmare have been under the Disney banner. Beginning in 2011, the studio's production logo and on-screen credit was shortened to simply "Disney". However, a petition has started on Change.org to change the logo and on-screen credit back to "Walt Disney Pictures" on November 6, 2012.
  • 5.
    4. Columbia pictures ColumbiaPictures Industries, Inc. (CPII) is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies in the world, a member of the so-called Big Six. It was one of the so-called Little Three among the eight major film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The studio, founded in 1918 as Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales by brothers Jack and Harry Cohn and Joe Brandt, released its first feature film in August 1922. It adopted the Columbia Pictures name in 1924 and went public two years later. The name is derived from "Columbia", a national personification of the United States, which is used as the company's logo. In its early years a minor player in Hollywood, Columbia began to grow in the late 1920s, spurred by a successful association with director Frank Capra. With Capra and others, Columbia became one of the primary homes of the screwball comedy. In the 1930s, Columbia's major contract stars were Jean Arthur and Cary Grant (who was shared with RKO Pictures). In the 1940s, Rita Hayworth became the studio's premier star and propelled their fortunes into the late 1950s. Rosalind Russell, Glenn Ford, and William Holden also became major stars at the studio. In 1982, the studio was purchased by Coca-Cola; that same year it launched TriStar Pictures as a joint venture with HBO and CBS. Five years later, Coca-Cola spun off Columbia, which merged with Tri-Star to create Columbia Pictures Entertainment. After a brief period of independence with Coca-Cola maintaining a financial interest, the combined studio was acquired by Japanese company, Sony in 1989
  • 6.
    5. Universal studios UniversalStudios (also known as Universal Pictures), is an American film studio, and one of the six major movie studios. It is one of the longest-lived motion picture studios to be located outside of Hollywood. It is a division of American media conglomerate NBCUniversal. Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour, it is the oldest movie studio in the United States of America. It is also the third oldest in the world that is still in continuous production; the first being Gaumont Pictures, the second oldest is Pathé and the fourth oldest is Paramount Pictures. On May 11, 2004, the controlling stake in the company was sold by Vivendi Universal to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. In addition to owning a sizable film library spanning the earliest decades of cinema to more contemporary works, it also owns a sizable collection of TV shows through its subsidiary NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It also acquired rights to several prominent filmmakers' works originally released by other studios through its subsidiaries over the years. Selected clips and footage shot by Universal Studios are available for purchase from the NBCUniversal Archives. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City. Universal Studios is a Member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
  • 7.
    6. 20th Centuryfox Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation- also known as 20th Century Fox, 20th Century Fox Pictures, styled as 20th century fox, or simply 20th or Fox— is one of the six major American film studios as of 2011. Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, just west of Beverly Hills, the studio is a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. The company was founded on May 31, 1935, as the result of the merger of Fox Film Corporation, founded by William Fox in 1915, and Twentieth Century Pictures, founded in 1933 by Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Raymond Griffith and William Goetz. Twentieth Century Fox's most popular film franchises include Star Wars, X-Men, Ice Age, Rio, Die Hard, Predator, Alien, Planet of the Apes, Home Alone, plus famous TV shows such as Batman, M*A*S*H, The X-Files, Cops, In Living Colour, Family Guy, American Dad!, and 24. Among the most famous actresses to come out of this studio were Shirley Temple, who was 20th Century Fox's first film star, Betty Grable, Gene Tierney, Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield. The studio also contracted the first African-American cinema star, Dorothy Dandridge. 20th Century Fox is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).