Worlds Top 25 Biggest Major International Film Studios

A FILM STUDIO (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production company. The majority of firms in the entertainment industry have never owned their own studios, but have rented space from other companies. There are also independently owned studio facilities, who have never produced a motion picture of their own because they are not Entertainment companies or Motion Picture companies; they are companies who sell only studio space.

A major film studio is a production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the North American, Western, and global markets, the major film studios, often simply known as the majors, are commonly regarded as the six diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries command approximately 90 percent of U.S. and Canadian box office revenue. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate.

The "Big Six" majors, whose operations are based in or around the Los Angeles neighborhood of Hollywood, are all centered in film studios active during Hollywood's Golden Age of the 1930s and 1940s. In three cases - 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount - the studios were one of the "Big Five" majors during that era as well. In two cases - Columbia and Universal - the studios were also considered majors, but in the next tier down, part of the "Little Three". In the sixth case, Walt Disney Studios was an independent production company during the Golden Age; it was an important Hollywood entity, but not a major.

Film Studio News & Resources

• Actors say Hollywood studios want their AI replicas - for free, forever - "In a statement about the strike, the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) said that its proposal included 'a groundbreaking AI proposal that protects actors’ digital likenesses for SAG-AFTRA members.'"
• Amazon buys Hollywood studio MGM for $8.45bn - "The deal will boost Amazon Prime Video's offering with about 4,000 films, including the James Bond franchise and Legally Blonde, as well as 17,000 television shows such as the Handmaid's Tale TV series."
• Bond, ‘Survivor’ & Those ‘Apprentice’ Tapes - "5 Burning Questions About Amazon and MGM’s Mega-Deal."
• Can Paramount Go It Alone? - "The dominance of Netflix and Disney in streaming has forced many companies to join forces. So far, Paramount has gone its own way."
• Classical Hollywood cinema & the Golden Age of Hollywood (1913–1969) - "Classical Hollywood cinema, or the Golden Age of Hollywood, is defined as a technical and narrative style characteristic of American cinema from 1913 to 1969, during which thousands of movies were issued from the Hollywood studios. The Classical style began to emerge in 1913, was accelerated in 1917 after the U.S. entered World War I, and finally solidified when the film The Jazz Singer was released in 1927, ending the Silent Film era and increasing box-office profits for film industry by introducing sound to feature films."
• Disney culls 'Fox' from 20th Century Fox in rebrand - "Disney executives have cut the word 'Fox' from their 20th Century Fox film studio in an apparent bid to distance it from operations of the previous owner, Rupert Murdoch."
• Disney just ended the 20th Century Fox brand, one of the most storied names in entertainment - "Disney (DIS) announced on Monday it would be rebranding one of its TV studios, 20th Century Fox Television, as 20th Television. The new name cuts both the 'Century' and the 'Fox' from the studio's name."
• Discovery takes control of HBO, CNN & Warner Bros., creating new media giant - "The newly formed company, Warner Bros. Discovery, will begin publicly trading on Monday. Zaslav said he will hold a town hall event for employees of the combined company later in the week. The deal, first announced last May, is a climactic moment for Zaslav and his longtime deputies at Discovery, best known for brands like Animal Planet, TLC and HGTV. The merger adds HBO, CNN, TNT, Turner Sports, the Warner Bros. movie studio, and a huge raft of other media assets to the company."
• Film studio - Wikipedia.
• Independent film - independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system.
• James Bond Writer Warns That Amazon’s MGM Deal Could Dilute Franchise - "John Logan, the Oscar nominated screenwriter whose credits include working on James Bond pics Skyfall and Spectre, has said that Amazon acquiring MGM, with its back catalogue that features the Bond films, makes him worried for the future of the franchise."
• LIST OF HOLLYWOOD MOVIE STUDIOS & FILM PRODUCTION COMPANIES - Wikipedia.
• Major film studios - "Today, the Big Five majors - Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Columbia Pictures - routinely distribute hundreds of films every year into all significant international markets."
• Smokehouse Pictures - American film and television production company. The company was founded in 2006 by George Clooney and Grant Heslov after the shutdown of Section Eight Productions. Its name is taken from the Smoke House restaurant, located across the street from Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California.
• Robert De Niro’s Billion-Dollar Gamble - "The actor teamed up with superstar Danish architect Bjarke Ingels to build Wildflower Studios, a massive vertical production complex in Astoria, Queens. So what do you get for that price tag? THR got the first tour."
• Studio system - method of filmmaking wherein the production and distribution of films is dominated by a small number of large movie studios. It is most often used in reference to Hollywood motion picture studios during the Golden Age of Hollywood from the 1920s to 1960s.
• The Rank Organisation - (1937-1996). Was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution and exhibition facilities.
• Universal Studios denies trimming trees to expose strikers to heatwave - "NBC Universal claims it is not trying to make conditions uncomfortable for writers and actors who will be picketing with no shade as temperatures soar."
• Why Amazon just spent more than $8 billion on MGM - "MGM, a classic Hollywood brand synonymous with 'The Wizard of Oz' and Leo the roaring lion, was purchased for $8.45 billion on Wednesday by Amazon (AMZN), a company currently valued at nearly $1.7 trillion. Being gobbled up by a tech behemoth is a fitting finale for a studio that has been whittled down over the last century by one technology disruption after another."
• Why on Earth did Amazon spend $8 billion on a zombie studio? - "A Netflix-killer MGM is not."

Top 25 Major International Film Studios

• 20th Century Studios - since 1935. (Formerly Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation) is an American film studio that is a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is located on the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributes and markets the films produced by 20th Century. 20th Century was one of the "Big Six" major American film studios for over 83 years. Formerly known as the Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation, it was formed from the merger of the Fox Film Corporation and the original 20th Century Pictures in 1935. In 1985, the studio became known as 20th Century Fox after being acquired by News Corporation, which was split and succeeded by 21st Century Fox in 2013, after spinning off its publishing assets. In 2019, Disney purchased 20th Century through its acquisition of 21st Century Fox. The studio's current name was adopted on January 17, 2020.
• Amazon Studios - since 2010. American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. Content is distributed through theaters and Amazon Prime Video, Amazon's digital video streaming service, whose competitors include Netflix and Hulu, among others.
• Apple Studios - since 2019. American film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Apple Inc. It specializes in developing and producing television series and films for Apple's digital video streaming service Apple TV+.
• Atlas Corporation Studios - since 1983. Located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west of the city of Ouarzazate in Morocco. Measured by acreage, it is the world's largest film studio.
• CINECITTÀ STUDIOS - since 1937. "When they asked which city he would love to live in, Fellini replied 'Cinecittà'." There is a word that evokes both the most beautiful city in the world and all the possible stories in time and space: Cinecittà. Over 3,000 films have taken form at Cinecittà in its 80+ year history and at least 51 of them have won Academy Awards: masterpieces that have moved generations of viewers have been created here. Today Cinecittà Studios is an established setting, chosen by directors and producers for films, documentaries, TV series and music videos. Cinecittv Studios is simply the ideal location to create the perfect set and follow the entire production cycle: from shooting to post-production, distribution to promotion.
• COLUMBIA PICTURES - since 1924. It is one of the leading film studios in the world and is a member of the "Big Five" major American film studios. Columbia was one of the so-called "Little Three" among the eight major film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. Today, it has become the world's fourth largest major film studio.
• DreamWorks Pictures - since 1994. (Also known as DreamWorks SKG or DreamWorks Studios, commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American film production company, and a label of Amblin Partners. It was founded in 1994 as an original live-action film studio by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen (together, SKG), of which they owned 72%. The studio formerly distributed its own and third-party films. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each.
• GAUMONT - since 1895. "Depuis que le cinéma existe."
• Hengdian World Studios - since 1996. Film studio located in Hengdian, a Chinese town in the city of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. It is the largest film studio in the world.
• INDIEVEST - (2004-2015).
• Marvel Studios - since 1993. "Journey into the cosmic depths of the mighty Marvel Cinematic Universe!"
• MGM | METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER - "MGM and its legendary roaring lion logo was formed in April 1924, by theater magnate Marcus Lowe, who orchestrated the merger of Metro Pictures Corp., Goldwyn Pictures and Louis B. Mayer Productions. During a golden three decades from 1924 to 1954, the Culver City-based studio dominated the movie business, creating a Best Picture nominee every year for two straight decades. United Artists was established on July 15, 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks and D.W. Griffith and was best known as 'the company built by the stars.' United Artists later joined the MGM family in 1981, and thrived as member of the 'lion's pride.'"
• MIRAMAX - since 1979. "MIRAMAX’s unrivaled library of more than 700 titles has received 278 Academy Award nominations and 68 Oscars, including four Best Picture awards."
• NBC UNIVERSAL - since 2004.
• PARAMOUNT PICTURES - since 1912. "For more than a hundred years, Paramount has been the gold standard for storytelling and movie-making, and we will always believe in the communal experience of watching movies. Although we know that for the near future we cannot be together, we can still enjoy great films and talk about them with our friends and families. In good times and bad, storytelling unites us all and we at Paramount have put together a list of films from our library that we believe any film lover must see."
• PINEWOOD STUDIOS - since 1935. "Synonymous with some of the big and small screen’s most enduring productions over its 80-year history, Pinewood’s iconic UK studios are just 8 miles from Heathrow airport and 20 miles from central London. Home to the legendary 007 Stage, a further 23 stages, 3 TV studios, the unique permanently-filled Underwater Stage, one of Europe’s largest exterior tank, acres of backlot and thousands of square feet of production office and workshop space, Pinewood has everything you need all in one place."
• Revolution Studios - since 2000. "Revolution boasts one of the largest independent libraries of premium content, including 126 motion pictures, which have collectively earned more than $7.1 billion in box office receipts to date, as well as 240 television episodes." American motion picture and television studio headed by Chief Executive Officer Vince Totino and Chief Operating Officer Scott Hemming. The company focuses primarily on the distribution, remake and sequel rights to titles in its library, which it continues to add to through acquisitions and new productions.
• RKO Pictures - (1928-1959). "It was one of the Big Five studios of Hollywood's Golden Age." RKO has long been renowned for its cycle of musicals starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers in the mid-to-late 1930s. Actors Katharine Hepburn and, later, Robert Mitchum had their first major successes at the studio. Cary Grant was a mainstay for years. The work of producer Val Lewton's low-budget horror unit and RKO's many ventures into the field now known as film noir have been acclaimed, largely after the fact, by film critics and historians. The studio produced two of the most famous films in motion picture history: King Kong and Citizen Kane. RKO was also responsible for notable co-productions such as It's a Wonderful Life and Notorious, and it also distributed many celebrated films by animation producer Walt Disney (from 1937 to the mid-1950s) and leading independent producer Samuel Goldwyn.
• Skydance - since 2006. American production company based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by David Ellison in 2006, the company specializes in films, animation, television, video games, and sports. In 2009, the company entered a five-year partnership to co-produce and co-finance films with Paramount Pictures. This agreement was renewed twice, extending to 2021. Currently, Skydance is reported to be finalizing a deal to merge with Paramount Pictures' owners, Paramount Global, by acquiring Paramount's holding company, National Amusements to create which is currently being called "New Paramount". The transaction is expected to be completed by September 2025.
• Sony Pictures - since 1987.
• The Walt Disney Studios - since 1953. Handles theatrical distribution, marketing and promotion for films produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Fox 2000 Pictures.
• THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY - since 2005. Was one of the largest mini-major film studios in North America prior to its financial troubles and eventual bankruptcy in February 2018, with independent studio Lantern Entertainment acquiring a majority of its film library and assets.
• Twentieth Century Pictures - (1933-1935). Was an independent Hollywood motion picture production company created in 1933 by Joseph Schenck (the former president of United Artists) and Darryl F. Zanuck from Warner Bros.
• UFA - since 1917. "Inspiring Entertainment."
• United Artists (UA) - since 1919. Currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studio was premised on allowing actors to control their own interests, rather than being dependent upon commercial studios. UA was repeatedly bought, sold, and restructured over the ensuing century. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired the studio in 1981 for a reported $350 million ($1 billion today).
• UNIVERSAL Studios - since 1912. "Universal Studios Hollywood - The Entertainment Capital of L.A."
• WARNER BROS. - since 1923. "Warner Bros. Entertainment is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios lot, 142 acres in Burbank, California, which is considered one of the foremost motion picture and television production and post-production facilities in the world and home to 35 soundstages (including one of the world’s tallest stages, which has an in-ground tank capable of holding more than two million gallons of water). Warner Bros. Pictures produces and distributes a wide-ranging slate of some 18-22 films each year, employing a business paradigm that mitigates risk while maximizing productivity and capital. Warner Bros."
• Zentropa - since 1992. Danish film company started in 1992 by director Lars von Trier and producer Peter Aalbæk Jensen. It has produced over 70 feature films and has become the largest film production company in Scandinavia. It owns a number of subsidiary companies in Europe. Zentropa is also responsible for creating a large studio complex called Filmbyen (Film City), where both Zentropa and many other film-related companies are located. Zentropa may be best known for creating the Dogme 95 movement.