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Wikipedia

Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC,[4] also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal.

Universal City Studios LLC
2021 version of 2012 logo
Universal Pictures
Formerly
List
    • Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1912–1923)
    • Universal Pictures Corporation (1923–1936)
    • Universal Productions, Inc. (1936–1937)
    • Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1937–1946)
    • Universal-International Pictures, Inc. (1946–1963)
    • Universal Pictures, Inc. (1963–1964)
    • Universal City Studios, Inc. (1964–1999)
    • Universal Studios Inc. (1999–2014)
TypeDivision
IndustryFilm
PredecessorIndependent Moving Pictures
FoundedApril 30, 1912; 110 years ago (1912-04-30)
Founders
Headquarters10 Universal City Plaza, ,
Number of locations
3
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
ProductsMotion pictures
Revenue US$11.622 billion (2022) [1]
OwnerComcast
ParentNBCUniversal Film and Entertainment
(NBCUniversal)
Divisions
Subsidiaries
Websiteuniversalpictures.com
universalstudios.com
Footnotes / references
[3][2]

Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States; the world's fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus, and Nordisk Film; and the oldest member of Hollywood's "Big Five" studios in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. In 1962, the studio was acquired by MCA, which was re-launched as NBCUniversal in 2004.

Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and was one of the "Little Three" majors during Hollywood's golden age.[5]

History

Early years

 
Carl Laemmle (1867–1939)
 
Mark Dintenfass (1872–1933), co-founder of Universal

Universal Studios was founded by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane[a] and Jules Brulatour. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons, and calculating the day's takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Patents Company (or the "Edison Trust") meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on the Latham Loop used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution.

Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures. In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with his brothers-in-law[7] Abe Stern and Julius Stern.[8] That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early films in America's first motion picture industry were produced in the early 20th century.[9][10][11][12] Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence, formerly known as "The Biograph Girl",[13] and actor King Baggot, in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing.

 
Poster for Ivanhoe (1913)

The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York City on April 30, 1912.[14] Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the primary figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley, and Brulatour. The company was established on June 8, 1912, formed in a merger of Independent Moving Pictures (IMP), the Powers Motion Picture Company, Rex Motion Picture Manufacturing Company, Champion Film Company, Nestor Film Company, and the New York Motion Picture Company.[15] Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new Universal studio was a vertically integrated company, with movie production, distribution, and exhibition venues all linked in the same corporate entity, the central element of the Studio system era.

Melodrama A Great Love (1916) by Clifford S. Elfelt for Universal Big U. Dutch intertitles, 12:33. Collection EYE Film Institute Netherlands.

Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912, the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area.

Universal Weekly and Moving Picture Weekly[16] were the alternating names of Universal's internal magazine that began publication in this era; the magazine was intended to market Universal's films to exhibitors.[17] Since much of Universal's early film output was destroyed in subsequent fires and nitrate degradation, the surviving issues of these magazines are a crucial source for film historians.[17]

 
Universal advertisement touting the benefit of the studio's short films to theater operators[18]

On March 15, 1915,[19]: 8  Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on a 230-acre (0.9-km2) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood.[20] Studio management became the third facet of Universal's operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive melodramas, westerns, and serials.

In 1916, Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Unlike the top-tier studios, Universal did not own any theaters to market its feature films. Universal branding their product gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide. Branding would help theater owners judge films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see. Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures:[21][22]

  • Red feather Photoplays – low-budget feature films
  • Bluebird Photoplays – mainstream feature release and more ambitious productions
  • Jewel – prestige motion pictures featuring high budgets using prominent actors

Directors included Jack Conway, John Ford, Rex Ingram, Robert Z. Leonard, George Marshall and Lois Weber, one of the few women directing films in Hollywood.[19]: 13 

Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew, Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Blind Husbands (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), but Universal shrewdly gained a return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers. Character actor Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the 1920s, appearing steadily in dramas. His two biggest hits for Universal were The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925).[23] During this period Laemmle entrusted most of the production policy decisions to Irving Thalberg. Thalberg had been Laemmle's personal secretary, and Laemmle was impressed by his cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated. Promoted to studio chief, Thalberg was giving Universal's product a touch of class, but MGM's head of production Louis B. Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal with a promise of better pay. Without his guidance, Universal became a second-tier studio and would remain so for several decades.

In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. With the advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films. Still, some of them were exhibited through other independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York City without the benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary.

In the early years, Universal had a "clean picture" policy. However, by April 1927, Carl Laemmle considered this a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios generated more profit while Universal lost money.[24]

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

In early 1927, Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers since they wanted to get back into producing them. On March 4, Charles Mintz signed a contract with Universal in the presence of its vice president, R. H. Cochrane. Mintz's company, Winkler Pictures, was to produce 26 "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" cartoons for Universal.[25] Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created the character and the Walt Disney Studio provided the animation for the cartoons under Winkler's supervision.

The films enjoyed a successful theatrical run, and Mintz would sign a contract with Universal ensuring three more years of Oswald cartoons.[26] However, after Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the films, Mintz took most of Walt's animators to work at his own studio. Disney and Iwerks would create Mickey Mouse in secret while they finished the remaining Oswald films they were contractually obligated to finish. Universal subsequently severed its link to Mintz and formed its own in-house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by Walter Lantz.

In February 2006, NBCUniversal sold all the Disney-animated Oswald cartoons, along with the rights to the character himself, to The Walt Disney Company. In return, Disney released ABC sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's recently acquired Sunday night NFL football package. Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons.

Keeping leadership of the studio in the family

 

In 1928, Laemmle, Sr. made his son, Carl, Jr., head of Universal Pictures, a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism—at one time, 70 of Carl Sr.'s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl, Sr. being known around the studios as "Uncle Carl". Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme, "Uncle Carl Laemmle/Has a very large faemmle". Among these relatives was future Academy Award-winning director/producer William Wyler.

"Junior," Laemmle persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted the studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production. His early efforts included the critically panned part-talkie version of Edna Ferber's novel Show Boat (1929), the lavish musical Broadway (1929) which included Technicolor sequences; and the first all-color musical feature (for Universal), King of Jazz (1930). The more serious All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) won its year's Best Picture Oscar.

Laemmle, Jr. created a niche for the studio, beginning a series of horror films which extended into the 1940s, affectionately dubbed Universal Horror. Among them are Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933). Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life (1934) and My Man Godfrey (1936).

The Laemmles lose control

Universal's forays into high-quality production spelled the end of the Laemmle era at the studio. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the Great Depression was risky, and for a time, Universal slipped into receivership. The theater chain was scrapped, but Carl, Jr. held fast to distribution, studio, and production operations.

The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version of Show Boat (1936), a remake of its earlier 1929 part-talkie production, and produced as a high-quality, big-budget film rather than as a B-picture. The new film featured several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935, and unlike the 1929 film, was based on the Broadway musical rather than the novel. Carl, Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders. They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless the Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. It was the first time Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26-year history. The production went $300,000 over budget; Standard called in the loan, cash-strapped Universal could not pay, and Standard foreclosed and seized control of the studio on April 2, 1936.

Although Universal's 1936 Show Boat (released a little over a month later) became a critical and financial success, it was not enough to save the Laemmles' involvement with the studio. They were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded. Because the Laemmles personally oversaw production, Show Boat was released (despite the takeover) with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr.'s names on the credits and in the film's advertising campaign. Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin had taken over as president and chairman of the board of directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Joining him were British entrepreneurs C.M. Woolf and J. Arthur Rank, who bought a significant stake in the studio.[27] Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had a few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan, left.

Meanwhile, producer Joe Pasternak, who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal's German subsidiary, repeated his formula in the United States. Teenage singer Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak's first American film, Three Smart Girls (1936). The film was a box-office hit and reputedly resolved the studio's financial problems. The film's success led Universal to offer her a contract, which for the first five years of her career, produced her most successful pictures.

When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin's pictures, and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939; she went on to star with Bing Crosby, W. C. Fields, and Donald O'Connor. A popular Universal film of the late 1930s was Destry Rides Again (1939), starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount.

By the early 1940s, the company was concentrating on lower-budget productions that were the company's main staple: westerns, melodramas, serials, and sequels to the studio's horror pictures, the latter now solely B pictures. The studio fostered many series: The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys action features and serials (1938–43); the comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy (1938–41); comedies with Hugh Herbert (1938–42) and The Ritz Brothers (1940–43); musicals with Robert Paige, Jane Frazee, The Andrews Sisters, and The Merry Macs (1938–45); and westerns with Tom Mix (1932–33), Buck Jones (1933–36), Bob Baker (1938–39), Johnny Mack Brown (1938–43); Rod Cameron (1944–45), and Kirby Grant (1946–47).

Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars and often borrowed talent from other studios or hired freelance actors. In addition to Stewart and Dietrich, Margaret Sullavan and Bing Crosby were two of the major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, including Edgar Bergen, W. C. Fields, and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello). Abbott and Costello's military comedy Buck Privates (1941) gave the former burlesque comedians a national and international profile.

During the war years, Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang, lending the studio some amount of prestige productions. Universal's core audience base was still found in the neighborhood movie theaters, and the studio continued to please the public with low- to medium-budget films. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in new Sherlock Holmes mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan (1942–43), and screen adaptations of radio's Inner Sanctum Mysteries with Lon Chaney, Jr. (1943–45). Alfred Hitchcock was also borrowed for two films from Selznick International Pictures: Saboteur (1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

As Universal's main product had always been lower-budgeted films, it was one of the last major studios to contract with Technicolor. The studio did not make use of the three-strip Technicolor process until Arabian Nights (1942), starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez. Technicolor was also utilized for the studio's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, Phantom of the Opera (1943) with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy. With the success of their first two pictures, a regular schedule of high-budget Technicolor films followed.

Universal-International and Decca Records take control

In 1945, J. Arthur Rank, who had already owned a stake in the studio almost a decade before, hoping to expand his American presence, bought into a four-way merger with Universal, the independent company International Pictures, and producer Kenneth Young. The new combine, United World Pictures, was a failure and was dissolved within one year. However, Rank and International remained interested in Universal, culminating in the studio's reorganization as Universal-International; the merger was announced on July 30, 1946.[28] William Goetz, a founder of International along with Leo Spitz, was made head of production at the renamed Universal-International Pictures, a subsidiary of Universal Pictures Company, Inc. which also served as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films. Goetz, a son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer, decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production of B movies, serials and curtailed Universal's horror and "Arabian Nights" cycles. He also reduced the studio's output from its wartime average of fifty films per year (nearly twice the major studio's output) to thirty-five films a year.[29] Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc.

Universal-International Studio, 1955

Goetz set out an ambitious schedule. Universal-International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank's British productions, including such classics as David Lean's Great Expectations (1946) and Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948). Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into the lucrative non-theatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealer Castle Films in 1947 and taking the company over entirely in 1951. For three decades, Castle would offer "highlights" reels from the Universal film library to home-movie enthusiasts and collectors. Goetz licensed Universal's pre–Universal-International film library to Jack Broeder's Realart Pictures for cinema re-release, but Realart was not allowed to show the films on television.

The production arm of the studio still struggled. While there were to be a few hits like The Killers (1946) and The Naked City (1948), Universal-International's new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box office. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out. The studio returned to low-budget and series films such as Ma and Pa Kettle (1949), a spin-off of the studio's 1947 hit The Egg and I and the inexpensive Francis (1950), the first film of a series about a talking mule, became mainstays of the company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), were among the studio's top-grossing productions. But at this point, Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil, whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello, the studio retained the Walter Lantz cartoon studio, whose product was released with Universal-International's films.

In the 1950s, Universal-International resumed their series of Arabian Nights films, many starring Tony Curtis. The studio also had success with monster and science fiction films produced by William Alland, with many directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar. Other successes were the melodramas directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Ross Hunter, which were critically reassessed more positively years later. Among Universal-International's stable of stars were Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Jeff Chandler, Audie Murphy, and John Gavin.

Although Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean, it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract actors go in the wake of the 1948 U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. decision. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. When one of those films, Winchester '73 (1950), proved to be a hit, the arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal and eventually at other studios as well.

MCA takes over

 
Ceremonial gate to Universal Studios Hollywood (the theme park attached to the studio lot)

In the early 1950s, Universal set up its own distribution company in France. In the late 1960s, the company also started a production company in Paris, Universal Productions France S.A., although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company, Universal Pictures France. Except for the two first films it produced, Claude Chabrol's Le scandale (English title The Champagne Murders, 1967) and Romain Gary's Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (English title Birds in Peru), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, including Louis Malle's Lacombe, Lucien, Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses (English title Going Places, 1974), and Fred Zinnemann's The Day of the Jackal (1973). It was only involved in approximately 20 French film productions. In the early 1970s, the unit was incorporated into the French Cinema International Corporation arm.

By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was again changing. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television saw the reduced audience size for cinema productions. The Music Corporation of America (MCA), the world's largest talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Productions subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km2) studio lot to MCA in 1958 for $11 million, renamed Revue Studios. MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, yet was increasingly influential on Universal's products. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, Cary Grant, and director Alfred Hitchcock were signed to Universal contracts.

The long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA, Inc. happened in mid-1962 as part of the MCA-Decca Records merger. The company reverted in name to Universal Pictures from Universal-International. As a final gesture before leaving the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1964, MCA formed Universal City Studios, Inc., merging the motion pictures and television arms of Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions (officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966). And so, with MCA in charge, Universal became a full-blown, A-film movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary launched in 1964.

Television production made up much of the studio's output, with Universal heavily committed, in particular, to deals with NBC (which much later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal; see below) providing up to half of all prime time shows for several seasons. An innovation during this period championed by Universal was the made-for-television movie. In 1982, Universal became the studio base for many shows that were produced by Norman Lear's Tandem Productions/Embassy Television, including Diff'rent Strokes, One Day at a Time, The Jeffersons, The Facts of Life, and Silver Spoons which premiered on NBC that same fall.

At this time, Hal B. Wallis, who had recently worked as a major producer at Paramount, moved over to Universal, where he produced several films, among them a lavish version of Maxwell Anderson's Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), and the equally lavish Mary, Queen of Scots (1971).[30] Although neither could claim to be a big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and Anne was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Richard Burton), Best Actress (Geneviève Bujold), and Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Quayle). Wallis retired from Universal after making the film Rooster Cogburn (1975), a sequel to True Grit (1969), which Wallis had produced at Paramount. Rooster Cogburn co-starred John Wayne, reprising his Oscar-winning role from the earlier film, and Katharine Hepburn, their only film together. The film was only a moderate success.

In 1983, Universal Pictures launched an independent film arm designed to release specialty films, Universal Classics, and the division has sights on separation.[31] In 1987, both Universal Pictures, along with MGM/UA Communications Co. and Paramount Pictures teamed up to market feature film and television product to China, and the consumer reach is measured in terms of the 25-billion admission tickets that were clocked in China in 1986, and Worldwide Media Sales, a division of the New York-based Worldwide Media Group had been placed in charge of the undertaking.[32]

In the early 1980s, the company had its own pay television arm Universal Pay Television (a.k.a. Universal Pay TV Programming, Inc.), which spawned in 1987, an 11-picture cable television agreement with then-independent film studio New Line Cinema.[33]

In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount to form Cinema International Corporation, which distributed films by Paramount and Universal outside of the US and Canada. Although Universal did produce occasional hits, among them Airport (1970), The Sting (1973), American Graffiti (also 1973), Earthquake (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes: Jaws (1975), Universal during the decade was primarily a television studio. When Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchased United Artists in 1981, MGM could not drop out of the CIC venture to merge with United Artists overseas operations. However, with future film productions from both names being released through the MGM/UA Entertainment plate, CIC decided to merge UA's international units with MGM and reformed as United International Pictures. There would be other film hits like Smokey and the Bandit (1977), Animal House (1978), The Jerk (1979), The Blues Brothers (1980), E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Scarface (1983), The Breakfast Club (1985), Back to the Future (also 1985), An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), Field of Dreams (1989), and Jurassic Park (1993), but the film business was financially unpredictable. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997 due to the founders' connections with Paramount, Universal, and Amblin Entertainment. In 2001, MGM dropped out of the UIP venture and went with 20th Century Fox's international arm to handle the distribution of their titles, an ongoing arrangement. UIP nearly lost its connection with Universal Pictures in 1999 when Universal started Universal Pictures International to take over the assets of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and wanted UPI to distribute their films starting in 2001.[34] Only a small handful of films were released theatrically by Universal Pictures International, up until the release of the film Mickey Blue Eyes. UIP then took over the theatrical distribution inventory of future films planned to be released by Universal Pictures International, such as The Green Mile and Angela's Ashes.[35] On October 4, 1999, Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006.[36][37]

Matsushita, Seagram, Vivendi and NBCUniversal

 
Logo used from 1997 to 2012, still used on some properties, such as Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the independent company, Universal Music Group

Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought a rich partner. He located Japanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known as Panasonic), which agreed to acquire MCA for $6.6 billion in 1990.

Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later, Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian drinks distributor Seagram for $5.7 billion.[38] Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry. Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal, Seagram bought PolyGram in 1999 and other entertainment properties, but the fluctuating profits characteristic of Hollywood were no substitute for the reliable income stream gained from the previously held shares in DuPont.

 
Gate 2, Universal Studios (as it appears when closed on weekends)

To raise money, Seagram head Edgar Bronfman Jr. sold Universal's television holdings, including cable network USA, to Barry Diller (these same properties would be bought back later at greatly inflated prices). In June 2000, Seagram was sold to French water utility and media company Vivendi, which owned StudioCanal; the conglomerate then became known as Vivendi Universal. Afterward, Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal's films, such as David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001) and Brotherhood of the Wolf (2001) which became the second-highest-grossing French language film in the United States since 1980. Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co-produced several films, such as Love Actually (2003); a $40 million-budgeted film that eventually grossed $246 million worldwide.[39] In late 2000, the New York Film Academy was permitted to use the Universal Studios backlot for student film projects in an unofficial partnership.[40]

Burdened with debt, in 2004, Vivendi Universal sold 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (including the studio and theme parks) to General Electric (GE), parent of NBC.[41] The resulting company was named NBCUniversal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. After that deal, GE owned 80% of NBC Universal; Vivendi held the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006.

In late 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures acquired DreamWorks SKG after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled. Universal's long-time chairperson, Stacey Snider, left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks. Snider was replaced by then-Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger and Focus Features head David Linde. On October 5, 2009, Marc Shmuger and David Linde were ousted, and their co-chairperson jobs were consolidated under former president of worldwide marketing and distribution Adam Fogelson, becoming the single chairperson. Donna Langley was also upped to co-chairperson.[42] In 2009, Stephanie Sperber founded Universal Partnerships & Licensing within Universal to license consumer products for Universal.[43]

GE purchased Vivendi's share in NBCUniversal in 2011.[44]

Comcast era (2011–present)

 
Gate 3 with signs for KNBC and KVEA

GE sold 51% of the company to cable provider Comcast in 2011. Comcast merged the former GE subsidiary with its own cable-television programming assets, creating the current NBCUniversal. Following Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval, the Comcast-GE deal was closed on January 29, 2011.[45] In March 2013, Comcast bought the remaining 49% of NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion.[46]

In September 2013, Adam Fogelson was ousted as co-chairman of Universal Pictures, promoting Donna Langley to the sole chairperson. In addition, NBCUniversal International Chairman Jeff Shell would be appointed as Chairman of the newly created Filmed Entertainment Group. Longtime studio head Ron Meyer would give up oversight of the film studio and appointed Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal, providing consultation to CEO Steve Burke on all of the company's operations. Meyer retained oversight of Universal Parks and Resorts.[47]

Universal's multi-year film financing deal with Elliott Management expired in 2013.[48] In summer 2013, Universal made an agreement with Thomas Tull's Legendary Pictures to distribute their films for five years starting in 2014 (the year that Legendary's similar agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures ended).[49]

In June 2014, Universal Partnerships took over licensing consumer products for NBC and Sprout with the expectation that all licensing would eventually be centralized within NBCUniversal.[43] In May 2015, Gramercy Pictures was revived by Focus Features as a genre label concentrating on action, sci-fi, and horror films.[50]

On December 16, 2015, Amblin Partners announced that it entered into a five-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures by which the films will be distributed and marketed by either Universal or Focus Features.[51][52]

In early 2016, Perfect World Pictures announced a long-term co-financing deal with Universal, representing the first time a Chinese company directly invests in a multi-year slate deal with a major U.S. studio.[53]

On April 28, 2016, Universal's parent company, NBCUniversal, announced a $3.8 billion deal to buy DreamWorks Animation.[54] On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed.[55] Universal took over the distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation starting in 2019 with the release of How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, after DreamWorks Animation's distribution deal with 20th Century Fox ended.

On February 15, 2017, Universal Pictures acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners, strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin,[56] and reuniting a minority percentage of the DreamWorks Pictures label with DreamWorks Animation.

In December 2019, Universal Pictures entered early negotiations to distribute upcoming feature film properties based on the Lego toys. Although the original Lego Movie characters are still owned by Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures will serve as a distributor of future releases and will develop additional Lego films. The future of the already in-development films is believed to remain the same.[57]

In June, it was announced longtime Universal International Distribution President Duncan Clark would be stepping down. He would transition to a consulting role with the studio in August and would be replaced by Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.[58]

Units

Film library

In addition to its own library, Universal releases the EMKA, Ltd. catalog of 1929–1949 Paramount Pictures, owned by sister company Universal Television.

Film series

Title Release date No. Films Notes
Universal Monsters/Dark Universe 1931–56 31
The Mummy 1932–2017; TBA 11 co-production with Relativity Media, Sommers Company, Alphaville, K/O Paper Products, and Perfect World Pictures
Abbott and Costello 1940–55 3
Woody Woodpecker 1941–present co-production with Walter Lantz Studios and Universal Animation Studios
Sherlock Holmes 1942–46 12
Ma and Pa Kettle 1947–57 10
Francis the Talking Mule 1950–56 7
Cape Fear 1962–91 2
The Birds 1963–94
McHale's Navy 1964–97 3
Airport 1970–79 4
American Graffiti 1973–79 2 co-production with Lucasfilm, Ltd.
The Jackal 1973–97 co-production Warwick Films, Alphaville and Mutual Film Company
Jaws 1975–87 4
The Car 1977–2019 2
The Blues Brothers 1980–98 co-production with SNL Studios
Halloween 1981–82, 2018–present 5 co-production with Compass International, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group, Miramax and Blumhouse Productions
Endless Love 1981–2014 2
Conan the Barbarian 1982–84; TBA
The Thing 1982–2011; TBA co-production with Morgan Creek Productions and Strike Entertainment
Psycho 1983–98 5
Firestarter 1984–2022 2
Back to the Future 1985–90 3 co-production with Amblin Entertainment
An American Tail 1986–99 4 co-production with Amblin Entertainment, Amblimation and Sullivan Bluth Studios
The Land Before Time 1988–2016 14 co-production with Amblin Entertainment, Lucasfilm and Sullivan Bluth Studios
Tremors 1990–present 7
Problem Child 1990–95 3
Darkman 1990–96 co-production with Renaissance Pictures
Buried Alive 1990–97 2
Child's Play / Chucky 1990–98; 2013–present 5
Kindergarten Cop 1990–2016 2 co-production with Imagine Entertainment
Knight Rider 1991–2008 3
The Little Engine That Could 1991–2011 2
Backdraft 1991–2019 co-production with Imagine Entertainment and Trilogy Entertainment Group
Beethoven 1992–2014 8
Jurassic Park 1993–2001; 2015–22; TBA 6 co-production with Amblin Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, and The Kennedy/Marshall Company
Carlito's Way 1993–2005 2
Hard Target 1993–2016
The Flintstones 1994–2000 co-production with Hanna-Barbera and Amblin Entertainment
Timecop 1994–2003 co-production with Renaissance Pictures
The Little Rascals 1994–2014 co-production with Amblin Entertainment
Babe 1995–98
Casper 1995–2000; 2016–present co-production with Amblin Entertainment, Harvey Films, and Saban Ltd.
Balto 1995–2005 3 co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Amblimation
Apollo films 1995–2019 co-production with Imagine Entertainment, Statement Pictures, CNN Films and Neon
Sudden Death 1995–2020 2
Dragonheart 1996–present 5
Twister 1 co-production with Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros. (both 1996)
Mr. Bean 1997–2007 2 co-production with PolyGram Films, Gramercy Pictures, Working Title Films, StudioCanal, and Tiger Aspect Productions
Alvin and the Chipmunks 1999–2000
American Pie 1999–2012 4
The Best Man 1999–2013 2
Meet the Parents 2000–10 co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and TriBeCa Productions
The Chronicles of Riddick 2000–13 3 co-production with Gramercy Pictures, USA Films, Original Film, and Relativity Media
Dr. Seuss films 2000–18 4 co-production with Imagine Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures, and Illumination
Bring It On 2000–22 6 co-production with Strike Entertainment
Hannibal Lecter 2001–02 2 co-production with The Weinstein Company, and De Laurentiis Entertainment Group
Fast & Furious 2001–present 10 co-production with Original Film, Relativity Media, and One Race Films
Bourne 2002–present 5 co-production with The Kennedy/Marshall Company and Relativity Media.
The Scorpion King 2002–18 co-production with Alphaville and WWE Studios
Undercover Brother 2002–19 2
Almighty 2003–07 co-production with Spyglass Entertainment, Shady Acres Entertainment, and Original Film
Hulk 2003–08; TBA including MCU's The Incredible Hulk (distribution only), right of first refusal holders (distribution only) of any future MCU solo Hulk films; co-production with Marvel Studios
Johnny English 2003–18 3 co-production with StudioCanal and Working Title Films
...of the Dead 2004–05 2 co-production with Atmosphere Entertainment, Romero/Grunwald Films, Cruel and Unusual Films and Strike Entertainment
Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy 2004–13 3 co-production with Rogue Pictures, Relativity Media, Focus Features, Working Title Films and StudioCanal
White Noise 2005–07 2 co-production with Gold Circle Films
Doom 2005–present co-production with Di Bonaventura Pictures, Bethesda Softworks, and id Software
Nanny McPhee 2005–10 co-production with Working Title Films
Curious George 2006–present 6 co-production with Imagine Entertainment
Smokin' Aces 2006–10 2 co-production with Relativity Media
Battlestar Galactica 2007–09
VeggieTales 2008–present 1 co-production with Big Idea Entertainment, DreamWorks Classics, FHE Pictures, Starz Animation
Mamma Mia! 2008–18 2 co-production with Relativity Media, Playtone, LittleStar, Legendary Entertainment and Perfect World Pictures
Death Race 5 co-production with New Horizons, Cruise/Wagner Productions and Relativity Media
The Strangers 2 co-production with Intrepid Pictures, Relativity Media, Rogue Pictures and Aviron Pictures
Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass 2010–present co-production with Lionsgate and Marv Films
Despicable Me 5 co-production with Illumination
Ted 2012–15 2 co-production with Media Rights Capital, Bluegrass Films, and Fuzzy Door Productions
The Man with... co-production with Strike Entertainment and Bluegrass Films
Pitch Perfect 2012–17 3 co-production with Gold Circle Films and Brownstone Productions
The Purge 2013–present 5 co-production with Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes
R.I.P.D. 2013–22 2
Ouija 2014–16 co-production with Blumhouse Productions, Hasbro Studios, Genre Films, and Platinum Dunes
Neighbors co-production with Point Grey, Relativity Media, and Good Universe
Ride Along co-production with Relativity Media and Perfect World Pictures
Fifty Shades 2015–18 3 co-production with Focus Features, Michael De Luca Productions and Trigger Street Productions
The Secret Life of Pets 2016–present 2 co-production with Illumination
Sing
Unbreakable 2016–19 co-production with Touchstone Pictures, Blinding Edge Pictures, and Blumhouse Productions
Happy Death Day 2017–present co-production with Blumhouse Productions
Insidious 2018–present co-production with FilmDistrict, Focus Features, Gramercy Pictures, IM Global, Alliance Films, Stage 6 Films, Entertainment One, and Blumhouse Productions
Pacific Rim 1 co-production with Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.
The Addams Family 2019–present 2 International distributor; co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Bron Creative
Trolls 2020–present 1 co-production with DreamWorks Animation
The Boss Baby 2021–present
Shrek 2022–present
The Bad Guys co-production with DreamWorks Animation and Scholastic Corporation

Highest-grossing films

Universal was the first studio to have released three billion-dollar films in one year; this distinction was achieved in 2015 with Furious 7, Jurassic World, and Minions.[60]

Highest-grossing films in North America[61]
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Jurassic World 2015 $652,270,625
2 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 $435,110,554
3 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018 $417,719,760
4 Jurassic Park 1993 $402,523,348
5 Jurassic World: Dominion 2022 $376,009,080
6 Minions: The Rise of Gru $369,500,210
7 The Secret Life of Pets 2016 $368,384,330
8 Despicable Me 2 2013 $368,061,265
9 Furious 7 2015 $353,007,020
10 Minions $336,045,770
11 Meet the Fockers 2004 $279,261,160
12 The Grinch 2018 $270,620,950
13 Sing 2016 $270,329,045
14 Despicable Me 3 2017 $264,624,300
15 Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2000 $260,044,825
16 Jaws 1975 $260,000,000
17 Despicable Me 2010 $251,513,985
18 Bruce Almighty 2003 $242,829,261
19 Fast & Furious 6 2013 $238,679,850
20 The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997 $229,086,679
21 The Bourne Ultimatum 2007 $227,471,070
22 The Fate of the Furious 2017 $226,008,385
23 Ted 2012 $218,815,487
24 King Kong 2005 $218,080,025
25 The Lorax 2012 $214,030,500
Highest-grossing films worldwide
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Jurassic World 2015 $1,670,400,637
2 Furious 7 $1,516,045,911
3 Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom 2018 $1,308,534,046
4 The Fate of the Furious 2017 $1,238,764,765
5 Minions 2015 $1,159,398,397
6 Jurassic Park 1993 $1,045,573,035
7 Despicable Me 3 2017 $1,034,800,131
8 Jurassic World: Dominion 2022 $1,001,188,755
9 Despicable Me 2 2013 $970,761,885
10 Minions: The Rise of Gru 2022 $939,433,210
11 The Secret Life of Pets 2016 $875,457,937
12 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982 $792,910,554
13 Fast & Furious 6 2013 $788,679,850
14 No Time to Die 2021 $774,153,007
15 F9 $726,229,501
16 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw 2019 $721,040,050
17 Sing 2016 $631,214,341
18 Fast Five 2011 $626,137,675
19 The Lost World: Jurassic Park 1997 $618,638,999
20 Mamma Mia! 2008 $609,841,637
21 Fifty Shades of Grey 2015 $571,006,128
22 King Kong 2005 $550,517,357
23 Ted 2012 $549,368,315
24 Despicable Me 2010 $543,113,985
25 How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 2019 $517,049,060

Includes theatrical reissue(s).

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Robert H. Cochrane (1879–1973) formed the Cochrane Advertising Agency in Chicago in 1904. He joined the Laemmle Film Service as advertising manager in 1906 and, for the next 30 years, devoted himself to promoting Carl Laemmle as the "star" of various motion picture enterprises. In 1912 Cochrane was elected vice-president of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company and served as president of Universal in 1936–37 after Laemmle sold his interests.[6]
  1. ^ International distribution only. Released by Warner Bros. domestically in North America.

References

  1. ^ . Comcast. January 26, 2022. p. 4 https://www.cmcsa.com/static-files/564f8423-ccdf-45d7-b2c7-8e31212b04d3. Retrieved November 4, 2022. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ^ a b "Brad Weston Launches Production Company With Backing From Universal, eOne". Variety. May 17, 2017.
  3. ^ . NBCUniversal. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  4. ^ "Who We Are | Motion Picture Association". Motion Picture Association lists "Universal City Studios LLC" as its member. Motion Picture Association. Retrieved April 6, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  5. ^ "Our Story". MPAA.
  6. ^ Cochrane, Robert H. (2007). "Beginning of motion picture press agenting". Film History: An International Journal. Indiana University Press. 19 (3): 330–332. doi:10.2979/fil.2007.19.3.330. S2CID 191585832. Retrieved January 7, 2016.
  7. ^ Reeder, Thomas (2021). Time is money! : the Century, Rainbow, and Stern Brothers comedies of Julius and Abe Stern. Orlando, Florida. ISBN 978-1-62933-798-2. OCLC 1273678339.
  8. ^ Vander Hook, Sue (2010). Steven Spielberg: Groundbreaking Director. ABDO Publishing Company. p. 35. ISBN 978-1617852527. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  9. ^ Rose, Liza (April 29, 2012), "100 years ago, Fort Lee was the first town to bask in movie magic", The Star-Ledger, retrieved November 11, 2012
  10. ^ Koszarski, Richard (2004), Fort Lee: The Film Town, Rome, Italy: John Libbey Publishing -CIC srl, ISBN 0-86196-653-8
  11. ^ . Fort Lee Film Commission. Archived from the original on April 25, 2011. Retrieved May 30, 2011.
  12. ^ Fort Lee Film Commission (2006), Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 0-7385-4501-5
  13. ^ "Florence Lawrence". www.cemeteryguide.com. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  14. ^ "About Us: Universal Studios History". The Filmmakers Destination. NBCUniversal. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  15. ^ "LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". The Library of Congress.
  16. ^ Hoyt, Eric (2015). "Early Cinema - Moving Picture Weekly". Lantern Media History Project, Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research. Retrieved November 23, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Hoyt, Eric (March 22, 2022). Ink-Stained Hollywood: The Triumph of American Cinema's Trade Press. University of California Press. doi:10.1525/luminos.122. ISBN 978-0-520-38369-2. S2CID 246343126.
  18. ^ "The Universal Program". Motion Picture News. Motion Picture News, inc. May 6, 1916. p. 2704. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
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  22. ^ B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)#Roots of the B movie: 1910s–1920s
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  24. ^ Leonard Leff and Jerold Simmons The Dame in the Kimono, 1990 (original edition)
  25. ^ "Universal Announces Release Of "Oscar, the Rabbit" Cartoons". Moving Picture World. March 12, 1927. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
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  27. ^ "Linked to British Company". The New York Times. March 15, 1936. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  28. ^ "International Pictures and the merger with Universal Pictures". cobbles.com. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  29. ^ "Universal-International and the Early MCA Years". Film Reference. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  30. ^ Page, Tim (October 8, 1986). "Hal B. Wallis, Film Producer, is Dead". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
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  32. ^ "MGM/UA, Par, Universal Team To Market U.S. Products In China". Variety. June 3, 1987. p. 6.
  33. ^ "New Line, Universal Pay TV Sign Cable Deal For Theatrical Pics". Variety. June 10, 1987. p. 46.
  34. ^ Carver, Benedict; Dawtrey, Adam (February 10, 1999). "U to start int'l distrib". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  35. ^ Groves, Don (October 8, 1999). "'Eyes' to close UPI slate". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
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  37. ^ Petrikin, Chris (October 15, 1999). "U, Par extend UIP pact". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  38. ^ Fabrikant, Geraldine (April 10, 1995). "The MCA Sale: The Deal; Seagram Puts the Finishing Touches on Its $5.7 Billion Acquisition of MCA". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
  39. ^ "Love Actually (2003) – Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo.
  40. ^ "New York Film Academy – Los Angeles". nyfa.edu.
  41. ^ Ahrens, Frank (May 13, 2004). "GE, Vivendi Give Rise To a Giant". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  42. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (October 5, 2009). "'Two And A Half Men' Cast's Holiday Gifts For The Show's Crew And Staff". Deadline.
  43. ^ a b Goldstein, Lindsay (June 19, 2014). "Universal Partnerships & Licensing to Expand to Consumer Products Covering NBC and Sprout". The Wrap. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
  44. ^ James, Meg (January 27, 2011). "GE completes its purchase of Vivendi's stake in NBC Universal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  45. ^ Lafayette, Jon (January 29, 2011). "Comcast Competes Deal". Multichannel News. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  46. ^ Lieberman, David (March 19, 2013). "Comcast Completes Acquisition Of GE's 49% Stake In NBCUniversal". Deadline. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  47. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 9, 2013). "Universal Shakeup: Adam Fogelson Out, Donna Langley Sideways, Jeff Shell In, And Ron Meyer Up As Studio Taken By Surprise". Deadline. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
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  49. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (July 10, 2013). "Legendary Entertainment strikes five-year deal with NBCUniversal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  50. ^ "Focus Revives Gramercy Pictures Label For Genre Films". Deadline Hollywood. May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  51. ^ a b Lang, Brent (December 16, 2015). "Steven Spielberg, Jeff Skoll Bring Amblin Partners to Universal". Variety. Retrieved December 23, 2015.
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  54. ^ "Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 28, 2016.
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  56. ^ a b Perry, Spencer (February 15, 2017). "Universal Studios Buys a Minority Stake in Amblin Partners". Comingsoon.net. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
  57. ^ Matt Donnelly (December 19, 2019). "Universal in Talks With Lego Group to Develop New Films Based on Toys (Exclusive)". Variety.
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External links

  • Official website  

universal, pictures, universal, studios, redirects, here, studio, universal, studios, theme, parks, universal, parks, resorts, chicago, recording, studio, universal, recording, corporation, legally, universal, city, studios, also, known, universal, studios, si. Universal Studios redirects here For the studio lot see Universal Studios Lot For the theme parks see Universal Parks amp Resorts For the Chicago recording studio see Universal Recording Corporation Universal Pictures legally Universal City Studios LLC 4 also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal International Pictures Inc is an American film production and distribution company owned by Comcast through the NBCUniversal Film and Entertainment division of NBCUniversal Universal City Studios LLC2021 version of 2012 logo10 Universal City Plaza in Universal CityTrade nameUniversal PicturesFormerlyList Universal Film Manufacturing Company 1912 1923 Universal Pictures Corporation 1923 1936 Universal Productions Inc 1936 1937 Universal Pictures Company Inc 1937 1946 Universal International Pictures Inc 1946 1963 Universal Pictures Inc 1963 1964 Universal City Studios Inc 1964 1999 Universal Studios Inc 1999 2014 TypeDivisionIndustryFilmPredecessorIndependent Moving PicturesFoundedApril 30 1912 110 years ago 1912 04 30 FoundersCarl LaemmlePat PowersDavid HorsleyWilliam SwansonMark DintenfassCharles BaumannRobert H CochraneAdam KesselJules BrulatourHeadquarters10 Universal City Plaza Universal City California United StatesNumber of locations3Area servedWorldwideKey peopleDonna Langley Chairman Universal Filmed Entertainment Group Peter Cramer President ProductsMotion picturesRevenueUS 11 622 billion 2022 1 OwnerComcastParentNBCUniversal Film and Entertainment NBCUniversal DivisionsFocus FeaturesIlluminationUniversal Animation StudiosUniversal Pictures Home EntertainmentSubsidiariesAmblin Partners minority Back Lot MusicCarnival FilmsDreamWorks AnimationMakeready co backing with Entertainment One only film and television production company run by Brad Weston 2 NBCUniversal Entertainment JapanOTL ReleasingRede Telecine 12 5 United International Pictures 50 Working Title FilmsWebsiteuniversalpictures com universalstudios comFootnotes references 3 2 Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle Mark Dintenfass Charles O Baumann Adam Kessel Pat Powers William Swanson David Horsley Robert H Cochrane and Jules Brulatour Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States the world s fifth oldest after Gaumont Pathe Titanus and Nordisk Film and the oldest member of Hollywood s Big Five studios in terms of the overall film market Its studios are located in Universal City California and its corporate offices are located in New York City In 1962 the studio was acquired by MCA which was re launched as NBCUniversal in 2004 Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association MPA and was one of the Little Three majors during Hollywood s golden age 5 Contents 1 History 1 1 Early years 1 2 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit 1 3 Keeping leadership of the studio in the family 1 4 The Laemmles lose control 1 5 Universal International and Decca Records take control 1 6 MCA takes over 1 7 Matsushita Seagram Vivendi and NBCUniversal 1 8 Comcast era 2011 present 2 Units 3 Film library 3 1 Film series 3 2 Highest grossing films 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External linksHistoryThis section needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Universal Pictures news newspapers books scholar JSTOR June 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Early years Carl Laemmle 1867 1939 Mark Dintenfass 1872 1933 co founder of Universal Universal Studios was founded by Carl Laemmle Mark Dintenfass Charles O Baumann Adam Kessel Pat Powers William Swanson David Horsley Robert H Cochrane a and Jules Brulatour One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours counting patrons and calculating the day s takings Within weeks of his Chicago trip Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs the creation in 1908 of the Edison backed Motion Picture Patents Company or the Edison Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust produced films they showed Based on the Latham Loop used in cameras and projectors along with other patents the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution Soon Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures In June 1909 Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with his brothers in law 7 Abe Stern and Julius Stern 8 That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Pictures Company IMP with studios in Fort Lee New Jersey where many early films in America s first motion picture industry were produced in the early 20th century 9 10 11 12 Laemmle broke with Edison s custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers By naming the movie stars he attracted many of the leading players of the time contributing to the creation of the star system In 1910 he promoted Florence Lawrence formerly known as The Biograph Girl 13 and actor King Baggot in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing Poster for Ivanhoe 1913 The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York City on April 30 1912 14 Laemmle who emerged as president in July 1912 was the primary figure in the partnership with Dintenfass Baumann Kessel Powers Swanson Horsley and Brulatour The company was established on June 8 1912 formed in a merger of Independent Moving Pictures IMP the Powers Motion Picture Company Rex Motion Picture Manufacturing Company Champion Film Company Nestor Film Company and the New York Motion Picture Company 15 Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle The new Universal studio was a vertically integrated company with movie production distribution and exhibition venues all linked in the same corporate entity the central element of the Studio system era source source source source source source source source Melodrama A Great Love 1916 by Clifford S Elfelt for Universal Big U Dutch intertitles 12 33 Collection EYE Film Institute Netherlands Following the westward trend of the industry by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area Universal Weekly and Moving Picture Weekly 16 were the alternating names of Universal s internal magazine that began publication in this era the magazine was intended to market Universal s films to exhibitors 17 Since much of Universal s early film output was destroyed in subsequent fires and nitrate degradation the surviving issues of these magazines are a crucial source for film historians 17 Universal advertisement touting the benefit of the studio s short films to theater operators 18 On March 15 1915 19 8 Laemmle opened the world s largest motion picture production facility Universal City Studios on a 230 acre 0 9 km2 converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood 20 Studio management became the third facet of Universal s operations with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization Unlike other movie moguls Laemmle opened his studio to tourists Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood and remained so for a decade However it sought an audience mostly in small towns producing mostly inexpensive melodramas westerns and serials In 1916 Universal formed a three tier branding system for their releases Unlike the top tier studios Universal did not own any theaters to market its feature films Universal branding their product gave theater owners and audiences a quick reference guide Branding would help theater owners judge films they were about to lease and help fans decide which movies they wanted to see Universal released three different types of feature motion pictures 21 22 Red feather Photoplays low budget feature films Bluebird Photoplays mainstream feature release and more ambitious productions Jewel prestige motion pictures featuring high budgets using prominent actorsDirectors included Jack Conway John Ford Rex Ingram Robert Z Leonard George Marshall and Lois Weber one of the few women directing films in Hollywood 19 13 Despite Laemmle s role as an innovator he was an extremely cautious studio chief Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor William Fox and Marcus Loew Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain He also financed all of his own films refusing to take on debt This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Blind Husbands 1919 and Foolish Wives 1922 but Universal shrewdly gained a return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers Character actor Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the 1920s appearing steadily in dramas His two biggest hits for Universal were The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1923 and The Phantom of the Opera 1925 23 During this period Laemmle entrusted most of the production policy decisions to Irving Thalberg Thalberg had been Laemmle s personal secretary and Laemmle was impressed by his cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated Promoted to studio chief Thalberg was giving Universal s product a touch of class but MGM s head of production Louis B Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal with a promise of better pay Without his guidance Universal became a second tier studio and would remain so for several decades In 1926 Universal opened a production unit in Germany Deutsche Universal Film AG under the direction of Joe Pasternak This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936 migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler s increasing domination of central Europe With the advent of sound these productions were made in the German language or occasionally Hungarian or Polish In the U S Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary s films Still some of them were exhibited through other independent foreign language film distributors based in New York City without the benefit of English subtitles Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary In the early years Universal had a clean picture policy However by April 1927 Carl Laemmle considered this a mistake as unclean pictures from other studios generated more profit while Universal lost money 24 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit In early 1927 Universal had been negotiating deals with cartoon producers since they wanted to get back into producing them On March 4 Charles Mintz signed a contract with Universal in the presence of its vice president R H Cochrane Mintz s company Winkler Pictures was to produce 26 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoons for Universal 25 Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks created the character and the Walt Disney Studio provided the animation for the cartoons under Winkler s supervision The films enjoyed a successful theatrical run and Mintz would sign a contract with Universal ensuring three more years of Oswald cartoons 26 However after Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the films Mintz took most of Walt s animators to work at his own studio Disney and Iwerks would create Mickey Mouse in secret while they finished the remaining Oswald films they were contractually obligated to finish Universal subsequently severed its link to Mintz and formed its own in house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by Walter Lantz In February 2006 NBCUniversal sold all the Disney animated Oswald cartoons along with the rights to the character himself to The Walt Disney Company In return Disney released ABC sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC s recently acquired Sunday night NFL football package Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons Keeping leadership of the studio in the family Bela Lugosi in Dracula 1931 Boris Karloff in Bride of Frankenstein 1935 In 1928 Laemmle Sr made his son Carl Jr head of Universal Pictures a 21st birthday present Universal already had a reputation for nepotism at one time 70 of Carl Sr s relatives were supposedly on the payroll Many of them were nephews resulting in Carl Sr being known around the studios as Uncle Carl Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme Uncle Carl Laemmle Has a very large faemmle Among these relatives was future Academy Award winning director producer William Wyler Junior Laemmle persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date He bought and built theaters converted the studio to sound production and made several forays into high quality production His early efforts included the critically panned part talkie version of Edna Ferber s novel Show Boat 1929 the lavish musical Broadway 1929 which included Technicolor sequences and the first all color musical feature for Universal King of Jazz 1930 The more serious All Quiet on the Western Front 1930 won its year s Best Picture Oscar Laemmle Jr created a niche for the studio beginning a series of horror films which extended into the 1940s affectionately dubbed Universal Horror Among them are Dracula 1931 Frankenstein 1931 The Mummy 1932 and The Invisible Man 1933 Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life 1934 and My Man Godfrey 1936 The Laemmles lose control Universal s forays into high quality production spelled the end of the Laemmle era at the studio Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the Great Depression was risky and for a time Universal slipped into receivership The theater chain was scrapped but Carl Jr held fast to distribution studio and production operations The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version of Show Boat 1936 a remake of its earlier 1929 part talkie production and produced as a high quality big budget film rather than as a B picture The new film featured several stars from the Broadway stage version which began production in late 1935 and unlike the 1929 film was based on the Broadway musical rather than the novel Carl Jr s spending habits alarmed company stockholders They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless the Laemmles obtained a loan Universal was forced to seek a 750 000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation pledging the Laemmle family s controlling interest in Universal as collateral It was the first time Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26 year history The production went 300 000 over budget Standard called in the loan cash strapped Universal could not pay and Standard foreclosed and seized control of the studio on April 2 1936 Although Universal s 1936 Show Boat released a little over a month later became a critical and financial success it was not enough to save the Laemmles involvement with the studio They were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded Because the Laemmles personally oversaw production Show Boat was released despite the takeover with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr s names on the credits and in the film s advertising campaign Standard Capital s J Cheever Cowdin had taken over as president and chairman of the board of directors and instituted severe cuts in production budgets Joining him were British entrepreneurs C M Woolf and J Arthur Rank who bought a significant stake in the studio 27 Gone were the big ambitions and though Universal had a few big names under contract those it had been cultivating like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan left Meanwhile producer Joe Pasternak who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal s German subsidiary repeated his formula in the United States Teenage singer Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak s first American film Three Smart Girls 1936 The film was a box office hit and reputedly resolved the studio s financial problems The film s success led Universal to offer her a contract which for the first five years of her career produced her most successful pictures James Stewart and Marlene Dietrich in Destry Rides Again 1939 When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin s pictures and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles the studio signed 13 year old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939 she went on to star with Bing Crosby W C Fields and Donald O Connor A popular Universal film of the late 1930s was Destry Rides Again 1939 starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount By the early 1940s the company was concentrating on lower budget productions that were the company s main staple westerns melodramas serials and sequels to the studio s horror pictures the latter now solely B pictures The studio fostered many series The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys action features and serials 1938 43 the comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy 1938 41 comedies with Hugh Herbert 1938 42 and The Ritz Brothers 1940 43 musicals with Robert Paige Jane Frazee The Andrews Sisters and The Merry Macs 1938 45 and westerns with Tom Mix 1932 33 Buck Jones 1933 36 Bob Baker 1938 39 Johnny Mack Brown 1938 43 Rod Cameron 1944 45 and Kirby Grant 1946 47 Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars and often borrowed talent from other studios or hired freelance actors In addition to Stewart and Dietrich Margaret Sullavan and Bing Crosby were two of the major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period Some stars came from radio including Edgar Bergen W C Fields and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello Bud Abbott and Lou Costello Abbott and Costello s military comedy Buck Privates 1941 gave the former burlesque comedians a national and international profile During the war years Universal did have a co production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner director Fritz Lang lending the studio some amount of prestige productions Universal s core audience base was still found in the neighborhood movie theaters and the studio continued to please the public with low to medium budget films Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in new Sherlock Holmes mysteries 1942 46 teenage musicals with Gloria Jean Donald O Connor and Peggy Ryan 1942 43 and screen adaptations of radio s Inner Sanctum Mysteries with Lon Chaney Jr 1943 45 Alfred Hitchcock was also borrowed for two films from Selznick International Pictures Saboteur 1942 and Shadow of a Doubt 1943 As Universal s main product had always been lower budgeted films it was one of the last major studios to contract with Technicolor The studio did not make use of the three strip Technicolor process until Arabian Nights 1942 starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez Technicolor was also utilized for the studio s remake of their 1925 horror melodrama Phantom of the Opera 1943 with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy With the success of their first two pictures a regular schedule of high budget Technicolor films followed Universal International and Decca Records take control In 1945 J Arthur Rank who had already owned a stake in the studio almost a decade before hoping to expand his American presence bought into a four way merger with Universal the independent company International Pictures and producer Kenneth Young The new combine United World Pictures was a failure and was dissolved within one year However Rank and International remained interested in Universal culminating in the studio s reorganization as Universal International the merger was announced on July 30 1946 28 William Goetz a founder of International along with Leo Spitz was made head of production at the renamed Universal International Pictures a subsidiary of Universal Pictures Company Inc which also served as an import export subsidiary and copyright holder for the production arm s films Goetz a son in law of Louis B Mayer decided to bring prestige to the new company He stopped the studio s low budget production of B movies serials and curtailed Universal s horror and Arabian Nights cycles He also reduced the studio s output from its wartime average of fifty films per year nearly twice the major studio s output to thirty five films a year 29 Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc source source source source source source Universal International Studio 1955 Goetz set out an ambitious schedule Universal International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank s British productions including such classics as David Lean s Great Expectations 1946 and Laurence Olivier s Hamlet 1948 Broadening its scope further Universal International branched out into the lucrative non theatrical field buying a majority stake in home movie dealer Castle Films in 1947 and taking the company over entirely in 1951 For three decades Castle would offer highlights reels from the Universal film library to home movie enthusiasts and collectors Goetz licensed Universal s pre Universal International film library to Jack Broeder s Realart Pictures for cinema re release but Realart was not allowed to show the films on television The production arm of the studio still struggled While there were to be a few hits like The Killers 1946 and The Naked City 1948 Universal International s new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box office By the late 1940s Goetz was out The studio returned to low budget and series films such as Ma and Pa Kettle 1949 a spin off of the studio s 1947 hit The Egg and I and the inexpensive Francis 1950 the first film of a series about a talking mule became mainstays of the company Once again the films of Abbott and Costello including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein 1948 were among the studio s top grossing productions But at this point Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952 Besides Abbott and Costello the studio retained the Walter Lantz cartoon studio whose product was released with Universal International s films In the 1950s Universal International resumed their series of Arabian Nights films many starring Tony Curtis The studio also had success with monster and science fiction films produced by William Alland with many directed by Jack Arnold and starring John Agar Other successes were the melodramas directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Ross Hunter which were critically reassessed more positively years later Among Universal International s stable of stars were Rock Hudson Tony Curtis Jeff Chandler Audie Murphy and John Gavin Although Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business as other studios let their contract actors go in the wake of the 1948 U S vs Paramount Pictures et al decision Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business Wasserman s deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary When one of those films Winchester 73 1950 proved to be a hit the arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal and eventually at other studios as well MCA takes over Ceremonial gate to Universal Studios Hollywood the theme park attached to the studio lot In the early 1950s Universal set up its own distribution company in France In the late 1960s the company also started a production company in Paris Universal Productions France S A although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company Universal Pictures France Except for the two first films it produced Claude Chabrol s Le scandale English title The Champagne Murders 1967 and Romain Gary s Les oiseaux vont mourir au Perou English title Birds in Peru it was only involved in French or other European co productions including Louis Malle s Lacombe Lucien Bertrand Blier s Les Valseuses English title Going Places 1974 and Fred Zinnemann s The Day of the Jackal 1973 It was only involved in approximately 20 French film productions In the early 1970s the unit was incorporated into the French Cinema International Corporation arm By the late 1950s the motion picture business was again changing The combination of the studio theater chain break up and the rise of television saw the reduced audience size for cinema productions The Music Corporation of America MCA the world s largest talent agency had also become a powerful television producer renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Productions subsidiary After a period of complete shutdown a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360 acre 1 5 km2 studio lot to MCA in 1958 for 11 million renamed Revue Studios MCA owned the studio lot but not Universal Pictures yet was increasingly influential on Universal s products The studio lot was upgraded and modernized while MCA clients like Doris Day Lana Turner Cary Grant and director Alfred Hitchcock were signed to Universal contracts The long awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA Inc happened in mid 1962 as part of the MCA Decca Records merger The company reverted in name to Universal Pictures from Universal International As a final gesture before leaving the talent agency business virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract In 1964 MCA formed Universal City Studios Inc merging the motion pictures and television arms of Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966 And so with MCA in charge Universal became a full blown A film movie studio with leading actors and directors under contract offering slick commercial films and a studio tour subsidiary launched in 1964 Television production made up much of the studio s output with Universal heavily committed in particular to deals with NBC which much later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal see below providing up to half of all prime time shows for several seasons An innovation during this period championed by Universal was the made for television movie In 1982 Universal became the studio base for many shows that were produced by Norman Lear s Tandem Productions Embassy Television including Diff rent Strokes One Day at a Time The Jeffersons The Facts of Life and Silver Spoons which premiered on NBC that same fall At this time Hal B Wallis who had recently worked as a major producer at Paramount moved over to Universal where he produced several films among them a lavish version of Maxwell Anderson s Anne of the Thousand Days 1969 and the equally lavish Mary Queen of Scots 1971 30 Although neither could claim to be a big financial hit both films received Academy Award nominations and Anne was nominated for Best Picture Best Actor Richard Burton Best Actress Genevieve Bujold and Best Supporting Actor Anthony Quayle Wallis retired from Universal after making the film Rooster Cogburn 1975 a sequel to True Grit 1969 which Wallis had produced at Paramount Rooster Cogburn co starred John Wayne reprising his Oscar winning role from the earlier film and Katharine Hepburn their only film together The film was only a moderate success In 1983 Universal Pictures launched an independent film arm designed to release specialty films Universal Classics and the division has sights on separation 31 In 1987 both Universal Pictures along with MGM UA Communications Co and Paramount Pictures teamed up to market feature film and television product to China and the consumer reach is measured in terms of the 25 billion admission tickets that were clocked in China in 1986 and Worldwide Media Sales a division of the New York based Worldwide Media Group had been placed in charge of the undertaking 32 In the early 1980s the company had its own pay television arm Universal Pay Television a k a Universal Pay TV Programming Inc which spawned in 1987 an 11 picture cable television agreement with then independent film studio New Line Cinema 33 In the early 1970s Universal teamed up with Paramount to form Cinema International Corporation which distributed films by Paramount and Universal outside of the US and Canada Although Universal did produce occasional hits among them Airport 1970 The Sting 1973 American Graffiti also 1973 Earthquake 1974 and a big box office success which restored the company s fortunes Jaws 1975 Universal during the decade was primarily a television studio When Metro Goldwyn Mayer purchased United Artists in 1981 MGM could not drop out of the CIC venture to merge with United Artists overseas operations However with future film productions from both names being released through the MGM UA Entertainment plate CIC decided to merge UA s international units with MGM and reformed as United International Pictures There would be other film hits like Smokey and the Bandit 1977 Animal House 1978 The Jerk 1979 The Blues Brothers 1980 E T the Extra Terrestrial 1982 Scarface 1983 The Breakfast Club 1985 Back to the Future also 1985 An American Tail 1986 The Land Before Time 1988 Field of Dreams 1989 and Jurassic Park 1993 but the film business was financially unpredictable UIP began distributing films by start up studio DreamWorks in 1997 due to the founders connections with Paramount Universal and Amblin Entertainment In 2001 MGM dropped out of the UIP venture and went with 20th Century Fox s international arm to handle the distribution of their titles an ongoing arrangement UIP nearly lost its connection with Universal Pictures in 1999 when Universal started Universal Pictures International to take over the assets of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment and wanted UPI to distribute their films starting in 2001 34 Only a small handful of films were released theatrically by Universal Pictures International up until the release of the film Mickey Blue Eyes UIP then took over the theatrical distribution inventory of future films planned to be released by Universal Pictures International such as The Green Mile and Angela s Ashes 35 On October 4 1999 Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006 36 37 Matsushita Seagram Vivendi and NBCUniversal Logo used from 1997 to 2012 still used on some properties such as Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the independent company Universal Music Group Anxious to expand the company s broadcast and cable presence longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought a rich partner He located Japanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric now known as Panasonic which agreed to acquire MCA for 6 6 billion in 1990 Matsushita provided a cash infusion but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome and five years later Matsushita sold an 80 stake in MCA Universal to Canadian drinks distributor Seagram for 5 7 billion 38 Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal Seagram bought PolyGram in 1999 and other entertainment properties but the fluctuating profits characteristic of Hollywood were no substitute for the reliable income stream gained from the previously held shares in DuPont Gate 2 Universal Studios as it appears when closed on weekends To raise money Seagram head Edgar Bronfman Jr sold Universal s television holdings including cable network USA to Barry Diller these same properties would be bought back later at greatly inflated prices In June 2000 Seagram was sold to French water utility and media company Vivendi which owned StudioCanal the conglomerate then became known as Vivendi Universal Afterward Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal s films such as David Lynch s Mulholland Drive 2001 and Brotherhood of the Wolf 2001 which became the second highest grossing French language film in the United States since 1980 Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co produced several films such as Love Actually 2003 a 40 million budgeted film that eventually grossed 246 million worldwide 39 In late 2000 the New York Film Academy was permitted to use the Universal Studios backlot for student film projects in an unofficial partnership 40 Burdened with debt in 2004 Vivendi Universal sold 80 of Vivendi Universal Entertainment including the studio and theme parks to General Electric GE parent of NBC 41 The resulting company was named NBCUniversal while Universal Studios Inc remained the name of the production subsidiary After that deal GE owned 80 of NBC Universal Vivendi held the remaining 20 with an option to sell its share in 2006 In late 2005 Viacom s Paramount Pictures acquired DreamWorks SKG after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled Universal s long time chairperson Stacey Snider left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks Snider was replaced by then Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger and Focus Features head David Linde On October 5 2009 Marc Shmuger and David Linde were ousted and their co chairperson jobs were consolidated under former president of worldwide marketing and distribution Adam Fogelson becoming the single chairperson Donna Langley was also upped to co chairperson 42 In 2009 Stephanie Sperber founded Universal Partnerships amp Licensing within Universal to license consumer products for Universal 43 GE purchased Vivendi s share in NBCUniversal in 2011 44 Comcast era 2011 present Gate 3 with signs for KNBC and KVEA GE sold 51 of the company to cable provider Comcast in 2011 Comcast merged the former GE subsidiary with its own cable television programming assets creating the current NBCUniversal Following Federal Communications Commission FCC approval the Comcast GE deal was closed on January 29 2011 45 In March 2013 Comcast bought the remaining 49 of NBCUniversal for 16 7 billion 46 In September 2013 Adam Fogelson was ousted as co chairman of Universal Pictures promoting Donna Langley to the sole chairperson In addition NBCUniversal International Chairman Jeff Shell would be appointed as Chairman of the newly created Filmed Entertainment Group Longtime studio head Ron Meyer would give up oversight of the film studio and appointed Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal providing consultation to CEO Steve Burke on all of the company s operations Meyer retained oversight of Universal Parks and Resorts 47 Universal s multi year film financing deal with Elliott Management expired in 2013 48 In summer 2013 Universal made an agreement with Thomas Tull s Legendary Pictures to distribute their films for five years starting in 2014 the year that Legendary s similar agreement with Warner Bros Pictures ended 49 In June 2014 Universal Partnerships took over licensing consumer products for NBC and Sprout with the expectation that all licensing would eventually be centralized within NBCUniversal 43 In May 2015 Gramercy Pictures was revived by Focus Features as a genre label concentrating on action sci fi and horror films 50 On December 16 2015 Amblin Partners announced that it entered into a five year distribution deal with Universal Pictures by which the films will be distributed and marketed by either Universal or Focus Features 51 52 In early 2016 Perfect World Pictures announced a long term co financing deal with Universal representing the first time a Chinese company directly invests in a multi year slate deal with a major U S studio 53 On April 28 2016 Universal s parent company NBCUniversal announced a 3 8 billion deal to buy DreamWorks Animation 54 On August 22 2016 the deal was completed 55 Universal took over the distribution deal with DreamWorks Animation starting in 2019 with the release of How to Train Your Dragon The Hidden World after DreamWorks Animation s distribution deal with 20th Century Fox ended On February 15 2017 Universal Pictures acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin 56 and reuniting a minority percentage of the DreamWorks Pictures label with DreamWorks Animation In December 2019 Universal Pictures entered early negotiations to distribute upcoming feature film properties based on the Lego toys Although the original Lego Movie characters are still owned by Warner Bros Pictures Universal Pictures will serve as a distributor of future releases and will develop additional Lego films The future of the already in development films is believed to remain the same 57 In June it was announced longtime Universal International Distribution President Duncan Clark would be stepping down He would transition to a consulting role with the studio in August and would be replaced by Veronika Kwan Vandenberg 58 UnitsUniversal Pictures International Universal International Distribution Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Home Entertainment Productions Universal 1440 Entertainment DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment Universal Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Australia joint venture with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Playback Studio Distribution Services joint venture with Warner Bros Home Entertainment Focus Features Universal Pictures International Entertainment NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan Working Title Films WT2 Productions Working Title Television Carnival Films Rede Telecine 10 joint venture with Canais Globo Disney Paramount Pictures and Metro Goldwyn Mayer Illumination Illumination Studios Paris Illumination Labs Moonlight Universal Animation Studios DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation Television DreamWorks Classics Big Idea Entertainment in name only unit of DreamWorks Animation Bullwinkle Studios JV Harvey Entertainment DreamWorks Theatricals DreamWorks New Media DreamWorksTV DreamWorks Press OTL Releasing Back Lot Music Universal Brand Development United International Pictures 50 joint venture with Paramount Global s Paramount Pictures Amblin Partners minor stake 51 52 JV 56 Amblin Entertainment Amblin Television DreamWorks Pictures Storyteller Distribution 59 Film libraryMain article Lists of Universal Pictures films In addition to its own library Universal releases the EMKA Ltd catalog of 1929 1949 Paramount Pictures owned by sister company Universal Television Film series Title Release date No Films NotesUniversal Monsters Dark Universe 1931 56 31The Mummy 1932 2017 TBA 11 co production with Relativity Media Sommers Company Alphaville K O Paper Products and Perfect World PicturesAbbott and Costello 1940 55 3Woody Woodpecker 1941 present co production with Walter Lantz Studios and Universal Animation StudiosSherlock Holmes 1942 46 12Ma and Pa Kettle 1947 57 10Francis the Talking Mule 1950 56 7Cape Fear 1962 91 2The Birds 1963 94McHale s Navy 1964 97 3Airport 1970 79 4American Graffiti 1973 79 2 co production with Lucasfilm Ltd The Jackal 1973 97 co production Warwick Films Alphaville and Mutual Film CompanyJaws 1975 87 4The Car 1977 2019 2The Blues Brothers 1980 98 co production with SNL StudiosHalloween 1981 82 2018 present 5 co production with Compass International De Laurentiis Entertainment Group Miramax and Blumhouse ProductionsEndless Love 1981 2014 2Conan the Barbarian 1982 84 TBAThe Thing 1982 2011 TBA co production with Morgan Creek Productions and Strike EntertainmentPsycho 1983 98 5Firestarter 1984 2022 2Back to the Future 1985 90 3 co production with Amblin EntertainmentAn American Tail 1986 99 4 co production with Amblin Entertainment Amblimation and Sullivan Bluth StudiosThe Land Before Time 1988 2016 14 co production with Amblin Entertainment Lucasfilm and Sullivan Bluth StudiosTremors 1990 present 7Problem Child 1990 95 3Darkman 1990 96 co production with Renaissance PicturesBuried Alive 1990 97 2Child s Play Chucky 1990 98 2013 present 5Kindergarten Cop 1990 2016 2 co production with Imagine EntertainmentKnight Rider 1991 2008 3The Little Engine That Could 1991 2011 2Backdraft 1991 2019 co production with Imagine Entertainment and Trilogy Entertainment GroupBeethoven 1992 2014 8Jurassic Park 1993 2001 2015 22 TBA 6 co production with Amblin Entertainment Legendary Entertainment and The Kennedy Marshall CompanyCarlito s Way 1993 2005 2Hard Target 1993 2016The Flintstones 1994 2000 co production with Hanna Barbera and Amblin EntertainmentTimecop 1994 2003 co production with Renaissance PicturesThe Little Rascals 1994 2014 co production with Amblin EntertainmentBabe 1995 98Casper 1995 2000 2016 present co production with Amblin Entertainment Harvey Films and Saban Ltd Balto 1995 2005 3 co production with Amblin Entertainment and AmblimationApollo films 1995 2019 co production with Imagine Entertainment Statement Pictures CNN Films and NeonSudden Death 1995 2020 2Dragonheart 1996 present 5Twister 1 co production with Amblin Entertainment and Warner Bros both 1996 Mr Bean 1997 2007 2 co production with PolyGram Films Gramercy Pictures Working Title Films StudioCanal and Tiger Aspect ProductionsAlvin and the Chipmunks 1999 2000American Pie 1999 2012 4The Best Man 1999 2013 2Meet the Parents 2000 10 co production with DreamWorks Pictures Paramount Pictures and TriBeCa ProductionsThe Chronicles of Riddick 2000 13 3 co production with Gramercy Pictures USA Films Original Film and Relativity MediaDr Seuss films 2000 18 4 co production with Imagine Entertainment DreamWorks Pictures and IlluminationBring It On 2000 22 6 co production with Strike EntertainmentHannibal Lecter 2001 02 2 co production with The Weinstein Company and De Laurentiis Entertainment GroupFast amp Furious 2001 present 10 co production with Original Film Relativity Media and One Race FilmsBourne 2002 present 5 co production with The Kennedy Marshall Company and Relativity Media The Scorpion King 2002 18 co production with Alphaville and WWE StudiosUndercover Brother 2002 19 2Almighty 2003 07 co production with Spyglass Entertainment Shady Acres Entertainment and Original FilmHulk 2003 08 TBA including MCU s The Incredible Hulk distribution only right of first refusal holders distribution only of any future MCU solo Hulk films co production with Marvel StudiosJohnny English 2003 18 3 co production with StudioCanal and Working Title Films of the Dead 2004 05 2 co production with Atmosphere Entertainment Romero Grunwald Films Cruel and Unusual Films and Strike EntertainmentThree Flavours Cornetto trilogy 2004 13 3 co production with Rogue Pictures Relativity Media Focus Features Working Title Films and StudioCanalWhite Noise 2005 07 2 co production with Gold Circle FilmsDoom 2005 present co production with Di Bonaventura Pictures Bethesda Softworks and id SoftwareNanny McPhee 2005 10 co production with Working Title FilmsCurious George 2006 present 6 co production with Imagine EntertainmentSmokin Aces 2006 10 2 co production with Relativity MediaBattlestar Galactica 2007 09VeggieTales 2008 present 1 co production with Big Idea Entertainment DreamWorks Classics FHE Pictures Starz AnimationMamma Mia 2008 18 2 co production with Relativity Media Playtone LittleStar Legendary Entertainment and Perfect World PicturesDeath Race 5 co production with New Horizons Cruise Wagner Productions and Relativity MediaThe Strangers 2 co production with Intrepid Pictures Relativity Media Rogue Pictures and Aviron PicturesHit Girl amp Kick Ass 2010 present co production with Lionsgate and Marv FilmsDespicable Me 5 co production with IlluminationTed 2012 15 2 co production with Media Rights Capital Bluegrass Films and Fuzzy Door ProductionsThe Man with co production with Strike Entertainment and Bluegrass FilmsPitch Perfect 2012 17 3 co production with Gold Circle Films and Brownstone ProductionsThe Purge 2013 present 5 co production with Blumhouse Productions and Platinum DunesR I P D 2013 22 2Ouija 2014 16 co production with Blumhouse Productions Hasbro Studios Genre Films and Platinum DunesNeighbors co production with Point Grey Relativity Media and Good UniverseRide Along co production with Relativity Media and Perfect World PicturesFifty Shades 2015 18 3 co production with Focus Features Michael De Luca Productions and Trigger Street ProductionsThe Secret Life of Pets 2016 present 2 co production with IlluminationSingUnbreakable 2016 19 co production with Touchstone Pictures Blinding Edge Pictures and Blumhouse ProductionsHappy Death Day 2017 present co production with Blumhouse ProductionsInsidious 2018 present co production with FilmDistrict Focus Features Gramercy Pictures IM Global Alliance Films Stage 6 Films Entertainment One and Blumhouse ProductionsPacific Rim 1 co production with Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros The Addams Family 2019 present 2 International distributor co production with Metro Goldwyn Mayer and Bron CreativeTrolls 2020 present 1 co production with DreamWorks AnimationThe Boss Baby 2021 presentShrek 2022 presentThe Bad Guys co production with DreamWorks Animation and Scholastic CorporationHighest grossing films Universal was the first studio to have released three billion dollar films in one year this distinction was achieved in 2015 with Furious 7 Jurassic World and Minions 60 Highest grossing films in North America 61 Rank Title Year Box office gross1 Jurassic World 2015 652 270 6252 E T the Extra Terrestrial 1982 435 110 5543 Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom 2018 417 719 7604 Jurassic Park 1993 402 523 3485 Jurassic World Dominion 2022 376 009 0806 Minions The Rise of Gru 369 500 2107 The Secret Life of Pets 2016 368 384 3308 Despicable Me 2 2013 368 061 2659 Furious 7 2015 353 007 02010 Minions 336 045 77011 Meet the Fockers 2004 279 261 16012 The Grinch 2018 270 620 95013 Sing 2016 270 329 04514 Despicable Me 3 2017 264 624 30015 Dr Seuss How the Grinch Stole Christmas 2000 260 044 82516 Jaws 1975 260 000 00017 Despicable Me 2010 251 513 98518 Bruce Almighty 2003 242 829 26119 Fast amp Furious 6 2013 238 679 85020 The Lost World Jurassic Park 1997 229 086 67921 The Bourne Ultimatum 2007 227 471 07022 The Fate of the Furious 2017 226 008 38523 Ted 2012 218 815 48724 King Kong 2005 218 080 02525 The Lorax 2012 214 030 500 Highest grossing films worldwide Rank Title Year Box office gross1 Jurassic World 2015 1 670 400 6372 Furious 7 1 516 045 9113 Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom 2018 1 308 534 0464 The Fate of the Furious 2017 1 238 764 7655 Minions 2015 1 159 398 3976 Jurassic Park 1993 1 045 573 0357 Despicable Me 3 2017 1 034 800 1318 Jurassic World Dominion 2022 1 001 188 7559 Despicable Me 2 2013 970 761 88510 Minions The Rise of Gru 2022 939 433 21011 The Secret Life of Pets 2016 875 457 93712 E T the Extra Terrestrial 1982 792 910 55413 Fast amp Furious 6 2013 788 679 85014 No Time to Die 2021 774 153 00715 F9 726 229 50116 Fast amp Furious Presents Hobbs amp Shaw 2019 721 040 05017 Sing 2016 631 214 34118 Fast Five 2011 626 137 67519 The Lost World Jurassic Park 1997 618 638 99920 Mamma Mia 2008 609 841 63721 Fifty Shades of Grey 2015 571 006 12822 King Kong 2005 550 517 35723 Ted 2012 549 368 31524 Despicable Me 2010 543 113 98525 How to Train Your Dragon The Hidden World 2019 517 049 060 Includes theatrical reissue s See alsoList of television shows produced by Universal Studios DreamWorks Woody WoodpeckerPortals Companies United States Greater Los Angeles California FilmNotes Robert H Cochrane 1879 1973 formed the Cochrane Advertising Agency in Chicago in 1904 He joined the Laemmle Film Service as advertising manager in 1906 and for the next 30 years devoted himself to promoting Carl Laemmle as the star of various motion picture enterprises In 1912 Cochrane was elected vice president of the Universal Film Manufacturing Company and served as president of Universal in 1936 37 after Laemmle sold his interests 6 International distribution only Released by Warner Bros domestically in North America References Comcast January 26 2022 p 4 https www cmcsa com static files 564f8423 ccdf 45d7 b2c7 8e31212b04d3 Retrieved November 4 2022 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a Missing or empty title help a b Brad Weston Launches Production Company With Backing From Universal eOne Variety May 17 2017 Contact Us NBCUniversal Archived from the original on September 3 2017 Retrieved August 31 2017 Who We Are Motion Picture Association Motion Picture Association lists Universal City Studios LLC as its member Motion Picture Association Retrieved April 6 2020 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint others link Our Story MPAA Cochrane Robert H 2007 Beginning of motion picture press agenting Film History An International Journal Indiana University Press 19 3 330 332 doi 10 2979 fil 2007 19 3 330 S2CID 191585832 Retrieved January 7 2016 Reeder Thomas 2021 Time is money the Century Rainbow and Stern Brothers comedies of Julius and Abe Stern Orlando Florida ISBN 978 1 62933 798 2 OCLC 1273678339 Vander Hook Sue 2010 Steven Spielberg Groundbreaking Director ABDO Publishing Company p 35 ISBN 978 1617852527 Retrieved April 12 2018 Rose Liza April 29 2012 100 years ago Fort Lee was the first town to bask in movie magic The Star Ledger retrieved November 11 2012 Koszarski Richard 2004 Fort Lee The Film Town Rome Italy John Libbey Publishing CIC srl ISBN 0 86196 653 8 Studios and Films Fort Lee Film Commission Archived from the original on April 25 2011 Retrieved May 30 2011 Fort Lee Film Commission 2006 Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry Arcadia Publishing ISBN 0 7385 4501 5 Florence Lawrence www cemeteryguide com Retrieved March 28 2022 About Us Universal Studios History The Filmmakers Destination NBCUniversal Retrieved February 12 2016 LC Linked Data Service Authorities and Vocabularies Library of Congress The Library of Congress Hoyt Eric 2015 Early Cinema Moving Picture Weekly Lantern Media History Project Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research Retrieved November 23 2022 a b Hoyt Eric March 22 2022 Ink Stained Hollywood The Triumph of American Cinema s Trade Press University of California Press doi 10 1525 luminos 122 ISBN 978 0 520 38369 2 S2CID 246343126 The Universal Program Motion Picture News Motion Picture News inc May 6 1916 p 2704 Retrieved February 7 2021 a b Hirschhorn Clive 1985 1983 The Universal Story New York Crown Publishers ISBN 0 7064 1873 5 Universal Studios Lot Universal Studios Universal Studios Lot Retrieved March 28 2022 Michael Zmuda April 30 2015 The Five Sedgwicks Pioneer Entertainers of Vaudeville Film and Television McFarland pp 54 ISBN 978 0 7864 9668 6 B movies Hollywood Golden Age Roots of the B movie 1910s 1920s Opam Kwame June 6 2017 Universal is adding The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to its cinematic universe The Verge Retrieved March 28 2022 Leonard Leff and Jerold Simmons The Dame in the Kimono 1990 original edition Universal Announces Release Of Oscar the Rabbit Cartoons Moving Picture World March 12 1927 Retrieved August 23 2019 Universal Signs for 3 More Years of Oswald Motion Picture News February 18 1928 Retrieved August 23 2019 Linked to British Company The New York Times March 15 1936 ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved May 26 2021 International Pictures and the merger with Universal Pictures cobbles com Retrieved November 8 2017 Universal International and the Early MCA Years Film Reference Retrieved November 8 2017 Page Tim October 8 1986 Hal B Wallis Film Producer is Dead The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved March 28 2022 Classics On Line with Universal As Unit Has Sights on Separation Variety March 2 1983 p 8 MGM UA Par Universal Team To Market U S Products In China Variety June 3 1987 p 6 New Line Universal Pay TV Sign Cable Deal For Theatrical Pics Variety June 10 1987 p 46 Carver Benedict Dawtrey Adam February 10 1999 U to start int l distrib Variety Retrieved January 9 2022 Groves Don October 8 1999 Eyes to close UPI slate Variety Retrieved January 9 2022 Dawtrey Adam Petrikin Chris October 4 1999 A Universal appeal Variety Retrieved January 9 2022 Petrikin Chris October 15 1999 U Par extend UIP pact Variety Retrieved January 9 2022 Fabrikant Geraldine April 10 1995 The MCA Sale The Deal Seagram Puts the Finishing Touches on Its 5 7 Billion Acquisition of MCA The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved April 4 2019 Love Actually 2003 Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo New York Film Academy Los Angeles nyfa edu Ahrens Frank May 13 2004 GE Vivendi Give Rise To a Giant Washington Post ISSN 0190 8286 Retrieved March 28 2022 Andreeva Nellie October 5 2009 Two And A Half Men Cast s Holiday Gifts For The Show s Crew And Staff Deadline a b Goldstein Lindsay June 19 2014 Universal Partnerships amp Licensing to Expand to Consumer Products Covering NBC and Sprout The Wrap Retrieved June 27 2014 James Meg January 27 2011 GE completes its purchase of Vivendi s stake in NBC Universal Los Angeles Times Retrieved April 22 2013 Lafayette Jon January 29 2011 Comcast Competes Deal Multichannel News Retrieved May 21 2011 Lieberman David March 19 2013 Comcast Completes Acquisition Of GE s 49 Stake In NBCUniversal Deadline Retrieved June 9 2020 Fleming Mike Jr September 9 2013 Universal Shakeup Adam Fogelson Out Donna Langley Sideways Jeff Shell In And Ron Meyer Up As Studio Taken By Surprise Deadline Retrieved June 9 2020 Masters Kim December 13 2012 Why Studios Don t Pay to Make Movies Anymore The Hollywood Reporter p 4 Retrieved April 22 2013 Faughnder Ryan July 10 2013 Legendary Entertainment strikes five year deal with NBCUniversal Los Angeles Times Retrieved July 10 2013 Focus Revives Gramercy Pictures Label For Genre Films Deadline Hollywood May 20 2015 Retrieved May 20 2015 a b Lang Brent December 16 2015 Steven Spielberg Jeff Skoll Bring Amblin Partners to Universal Variety Retrieved December 23 2015 a b Busch Anita December 16 2015 It s Official Spielberg DreamWorks Participant eOne Others Pact For Amblin Partners Deadline com Retrieved December 23 2015 Rainey James February 17 2016 Universal and Perfect World Pictures of China Complete 500 Million Film Slate Deal Comcast s NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in 3 8 billion deal Los Angeles Times Retrieved April 28 2016 James Rainey August 23 2016 NBCUniversal Sets New DreamWorks Animation Chain of Command Variety Retrieved October 11 2016 a b Perry Spencer February 15 2017 Universal Studios Buys a Minority Stake in Amblin Partners Comingsoon net Retrieved February 20 2017 Matt Donnelly December 19 2019 Universal in Talks With Lego Group to Develop New Films Based on Toys Exclusive Variety Tartaglione Nancy June 9 2020 Duncan Clark To Exit Universal As President Of International Distribution Former WB Exec Veronika Kwan Vandenberg Will Take Over Role Deadline Retrieved June 9 2020 Fritz Ben December 16 2015 Steven Spielberg s DreamWorks Relaunches as Amblin Partners The Wall Street Journal ISSN 0099 9660 Retrieved April 4 2019 Nancy Tartaglione Minions Tops 1 Billion Worldwide Universal Sets Another Industry Record Deadline Deadline Universal All Time Box Office Results Box Office Mojo Retrieved April 9 2017 External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to Universal Studios Official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Universal Pictures amp oldid 1140614229, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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