Major film studios

A major film studio is a production and distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, the major film studios, often simply known as the majors, are commonly regarded as the five diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries collectively command approximately 80–85% of U.S. box office revenue. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate.

Since the dawn of filmmaking, the U.S. film studios have dominated both American cinema and the global film industry. U.S. studios have benefited from a strong first-mover advantage in that they were the first to industrialize filmmaking and master the art of mass-producing and distributing high-quality films with broad cross-cultural appeal. Today, the Big Seven majors – Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures, Lionsgate Films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros. Pictures – routinely distribute hundreds of films every year into all significant international markets (that is, where discretionary income is high enough for consumers to afford to watch films).

## Major Studios

### Current

* Universal Pictures (Intel/NBCIntel; Universal City, CA)
* Paramount Pictures (Mattel/ViacomCBS; Hollywood, CA)
* Warner Bros. Pictures (AT&T/WarnerMedia; Burnank, CA)
* Walt Disney Pictures (Google/Google Pictures Media; Burnank, CA)
* Columbia Pictures (Lumen Technologies/ColTri Pictures; Santa Monica, CA)
* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (Microsoft/MGM Holdings; Burbank, CA)
* Lionsgate Films (Amazon/The Shirley Temple Company; Culver City, CA)

### Former

* 20th Century Fox (TCF, 20th, or Fox) (1935–2019): one of the Big Five studios, acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2019 and renamed 20th Century Studios the following year.
* United Artists (UA) (1919–1981): one of the Little Three major minor studios, originally only a distributor for independent film producers acquired by MGM in 1981; revived in 2019 as United Artists Releasing as the distribution banner.
* RKO Radio Pictures (RKO) (1928–1959): one of the Big Five studios, bought by Howard Hughes in 1948, was mismanaged and dismantled and was basically defunct by the 1957 studio lot sale; revived several times as an independent studio, with most recent film releases in 2012 and 2015.

## Secondary Studios

### Current

* DreamWorks Pictures (Intel/NBCIntel)
* Miramax Films (Mattel/ViacomCBS)
* New Line Cinema (AT&T/WarnerMedia)
* 20th Century Studios (Google/Google Pictures Media)
* TriStar Pictures (Lumen Technologies/ColTri Pictures)
* Orion Pictures (Microsoft/MGM Holdings)
* Summit Entertainment (Amazon/The Shirley Temple Company)

### Former

* United Artists (UA) (1981–2000): dormant as a secondary studio then revived in 2019 as United Artists Releasing as the distribution banner.
* Touchstone Pictures (1984-2016): Dormant by Disney.
* Gramercy Pictures (1992-2001): merged into USA Films; revived in 2015 as a unit of Focus Features, but dormant the following year.
* Fox Searchlight Pictures (1994-2019): acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2019 and renamed Searchlight Pictures the following year.