The “Big Five” Film Studios & Their Acquisitions: A Hollywood Ownership Map

Lights, camera, oligopoly! While many of us may have stars in our eyes when we think of the film industry, a business-minded view of Hollywood shows a handful of companies with a lot of power continuously swallowing up their competitors. Individual film studios like DreamWorks or New Line Cinema have been consumed up by massive conglomerates like Warner Brothers or Universal. The Wyoming LLC Attorney film production company acquisitions list shows us how the last twenty years have been punctured by huge corporate upsets in the entertainment industry.

While some say more consolidation is on its way (a.k.a. “the Great Rebundling”), others argue that, due to more intense government scrutiny, the prospect of a “mega-merger” seems unlikely. But how did we even get to this point of so many studios being owned by so few companies? We’ve created a helpful timeline and a list of movie company acquisitions to show this rapid consolidation.

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First, let us introduce the major players. These are the top five film studios in America ranked by market share in US/CA in 2023:

1. Universal Pictures (21.77%)
2. Walt Disney Studios (21.26%)
3. Warner Brothers (15.73%)
4. Sony Pictures (11.26%)
5. Paramount Pictures (9.55%)

The “other” (20.43%) represents everyone else, including “mini-majors” such as A24 (an independent studio), Amazon MGM Studios (owned by Amazon), and Lionsgate.

Universal

What does Universal own?

Here is a quick list of companies universal pictures owns. First, let’s start with universal pictures’ main subsidiaries:

• Focus Features (Brokeback Mountain, London Has Fallen)
• Working Title Films (Les Miserables, Notting Hill, Bridget Jone’s Diary, Bean)
• Illumination (Despicable Me, Super Mario Bros. Movie)
• Dreamworks Animation (Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon)
• Amblin Partners (Jurassic Park, Men in Black, War of the Worlds, Ready Player One)
• Blumhouse Productions (Get Out, Halloween, The Purge, Insidious)
• Carnival Films (Firelight, Downton Abbey, Shadowlands)

And here are important entertainment properties owned by the parent company, NBC Universal.

• Peacock
• NBC News/CNBC/MSNBC
• Syfy
• E!
• Bravo
• Telemundo

Who owns Universal Pictures?

Or rather, does Disney own Universal Pictures, since they seem to own everything? No, Disney does not own Universal.

The Universal Pictures parent company is NBCUniversal, whose parent is the media conglomerate and telecommunications giant Comcast. The largest super-voter of Comcast Corporation is Brian L. Roberts, a low-profile American billionaire.

What are Universal’s most famous intellectual properties (IPs)?

Universal has a huge number of properties, but here are some of their highest-grossing franchises:

• Universal Monsters (Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy)
• Jurassic Park
• Fast & Furious Franchise
• Minions/Despicable Me
• Shrek
• Kung Fu Panda
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Disney

What does Disney own?

Or the question seems like, what don’t they own?

Here are the specific Disney subsidiaries of the conglomerate’s studios:

• Walt Disney Pictures (The Lion King, Frozen, Beauty and the Beast)
• Disneynature (Earth, Oceans)
• Marvel Studios (Avengers, Black Panther, Iron Man)
• Lucasfilm (Star Wars)
• 20^th Century Studios (Avatar, Ice Age, Independence Day)
• Searchlight Pictures (Slumdog Millionaire, Black Swan, The Full Monty, Juno)
• Walt Disney Animation Studios (Frozen, Zootopia, Moana, Big Hero 6)
• Pixar (Incredibles, Inside Out, Toy Story)

What else does Disney own, as a company?

• Hulu
• ESPN
• Disney+
• Star
• ABC
• 20^th Television
• FX Networks
• A&E Networks
• National Geographic
• Buena Vista Theatrical

What have been the top Disney mergers?

Out of all of the recent Disney acquisitions and mergers, the Fox merger was a shock. Does Disney own Fox? In 2017, the Walt Disney Company announced its merger with 21st Century Fox, which included FX, National Geographic, and 20th Century Fox film and television. It did not include Fox Broadcasting Company. (In other words, the deal was for Homer Simpson, not Tucker Carlson.) The deal totaled to be $71.3 billion. Later on, Disney also got its hands on the streaming service Hulu.

However, looking back, its wisest purchase may have been the middle of the recession: Marvel Entertainment, for $4.4 billion.

Are more mergers in the future? Will Disney own Warner Bros.? Who knows?

Who owns Disney?

Disney Pictures is owned by Disney Entertainment, which is in turn owned by The Walt Disney Company. The top shareholders are Christine M. McCarthy, Robert A. Iger, and Safra A. Catz, all of whom have served on the board of directors.

What are Walt Disney Studios’ most famous intellectual properties currently?

• Mickey Mouse and Friends
• Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU)
• Winnie the Pooh
• Star Wars
• Disney Princesses
• The Muppets
• Ice Age
• Avatar

Paramount

What companies does paramount own?

These are the top Paramount subsidiaries

• Nickelodeon Movies (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Last Airbender, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water)
• BET Films (Nobody’s Fool, Beyond the Lights)
• Paramount Animation (Wonder Park, The Little Prince)

And these powerhouses are also owned by the parent company, Paramount Global:

• CBS News
• Nickelodeon
• Paramount+
• Pluto TV
• CW Television Network
• BET
• VH1

Who owns Paramount?

Paramount Pictures is owned by Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS Inc.), which is in turn owned by National Amusements Inc., a privately owned movie theater and mass media holding company. This parent is owned by Shari Redstone, one of America’s most influential people.

As of yet, Disney has not made a bid for Paramount Pictures.

What does Paramount own in terms of IPs?

• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Dora the Explorer
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Star Trek
• Mission: Impossible
• Titanic
• Indiana Jones

Warner Brothers

What companies does Warner Bros. own?

Warner Bros. Picture Group has the following subsidiaries.

• Warner Bros. Pictures (Barbie, Harry Potter)
• New Line Cinema (Lord of the Rings, It, Sex and the City)
• Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (The Lego Movie, Smallfoot, Storks)
• Castle Rock Entertainment (The Polar Express, The Green Mile, A Few Good Men)
• Flagship Entertainment Group

Warner Bros. Discovery, which is a massive media conglomerate, owns quite a bit more. Here are some important highlights:

• CNN
• Fandango
• Discovery
• Cartoon Network Studios
• Home Box Office, Inc (HBO)
• Cinemax
• Opray Winfrey Network
• HGTV
• Food Network
• TLC
• TNT Sports
• Rocksteady Studios

Who owns Warner Brothers?

Warner Bros. Pictures is owned by Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, which is in turn owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The largest voter (8%) is owner Advance Publications, Inc., the privately-owned mass media company. Advance Publications, Inc. is owned by Donald Newhouse, whose estimated net worth is $11 billion.

What are some famous Warner Brothers intellectual properties?

• Harry Potter
• Looney Tunes
• DC Entertainment (Batman, Superman, etc.)
• Scooby-Doo
• The Big Bang Theory
• Ben 10
• Mortal Kombat

Sony Pictures

What does Sony own?

Sony Pictures Motion Picture group includes the following subsidiaries:

• Columbia Pictures (Spider-Man, Jumanji, Skyfall, Ghostbusters)
• TriStar Pictures (Terminator, Godzilla, Basic Instinct)
• Screen Gems (Resident Evil)
• Sony Pictures Animation/Sony Pictures Imageworks (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Hotel Transylvania, The Smurfs)
• Sony Pictures Classics (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Midnight in Paris, Capote)
• 3000 Pictures (Where the Crawdads Sing)
• Destination Films (Eye of the Beholder)
• Stage 6 Films (The Garfield Movie, Insidious)
• Affirm Films (War Room, Miracles from Heaven)

Sony Entertainment, the parent company, also owns a great many entertainment companies, including the following:

• RCA Records
• Columbia Records
• Crunchyroll
• Kartoon Studios
• Baby Genius
• Jeopardy Productions
• Bad Wolf
• EMI Music Publishing
• PlayStation Studios

Who owns Sony Pictures?

Sony Pictures is owned by Sony Entertainment, which is owned by Sony Group Corporation. The largest shareholder is The Master Trust Bank of Japan, which is – ultimately – owned by Mitsubishi Group.

Does Disney own Sony Pictures? The answer is no – this confusion arose due to negotiation and difficulty relating to the Spider-Man copyright issues.

What are their famous intellectual properties?

• Peanuts
• Seinfeld
• Jumanji
• Ghostbusters
• Men in Black
• Spider-Man

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Universal Pictures Mergers and Acquisitions

Parent Company: NBCUniversal (Comcast)

Percent of US/CA Market Share in 2023: 21.77%

Paramount Pictures Mergers and Acquisitions

Parent Company: Paramount Global

Percent of US/CA Market Share in 2023: 9.55%

Warner Bros. Pictures Mergers and Acquisitions

Parent Company: Warner Bros. Discovery

Percent of US/CA Market Share in 2023: 15.73%

Walt Disney Studios Mergers and Acquisitions

Parent Company: The Walt Disney Company

Percent of US/CA Market Share in 2023: 21.26%

Sony Pictures Mergers and Acquisitions

Parent Company: Sony Group Corporation

Percent of US/CA Market Share in 2023: 11.26%