Major film studios

Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command 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 to 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 Five majors – Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, Walt Disney Pictures and Columbia Pictures – routinely distribute hundreds of films every year into all significant international markets (that is, where discretionary income is high enough for consumers to afford to watch films). It is "nearly impossible" for a film to reach a broad international theatrical audience without being first picked up by one of the majors for distribution.

Overview
The "Big Five" majors are all film studios active since Hollywood's Golden Age. Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. were two members of the original "Big Five", but two of them, Universal Pictures and Columbia Pictures, were part of the "Little Three" in the next tier down. Walt Disney Productions was an independent production company during the Golden Age, then became a mini-major in the 1950s, and then became a major in the mid-1980s. United Artists was the other member of the "Little Three", a distribution company for several independent producers which later began producing films, grew to major status, and was then acquired by MGM. Columbia produced and distributed films, was later bought by Sony along with Tri-Star Pictures, and later became part of the company Sony Pictures Entertainment, with Sony joining the "Big Five", 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., Universal, Disney, and Paramount, to comprise the "Big Six" film studios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, RKO, and 20th Century Fox were the other three "Big Five" majors, that exist today only as a mini-major, a small independent company, and a subsidiary of Disney that brought the "Big Six" studios to an end, respectively.

While the main studios of the Big Five are located within 15 miles (24 km) of each other, Disney is the only studio that has been owned by the same conglomerate since its founding and was also the sole member whose parent entity is still located near Los Angeles on Disney's studio lot and in the same building, until 2019, when the company acquired 20th Century Fox. Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and Columbia were previously owned by many different companies and now report to conglomerates that are respectively located elsewhere in Dallas (AT&T), New York City (ViacomCBS), Philadelphia (Comcast), and Tokyo (Sony); moreover, Disney, Columbia, and Sony are the only ones whose parent companies are still headquartered near the Pacific Ocean. Paramount is the only member of the Big Five still based in Hollywood and the only one still located entirely within the official city limits of the City of Los Angeles. Both Disney and Warner Bros. are located in Burbank, Columbia is in Culver City, and Universal is mostly in the unincorporated area of Universal City (although a parking lot and entrance gate in its northeast corner lie within Los Angeles city limits).

Most of today's Big Five also control subsidiaries with their own distribution networks that concentrate on arthouse pictures (e.g. Universal's Focus Features) or genre films (e.g. Sony's Screen Gems); several of these specialty units were shut down or sold off between 2008 and 2010. The five major studios are contrasted with smaller production and/or distribution companies, which are known as independents or "indies". The leading independent producer/distributors such as Lionsgate and STX Entertainment are sometimes referred to as "mini-majors". From 1998 through 2005, DreamWorks SKG commanded a large enough market share to arguably qualify it as a seventh major, despite its relatively small output. In 2006, DreamWorks was acquired by Viacom, Paramount's corporate parent. In late 2008, DreamWorks once again became an independent production company; its films were distributed by Disney's Touchstone Pictures until 2016, at which point distribution switched to Universal.

The Big Five major studios are today primarily backers and distributors of films whose actual production is largely handled by independent companies – either long-running entities or ones created for and dedicated to the making of a specific film. The specialty divisions often simply acquire distribution rights to pictures in which the studio has had no prior involvement. While the majors still do a modicum of true production, their activities are focused more in the areas of development, financing, marketing, and merchandising. Those business functions are still usually performed in or near Los Angeles, even though the runaway production phenomenon means that most films are now mostly or completely shot on location at places outside Los Angeles.

The Big Five major studios are also members of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).