Universal Pictures

Universal City Studios LLC

Logo used since 2012
Trade name	Universal Pictures
Formerly	List Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1912–1923) Universal Pictures Corporation (1923–1936) Universal Productions, Inc. (1936–1937) Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1937–1963) Universal Pictures, Inc. (1963–1964) Universal City Studios, Inc. (1964–1996) Universal Studios Inc. (1996–2014)
Company type	Division
Industry	Film
Predecessor	Independent Moving Pictures
Founded	April 30, 1912; 111 years ago (1912-04-30)
Founders	Carl Laemmle Pat Powers David Horsley Charles Baumann Jules Brulatour
Headquarters	10 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California , U.S.
Number of locations	3
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Donna Langley (Chairwoman, Universal Filmed Entertainment Group) Peter Cramer (president)
Products	Motion pictures
Revenue	US$11.622 billion (2022)
Parent	Universal Studios
Divisions	Focus Features Illumination Universal Animation Studios Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Subsidiaries	Amblin Partners (minority) Carnival Films DreamWorks Animation) NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan OTL Releasing Rede Telecine (12.5%) United International Pictures (50%) Working Title Films
Website	universalpictures.com universalstudios.com
Footnotes / references [1][2][3]

Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (informally as Universal Studios or also known simply as Universal) is an American film production and distribution company, a division of Universal Studios, which is owned by NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast.

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 second oldest with Paramount pictures, the fifth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé, Titanus and Nordisk Film; and the oldest major film studio in scope of the cinema of the United States, best known as "Hollywood", in terms of the overall film market.

The most commercially successful film series from Universal include Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park, and Despicable Me. Additionally, the studio's library includes many individual films such as Jaws and E.T. the Extraterrestrial, both of which became the highest-grossing films of all time during their initial releases. Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and was one of the "Little Three" majors during Hollywood's golden age.^[4]

Evolution of Comcast NBCUniversal

1912	Universal Pictures is founded
1926	NBC is founded
1928	Universal Cartoon Studios (later known as Universal Animation Studios) is founded
1943	MCA Inc. establishes Revue Studios (later Universal Television)
1953	NBC begins first compatible color broadcasts, preceding other networks by nine years
1956	NBC's first peacock logo debuts
1963	American Cable Systems is founded
1964	Universal Studios Hollywood opens
1967	NBC broadcasts the first Super Bowl
1968	American Cable Systems rebrands to Comcast
1972	Comcast began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
1975	Universal releases Jaws
1980	PolyGram renames Casablanca Record & Filmworks to PolyGram Pictures
1982	Universal releases E.T. The Extra Terrestrial
1984	Walter Lantz Productions is sold to Universal
1985	Universal releases Back to the Future
1986	General Electric buys RCA for $6.4 billion, including NBC and a stake in A&E
1989	NBC relaunches Tempo Television as CNBC
1990	Universal Studios Florida opens Law & Order premieres on NBC Sky Television and British Satellite Broadcasting merge to form British Sky Broadcasting Universal Cartoon Studios (later Universal Animation Studios) is established
1993	Universal releases Jurassic Park
1994	DreamWorks Animation is founded
1996	NBC and Microsoft launch MSNBC
1997	Barry Diller purchases Universal's domestic television assets
1998	Seagram acquires PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Universal Television is renamed Studios USA Television
1999	PolyGram Filmed Entertainment is folded into Universal Pictures Universal Studios Florida expands to become Universal Orlando Resort
2001	Grand opening of Universal Studios Japan Universal releases The Fast and the Furious Vivendi purchases Studios USA
2002	NBC acquires Telemundo and Bravo Studios USA assets are folded into Universal Focus Features is formed Comcast acquires AT&T Broadband for $44.5 billion
2003	Universal becomes the first studio with five summer releases breaking the $100 million mark
2004	GE and Vivendi merge NBC and Universal into NBCUniversal
2005	The Office premieres on NBC Comcast sets up a joint-venture with PBS, Sesame Workshop & HIT Entertainment to form PBS Kids Sprout Comcast & Time Warner Cable jointly acquire Adelphia Cable assets for $17.6 billion
2006	USA Network begins 13-year streak as #1 cable network in total viewers
2007	Illumination is founded
2010	Universal releases Illumination's first film Despicable Me
2011	Vivendi divested in NBCU; Comcast buys 51% of NBCU from GE, turning it into a limited liability company NBCUniversal Archives is founded
2012	Universal celebrates its 100th anniversary NBCUniversal divests its A&E Networks minority stake
2013	Comcast buys GE's remaining 49% of NBCU Comcast/NBCU assumes full ownership of Sprout
2014	Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable for $45.2 billion NBCUniversal reaches a new long-term deal with WWE
2016	NBCU acquires DreamWorks Animation
2017	Sprout relaunches as Universal Kids
2018	Comcast acquires Sky after a heated bidding war with 21st Century Fox
2019	NBCU acquires Cineo Lighting
2020	NBCU launches Peacock
2021	Grand opening of Universal Beijing Resort
2023	The Super Mario Bros. Movie becomes Illumination's highest-grossing film
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