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{{Short description|American film and distribution company}}
{{Pp-protected|small=yes}}
{{Use American English|date=April 2023}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{About|the film production company|the media conglomerate that owns this company|Universal Filmed Entertainment Group}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Universal City Studios LLC<!--DO NOT REMOVE THIS, THIS IS UNIVERSAL'S OFFICIAL LEGAL NAME -->
| logo = [[File:Universal_Pictures_logo.svg|frameless|class=skin-invert|240px]]
| logo_caption = Logo used since 2021{{efn|Current logo used since 2013. Originally designed by [[Wētā FX]], the modified version was designed by Brian Jackson.}}
| trade_name = Universal Pictures
| former_name = {{collapsible list|bullets=yes
| Universal Film Manufacturing Company (1912–1923)
| Universal Pictures Corporation (1923–1936)
| Universal Productions, Inc. (1936–1937)
| Universal Pictures Company, Inc. (1937–1947)
| Universal-International (1946–1963)
| Universal City Studios, Inc. (1963–1996)
}}
| predecessor = [[Independent Moving Pictures]]
| type = [[Division (business)|Division]]
| industry = [[Film]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1912|4|30}}
| founders = {{unbulleted list|[[Carl Laemmle]]|[[Pat Powers (producer)|Pat Powers]]|[[David Horsley]]|William Swanson|Mark Dintenfass|[[Charles O. Baumann|Charles Baumann]]|Robert H. Cochrane|Adam Kessel|[[Jules Brulatour]]}}
| hq_location = [[10 Universal City Plaza]]
| hq_location_city = [[Universal City, California]]
| hq_location_country = U.S.
| num_locations = 3
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{Unbulleted list|[[Donna Langley]] ([[chairperson|chairwoman]], Universal Filmed Entertainment Group)<br />Peter Cramer ([[President (corporate title)|president]])}}
| products = [[Motion pictures]]
| revenue = {{increase}} US$11.622 billion
| revenue_year = 2022
| owner = <!-- Do not use the owner field to indicate top-level ownership if it differs from the direct parent.-->
| parent = {{Unbulleted list|[[MCA Inc.]] (1962–1996)|[[Universal Filmed Entertainment Group]] (1996–present)}}
| divisions = {{Unbulleted list|[[Focus Features]]|[[Illumination (company)|Illumination]]|[[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment]]}}
| subsid = {{Unbulleted list|[[Amblin Partners]] (20%)|[[DreamWorks Animation]]|[[NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan]]||[[United International Pictures]] (50%)|[[Working Title Films]]}}
| website = {{Ubl
| {{URL|https://universalpictures.com}}
}}
| footnotes = <ref name="NBCU">{{cite web |url=https://www.cmcsa.com/static-files/564f8423-ccdf-45d7-b2c7-8e31212b04d3 |title=Comcast Reports 4Th Quarter And Full Year 2022 Results |website=cmcsa.com |publisher=Comcast |access-date=April 8, 2023 |format=PDF |pages=4 |language=en |date=January 26, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nbcuniversal.com/contact-us|title=Contact Us|publisher=NBCUniversal|access-date=August 31, 2017|archive-date=September 3, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903185619/http://www.nbcuniversal.com/contact-us|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="variety.com">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/news/brad-weston-makeready-universal-eone-1202430326 |title= Brad Weston Launches Production Company With Backing From Universal, eOne|website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date= May 17, 2017}}</ref>
}}

'''Universal City Studios LLC''', [[doing business as]] '''Universal Pictures''' (also known as '''Universal Studios''' or simply '''Universal'''), is an American [[filmmaking|film production]] and [[film distribution|distribution]] company headquartered at the [[10 Universal City Plaza|Universal Studios complex]] in [[Universal City, California]]. It serves as the flagship studio of [[Universal Filmed Entertainment Group]], the [[film studio]] arm of [[NBCUniversal]], which is a subsidiary of [[Comcast]].

Founded on April 30, 1912 by [[Carl Laemmle]], [[Mark Dintenfass]], [[Charles O. Baumann]], [[Adam Kessel]], [[Pat Powers (producer)|Pat Powers]], William Swanson, [[David Horsley]], Robert H. Cochrane, and [[Jules Brulatour]], Universal is the oldest surviving film studio in the [[United States]] and the fifth oldest globally after [[Gaumont Film Company|Gaumont]], [[Pathé]], [[Titanus]] and [[Nordisk Film]], and is one of the [[Major film studios|"Big Five" film studios]]. [[Woody Woodpecker]], a character created by [[Walter Lantz]], serves as the company's mascot.

Universal's most commercially successful film franchises include ''[[Fast & Furious]], [[Jurassic Park (franchise)|Jurassic Park]]'', and ''[[Despicable Me]]''. Additionally, the studio's library includes many individual films such as ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' and ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'', both of which became the [[List of highest-grossing films|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 [[Classical Hollywood cinema|Hollywood's golden age]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mpaa.org/our-story |title=Our Story|publisher=MPAA}}</ref> It is currently one of eight film studios of the [[Universal Filmed Entertainment Group]], alongside [[Focus Features]], a 20% stake in [[Amblin Partners]], a 50% stake in [[United International Pictures]], [[Working Title Films]], [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]], and [[DreamWorks Animation]].

==History==
{{more citations needed|section|date=June 2020}}
===Early years===
{{multiple image
<!-- Essential parameters -->
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<!-- Image 1 -->
| image1    = CarlLaemmle.jpg
| alt1      =
| caption1  = [[Carl Laemmle]] (1867–1939)
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| image2    =Mark Dintenfass 001.jpg
| alt2      =
| caption2  = Mark Dintenfass (1872–1933), co-founder of Universal
}}
Universal was founded by [[Carl Laemmle]], Mark Dintenfass, [[Charles O Baumann|Charles O. Baumann]], Adam Kessel, [[Pat Powers (producer)|Pat Powers]], William Swanson, [[David Horsley]], Robert H. Cochrane{{efn|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.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cochrane |first=Robert H. |date=2007 |title=Beginning of motion picture press agenting |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/login?auth=0&type=summary&url=/journals/film_history/v019/19.3cochrane.html |journal=Film History: An International Journal |publisher=Indiana University Press |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=330–332 |doi= 10.2979/fil.2007.19.3.330|s2cid=191585832 |access-date=January 7, 2016|url-access=subscription }}</ref>}} 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 [[Nickelodeon (movie theater)|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]]{{dubious|date=February 2025}}<!-- a rival patent, according to [[Motion Picture Patents Company]] --> 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<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reeder |first=Thomas |title=Time is money! : the Century, Rainbow, and Stern Brothers comedies of Julius and Abe Stern |date=2021 |isbn=978-1-62933-798-2 |location=Orlando, Florida |oclc=1273678339}}</ref> [[Abe Stern]] and [[Julius Stern (producer)|Julius Stern]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vander Hook |first1=Sue |url=https://archive.org/details/stevenspielbergg0000vand |url-access=registration |title=Steven Spielberg: Groundbreaking Director |publisher=ABDO Publishing Company |year=2010 |page=[https://archive.org/details/stevenspielbergg0000vand/page/35 35] |isbn=978-1617852527 |access-date=April 12, 2018 }}</ref> That company quickly evolved into the [[Independent Moving Pictures|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.<ref>{{citation   | last = Rose   | first = Liza   | title = 100 years ago, Fort Lee was the first town to bask in movie magic   | newspaper = The Star-Ledger   | date = April 29, 2012 | url = http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012/04/100_years_ago_fort_lee_was_the.html   | access-date = November 11, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation   | last = Koszarski   | first = Richard      | title = Fort Lee: The Film Town   | place = Rome, Italy   | publisher = John Libbey Publishing -CIC srl    | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=5w0r8YKan04C    | isbn=  0-86196-653-8    | year = 2004      }}</ref><ref>{{cite web   | title = Studios and Films   | publisher = Fort Lee Film Commission   | url = http://www.fortleefilm.org/studios.html   | access-date = May 30, 2011 | archive-date = April 25, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110425014840/http://www.fortleefilm.org/studios.html   | url-status = dead   }}</ref><ref>{{Citation   | last = Fort Lee Film Commission   | title = Fort Lee Birthplace of the Motion Picture Industry   | publisher = Arcadia Publishing   | year = 2006   | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=ViR3b72xkK0C   | isbn = 0-7385-4501-5   }}</ref> Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give [[billing (filmmaking)|billing]] and [[motion picture credits|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 (filmmaking)|star system]]. In 1910, he promoted [[Florence Lawrence]], formerly known as "[[Biograph Girl|The Biograph Girl]]",<ref>{{Cite web |title=Florence Lawrence |url=http://www.cemeteryguide.com/lawrence.html |access-date=March 28, 2022 |website=www.cemeteryguide.com}}</ref> and actor [[King Baggot]], in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing.

[[File:Ivanhoe-Baggot-1913-Poster.jpg|right|thumb|Poster for ''[[Ivanhoe (1913 U.S. film)|Ivanhoe]]'' (1913)]]
The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was incorporated in New York City on April 30, 1912.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://universal.filmmakersdestination.com/about-us/ |title=About Us: Universal Studios History |website=The Filmmakers Destination |publisher=[[NBCUniversal]] |access-date=February 12, 2016 |archive-date=February 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160214234227/http://universal.filmmakersdestination.com/about-us/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85138017.html|title=LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)|website=The Library of Congress}}</ref> Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new Universal studio was a [[Vertical integration|vertically integrated company]], with movie production, distribution, and exhibition venues{{contradict inline|date=February 2025}} all linked in the same corporate entity, the central element of the [[Studio system]] era.

[[File:Universal Moving Pictures Trademark Registration Certificate Sep 12 1916.jpg | thumb | left | Trademark for Universal Moving Pictures, September 12, 1916|class=skin-invert-image]]
[[File:A Great Love - Clifford S. Elfelt - 1916, Universal Big U - EYE FLM25830 - OB 685649.webm|thumb|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. 

{{anchor|Universal Weekly}}
''Universal Weekly'' and ''Moving Picture Weekly''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hoyt |first=Eric |date=2015 |title=Early Cinema – Moving Picture Weekly |url=https://mediahistoryproject.org/collections/earlycinema/#moving-picture-weekly |access-date=November 23, 2022 |website=Lantern Media History Project, [[Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research]]}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hoyt |first=Eric |url=https://luminosoa.org/site/books/m/10.1525/luminos.122/ |title=Ink-Stained Hollywood: The Triumph of American Cinema's Trade Press |date=March 22, 2022 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-38369-2 |doi=10.1525/luminos.122|s2cid=246343126 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />[[File:The Universal Program 02.png|thumb|class=skin-invert-image|Universal advertisement touting the benefit of the studio's short films to theater operators<ref>{{cite magazine|title=The Universal Program|url=https://archive.org/details/motionpicturenew133unse/page/2704/mode/1up
|magazine=Motion Picture News|publisher=Motion Picture News, inc|date=May 6, 1916|page=2704|access-date=February 7, 2021}}</ref>]]

[[File:Universal Pictures film sets photographed 1915.jpg|thumb|Universal Pictures film sets photographed 1915]]
On March 15, 1915,<ref name="Universal Story"/>{{Rp|8}} Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, [[Universal Studios Hollywood|Universal City Studios]], on a 230-acre (0.9-km<sup>2</sup>) converted farm just over the [[Cahuenga Pass]] from Hollywood.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Universal Studios Lot {{!}} Universal Studios |url=https://www.universalstudioslot.com/about-us |access-date=March 28, 2022 |website=Universal Studios Lot}}</ref> 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 [[melodrama]]s, [[western (genre)|westerns]], and [[serial film|serials]].

In 1916, [[#Early years|Universal]] formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Unlike the top-tier studios, Universal did not own any theaters{{contradict inline|date=February 2025}} 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:<ref name="Zmuda2015">{{cite book|author=Michael Zmuda|title=The Five Sedgwicks: Pioneer Entertainers of Vaudeville, Film and Television|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u1piCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA54|date=April 30, 2015|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-9668-6|pages=54–}}</ref><ref>[[B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)#Roots of the B movie: 1910s–1920s]]</ref>

* 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 of "Jewel" films included [[Jack Conway (filmmaker)|Jack Conway]], [[John Ford]], [[Rex Ingram (director)|Rex Ingram]], [[Robert Z. Leonard]], [[George Marshall (director)|George Marshall]], and [[Lois Weber]], one of the few women directing films in Hollywood.<ref name="Universal Story">{{cite book |last=Hirschhorn |first=Clive |author-link=Clive Hirschhorn |date=1985 |orig-year=1983 |title=The Universal Story |location=New York |publisher=Crown Publishers  |isbn=0-7064-1873-5}}</ref>{{Rp|13}}

Starting in the mid-1920s, Universal branded its most expensive and heavily promoted feature films as "Super-Jewel" productions. These included films such as [[Erich von Stroheim]]'s ''[[Foolish Wives]]'' (1922), [[Clarence Brown]]'s ''[[The Acquittal]]'' (1923), [[Hobart Henley]]'s ''[[A Lady of Quality (1924 film)|A Lady of Quality]]'' (1924), [[Harry A. Pollard]]'s ''[[Uncle Tom's Cabin (1927 film)|Uncle Tom's Cabin]]'' (1927), and [[Edward Sloman]]'s ''[[Surrender (1927 film)|Surrender]]'' (1927).

Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals [[Adolph Zukor]], [[William Fox (producer)|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 Sr.|Lon Chaney]] became a drawing card for Universal in the mid-1910s, appearing steadily in dramas. However, Chaney left Universal in 1917 because of a salary dispute, and his two biggest hits for Universal were made as isolated returns to the studio: ''[[The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923 film)|The Hunchback of Notre Dame]]'' (1923) and ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1925 film)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' (1925).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Opam |first=Kwame |date=June 6, 2017 |title=Universal is adding The Phantom of the Opera and The Hunchback of Notre Dame to its cinematic universe |url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/6/15746148/universal-dark-universe-phantom-of-the-opera-hunchback-of-notre-dame |access-date=March 28, 2022 |website=The Verge |language=en}}</ref>

During the early 1920s Laemmle entrusted most of Universal's 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 in 1919, Thalberg made distinct improvements of quality and prestige in Universal's output in addition to dealing with star director [[Erich von Stroheim]]'s increasing inability to control the expense and length of his films, eventually firing Stroheim on October 6, 1922, six weeks into the production of ''[[Merry-Go-Round (1923 film)|Merry-Go-Round]]'' (1923) and replacing him with [[Rupert Julian]]. [[Louis B. Mayer]] lured Thalberg away from Universal in late 1922 to his own growing studio, [[Louis B. Mayer Productions]], as vice-president in charge of production, and when [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] was formed in 1924 Thalberg continued in the same position for the new company. Without Thalberg's guidance, Universal became a second-tier studio and would remain so for several decades. 
[[File:Universal Pictures Comedy Short Ad - Dec 6 1924 UW.jpg|thumb|Advertisement for comedy short films with [[Arthur Lake (actor)|Arthur Lake]] and [[Olive Hasbrouck]]]]
[[File:Deutsche Universal-Film AG 1930.jpg|thumb|Share of the Deutsche Universal-Film AG, issued March 4, 1930]]
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.<ref>Leonard Leff and Jerold Simmons ''The Dame in the Kimono'', 1990 (original edition)</ref>

===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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/movingpicturewor85marm/page/n123|title=Universal Announces Release Of "Oscar, the Rabbit" Cartoons|publisher=[[Moving Picture World]]|date=March 12, 1927|access-date=August 23, 2019}}</ref> [[Walt Disney]] and [[Ub Iwerks]] created the character and the [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/stream/motionnew37moti#page/n579/|title=Universal Signs for 3 More Years of Oswald|publisher=[[Motion Picture News]]|date=February 18, 1928|access-date=August 23, 2019}}</ref> 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]], which would later result in the creation of [[Woody Woodpecker]] in 1940.

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 [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] sportscaster [[Al Michaels]] from his contract so he could work on NBC's recently acquired [[NBC Sunday Night Football|Sunday night NFL football package]]. Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons.

===Keeping leadership of the studio in the family===
[[File:Bela Lugosi as Dracula.jpg|thumb|right|[[Bela Lugosi]] in ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' (1931)]]
[[File:Frankenstein's monster (Boris Karloff).jpg|left|thumb|160px|[[Boris Karloff]] in ''[[Bride of Frankenstein]]'' (1935)]]
In 1928, Laemmle Sr. made his son, [[Carl Laemmle Jr.|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 film)|Show Boat]]'' (1929), the lavish musical ''[[Broadway (1929 film)|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 film)|All Quiet on the Western Front]]'' (1930) won its year's [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]] [[Academy Award|Oscar]].

Laemmle Jr. created a niche for the studio, beginning a series of [[horror film]]s which extended into the 1940s, affectionately dubbed [[Universal horror]]. Among them are ''[[Dracula (1931 English-language film)|Dracula]]'' (1931), ''[[Frankenstein (1931 film)|Frankenstein]]'' (1931), ''[[The Mummy (1932 film)|The Mummy]]'' (1932) and ''[[The Invisible Man (1933 film)|The Invisible Man]]'' (1933). Other Laemmle productions of this period include [[Tay Garnett]]'s ''[[Destination Unknown (1933 film)|Destination Unknown]]'' (1933), [[John M. Stahl]]'s ''[[Imitation of Life (1934 film)|Imitation of Life]]'' (1934) and William Wyler's ''[[The Good Fairy (1935 film)|The Good Fairy]]''  (1935).

===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 film)|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 (finance)|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, with studio advertisements referring to "the new Universal". 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 [[John Cheever Cowdin|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.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 15, 1936|title=Linked to British Company|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1936/03/15/archives/linked-to-british-company.html|access-date=May 26, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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.

[[File:Destry-Rides-Again-1939.jpg|thumb|right|[[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 Pictures|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: [[Little Tough Guys|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 (actor)|Bob Baker]] (1938–39), [[Johnny Mack Brown]] (1938–43); [[Rod Cameron (actor)|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 (1939 film series)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with [[Gloria Jean]], [[Donald O'Connor]], and [[Peggy Ryan]] (1942–43), and screen [[Film adaptation|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 (film)|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 film)|Arabian Nights]]'' (1942), starring [[Jon Hall (actor)|Jon Hall]] and [[Maria Montez]]. Technicolor was also used for the studio's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, ''[[Phantom of the Opera (1943 film)|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===
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.<ref>{{cite web|title=International Pictures and the merger with Universal Pictures|url=http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/international_universal.htm|website=cobbles.com|access-date=November 8, 2017}}</ref> [[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 (Hollywood Golden Age)#Bs from major to minor: 1940s|B movie]]s, [[serial (film)|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.<ref>{{cite web|title=Universal-International and the Early MCA Years|url=http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Romantic-Comedy-Yugoslavia/Universal-UNIVERSAL-INTERNATIONAL-ANDTHE-EARLY-MCA-YEARS.html|website=Film Reference|access-date=November 8, 2017}}</ref> Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc.

[[File:Universal International Studio 1955.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=2|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 film)|Great Expectations]]'' (1946) and [[Laurence Olivier]]'s ''[[Hamlet (1948 film)|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 film)|The Killers]]'' (1946) and ''[[The Naked City]]'' (1948), both produced by [[Mark Hellinger]], 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 (film)|Ma and Pa Kettle]]'' (1949), a spin-off of the studio's 1947 hit ''[[The Egg and I (film)|The Egg and I]]'' and the inexpensive ''[[Francis (1950 film)|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 (director)|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 (actor)|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 [[Music Corporation of America|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===
[[File:2004-04-04 - 10 - Universal Studios.jpg|thumb|200px|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 film)|Going Places]]'', 1974), and [[Fred Zinnemann]]'s ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|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.

In 1954, the studio loaned out television syndication rights to the black-and-white cartoons produced by [[Walter Lantz Productions]] to Motion Pictures for Television (later absorbed into Guild Films).<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 15, 1954 |title=Film Sales |url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Business/Magazines/Archive-BC-IDX/54-OCR/1954-11-15-BC-OCR-Page-0062.pdf |access-date=August 14, 2025 |work=[[Broadcasting & Cable|Broadcasting]] |pages=62}}</ref> In 1957, Universal-International secured a deal with [[Screen Gems]], a television subsidiary of [[Columbia Pictures|Columbia Pictures Corporation]] to license 600 of its pre-1948 sound films for $20 million.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1957-08-05 |title=Universal Pictures Signs 20 Million Deal With Columbia Affiliate for TV Rights (Published 1957) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/08/05/archives/universal-pictures-signs-20-million-deal-with-columbia-affiliate.html |access-date=2025-08-14 |language=en}}</ref>

By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was again changing. The combination of the studio/theater-chain breakup and the rise of television saw the reduced audience size for cinema productions. The [[MCA Inc.|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&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) studio lot to MCA in 1958 for $11&nbsp;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. As a final gesture before leaving the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1963, MCA formed '''Universal City Studios, Inc'''., merging the motion pictures and television arms of the formerly Universal Pictures Company and Revue Studios (which was officially renamed as [[Universal Television]]). 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|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; [[#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 (1975 TV series)|One Day at a Time]]'', ''[[The Jeffersons]]'', ''[[The Facts of Life (TV series)|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 film)|Mary, Queen of Scots]]'' (1971).<ref>{{Cite news |last=Page |first=Tim |date=October 8, 1986 |title=Hal B. Wallis, Film Producer, is Dead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/08/obituaries/hal-b-wallis-film-producer-is-dead.html |access-date=March 28, 2022 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Although neither could claim to be a big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and ''Anne'' was nominated for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] ([[Richard Burton]]), [[Academy Award for Best Actress|Best Actress]] ([[Geneviève Bujold]]), and [[Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor|Best Supporting Actor]] ([[Anthony Quayle]]). Wallis retired from Universal after making the film ''[[Rooster Cogburn (film)|Rooster Cogburn]]'' (1975), a sequel to ''[[True Grit (1969 film)|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.<ref>{{Cite news|date=March 2, 1983|title=Classics "On Line" with Universal As Unit Has Sights on Separation|page=8|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref> In 1987, Universal Pictures, [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM/UA Communications Co.]], and [[Paramount Pictures]] teamed up to market feature film and television products to China. Consumer reach was 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 3, 1987 |title=MGM/UA, Par, Universal Team To Market U.S. Products In China |page=6 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

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]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=June 10, 1987 |title=New Line, Universal Pay TV Sign Cable Deal For Theatrical Pics |page=46 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>

In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with [[Paramount Pictures|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 film)|Airport]]'' (1970), ''[[The Sting]]'' (1973), ''[[American Graffiti]]'' (also 1973), ''[[Earthquake (1974 film)|Earthquake]]'' (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes: ''[[Jaws (film)|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 Muppet Movie]]'' (1979), ''[[The Jerk]]'' (also 1979), ''[[The Blues Brothers (film)|The Blues Brothers]]'' (1980), ''[[The Four Seasons (1981 film)|The Four Seasons]]'' (1981), ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' (1982), ''[[The Breakfast Club]]'' (1985), ''[[Back to the Future]]'' (also 1985), ''[[An American Tail]]'' (1986), ''[[The Land Before Time (film)|The Land Before Time]]'' (1988), ''[[Field of Dreams]]'' (1989), ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' (1993) and [[Casper (film)|''Casper'']] (1995), but the film business was financially unpredictable with some films like [[The Thing (1982 film)|''The Thing'']] (1982), ''[[Scarface (1983 film)|Scarface]]'' (1983), ''[[Dune (1984 film)|Dune]]'' (1984), [[Howard the Duck (film)|''Howard the Duck'']] (1986), [[The Last Temptation of Christ (film)|''The Last Temptation of Christ'']] (1988) or ''[[Waterworld]]'' (1995), which turned out to be big box office disappointments despite their high budget; however, these films became cult films in later years.{{cn|date=April 2025}} UIP began distributing films by start-up studio [[DreamWorks Pictures|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.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Carver|first1=Benedict|last2=Dawtrey|first2=Adam|date=February 10, 1999|title=U to start int'l distrib|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/u-to-start-int-l-distrib-1117491165/|access-date=January 9, 2022|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> 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 (film)|The Green Mile]]'' and ''[[Angela's Ashes (film)|Angela's Ashes]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Groves|first=Don|date=October 8, 1999|title='Eyes' to close UPI slate|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/eyes-to-close-upi-slate-1117756456/|access-date=January 9, 2022|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref> On October 4, 1999, Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Dawtrey|first1=Adam|last2=Petrikin|first2=Chris|date=October 4, 1999|title=A Universal appeal|url=https://variety.com/1999/biz/news/a-universal-appeal-1117756256/|access-date=January 9, 2022|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Petrikin|first=Chris|date=October 15, 1999|title=U, Par extend UIP pact|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/u-par-extend-uip-pact-1117756685/|access-date=January 9, 2022|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>

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

On December 9, 1996, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company became [[Universal Filmed Entertainment Group|Universal Studios Inc.]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Reckard |first=E. Scott |date=December 9, 1996 |title=MCA changes name to Universal Studios Inc. |url=http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/1996/12/09/daily1.html |work=[[American City Business Journals|Orlando Business Journal]]}}</ref> and MCA's music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamed [[Universal Music Group]]. MCA Records continued to live on as a label within the Universal Music Group. The following year, G. P. Putnam's Sons was sold to the [[Penguin Group]] subsidiary of [[Pearson PLC]].

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&nbsp;billion.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/04/10/business/mca-sale-deal-seagram-puts-finishing-touches-its-5.7-billion-acquisition-mca.html|title=The MCA Sale: The Deal; Seagram Puts the Finishing Touches on Its $5.7 Billion Acquisition of MCA|last=Fabrikant|first=Geraldine|date=April 10, 1995|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 4, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> 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]] from [[Philips]] 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.

=== Extensions and NBCUniversal/Comcast era===
[[File:Gate 2, Universal Studios Lot.jpg|thumb|left|Gate 2, Universal Studios]]
Afterward, Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal's films, such as [[David Lynch]]'s ''[[Mulholland Drive (film)|Mulholland Drive]]'' (2001) and ''[[Brotherhood of the Wolf]]'' (2001) which became the sixth-highest-grossing [[French language|French-language]] film of all time in the United States.<ref name="Genre Keyword, Foreign Language">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/genre/sg4208980225/?ref_=bo_gs_table_195|title=Genre Keyword, Foreign Language|publisher=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref><ref name="D'Alessandro 16">{{cite magazine |last=D'Alessandro  |first=Anthony |title=ALL-TIME FOREIGN-LANGUAGE FILMS IN NORTH AMERICA |magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|location=|date=February 21, 2000 |page=16}}</ref> Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co-produced several films, such as ''[[Love Actually]]'' (2003); a $40&nbsp;million-budgeted film that eventually grossed $246&nbsp;million worldwide.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=loveactually.htm|title=Love Actually (2003) – Box Office Mojo|work=Box Office Mojo}}</ref> In late 2000, the [[New York Film Academy]] was permitted to use the [[Universal Studios Lot|Universal Studios backlot]] for student film projects in an unofficial partnership.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nyfa.edu/los-angeles/#universal-studios|title=New York Film Academy – Los Angeles|work=nyfa.edu}}</ref> 

In late 2005, Viacom's [[Paramount Pictures]] acquired [[DreamWorks Pictures|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.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://deadline.com/2009/10/adam-fogelson-named-new-chairman-of-universal-pictures-16985/|title='Two And A Half Men' Cast's Holiday Gifts For The Show's Crew And Staff|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|magazine=Deadline|date=October 5, 2009}}</ref> In 2009, [[Stephanie Sperber]] founded Universal Partnerships & Licensing within Universal to license consumer products for Universal.<ref name=tw>{{cite news|last1=Goldstein|first1=Lindsay|title=Universal Partnerships & Licensing to Expand to Consumer Products Covering NBC and Sprout|url=https://www.thewrap.com/universal-partnerships-licensing-to-expand-to-consumer-products-covering-nbc-and-sprout/|access-date=June 27, 2014|work=The Wrap|date=June 19, 2014}}</ref>

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 [[Universal Filmed Entertainment Group]]. Longtime studio head [[Ronald Meyer|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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2013/09/shocker-adam-fogelson-out-in-universal-shakeup-582309/ |title=Universal Shakeup: Adam Fogelson Out, Donna Langley Sideways, Jeff Shell In, And Ron Meyer Up As Studio Taken By Surprise |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=September 9, 2013 |website=Deadline |access-date=June 9, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Masters |first=Kim |date=2013-09-09 |title=Jeff Shell Moving to Universal Studios Job; Adam Fogelson Out |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/jeff-shell-moving-universal-studios-624678/ |access-date=2025-09-13 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

Universal's multi-year film financing deal with [[Elliott Management]] expired in 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Masters|first=Kim|title=Why Studios Don't Pay to Make Movies Anymore|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disney-fox-paramount-sony-fox-400727?page=4|access-date=April 22, 2013|newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 13, 2012|page=4}}</ref> In summer 2013, Universal made an agreement with [[Thomas Tull]]'s [[Legendary Entertainment|Legendary Pictures]] to distribute their films for five years starting in 2014 (the year that Legendary's similar agreement with [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] ended).<ref>{{Cite news |first=Ryan |last=Faughnder |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-legendary-entertainment-strikes-fiveyear-deal-with-nbcuniversal-20130710,0,2003167.story |title=Legendary Entertainment strikes five-year deal with NBCUniversal |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=July 10, 2013 |access-date=July 10, 2013}}</ref>

In June 2014, Universal Partnerships took over licensing consumer products for [[NBC]] and [[Universal Kids|Sprout]] with the expectation that all licensing would eventually be centralized within NBCUniversal.<ref name="tw"/> 

In May 2015, [[Gramercy Pictures]] was revived by Focus Features as a genre label concentrating on action, sci-fi, and horror films.<ref>{{cite news|title=Focus Revives Gramercy Pictures Label For Genre Films|url=https://deadline.com/2015/05/focus-features-revives-gramercy-pictures-label-genre-films-1201430500/|date=May 20, 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=May 20, 2015}}</ref>

On December 16, 2015, [[Amblin Partners]] announced that it entered into a five-year distribution deal with Universal Pictures by which the films would be distributed and marketed by either Universal or [[Focus Features]].<ref name="variety1">{{cite news|last1 = Lang|first1 = Brent|title = Steven Spielberg, Jeff Skoll Bring Amblin Partners to Universal|url = https://variety.com/2015/film/news/steven-spiellberg-universal-1201662956/|access-date = December 23, 2015|work = Variety|date = December 16, 2015}}</ref><ref name="deadline1">{{cite news|last1 = Busch|first1 = Anita|title = It's Official: Spielberg, DreamWorks, Participant, eOne, Others Pact For Amblin Partners|url = https://deadline.com/2015/12/spielberg-dreamworks-participant-eone-others-pact-for-amblin-partners-1201668244/|access-date = December 23, 2015|work = [[Deadline Hollywood]]|date = December 16, 2015}}</ref>

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.<ref name="variety2">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2016/biz/news/universal-perfect-world-deal-complete-1201707633/|title=Universal and Perfect World Pictures of China Complete $500 Million Film Slate Deal|first1=James|last1=Rainey|date=February 17, 2016}}</ref>

On April 28, 2016, Universal's parent company, NBCUniversal, announced a $3.8&nbsp;billion deal to buy [[DreamWorks Animation]].<ref name="lat-comcastbuy">{{cite web|title=Comcast's NBCUniversal buys DreamWorks Animation in $3.8-billion deal|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-nbcuniversal-buys-dreamworks--20160428-story.html|website=Los Angeles Times|date=April 28, 2016 |access-date=April 28, 2016}}</ref> On August 22, 2016, the deal was completed.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=James Rainey |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/dreamworks-animation-new-mangement-structure-1201842942/ |title=NBCUniversal Sets New DreamWorks Animation Chain of Command |magazine=Variety |date=August 23, 2016 |access-date=October 11, 2016}}</ref> 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, following the release of ''[[Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie]]'' in 2017.

On February 15, 2017, Universal Pictures acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners, strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin, and reuniting a minority percentage of the live-action DreamWorks label with its former animation division.<ref name="NBCUniversal">{{cite news|last1 = Perry|first1 = Spencer|title = Universal Studios Buys a Minority Stake in Amblin Partners|url = https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/814659-universal-studios-buys-a-minority-stake-in-amblin-partners|access-date = February 20, 2017|work = Comingsoon.net|date = February 15, 2017}}</ref>

In December 2019, Universal Pictures entered early negotiations to distribute upcoming feature films based on the [[Lego]] toys. Although the original ''[[The Lego Movie (franchise)|The Lego Movie]]'' characters and projects are still owned by [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], Universal Pictures would serve as a distributor of future releases and would develop additional ''Lego'' films. The first Lego film under Universal Pictures' run of their film rights is ''[[Piece by Piece (2024 film)|Piece by Piece]]'' (2024).<ref>{{cite web |date= December 19, 2019 |author= Matt Donnelly |title= Universal in Talks With Lego Group to Develop New Films Based on Toys (Exclusive) |url= https://variety.com/2019/film/news/universal-pictures-in-talks-for-lego-film-deal-1203449172/ |website=Variety }}</ref>

On April 28, 2020, following the release of ''[[Trolls World Tour]]'' on [[premium video on demand]] due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], [[AMC Theaters]] announced they would not carry films from Universal after [[NBCUniversal]] CEO [[Jeff Shell]] commented in ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' that the studio wanted to release films via premium video-on-demand simultaneously with theatrical releases. The company threatened that this would also be done with any other studio "who unilaterally abandons current windowing practices absent good faith negotiations between us, so that they as distributor and we as exhibitor both benefit and neither are hurt from such changes."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amc-theatres-refuses-play-universal-films-wake-trolls-world-tour-1292327|title=AMC Theatres Refuses to Play Universal Films in Wake of 'Trolls: World Tour'|last=McClintock|first=Pamela|work=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 28, 2020|access-date=April 28, 2020|archive-date=April 29, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200429025154/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amc-theatres-refuses-play-universal-films-wake-trolls-world-tour-1292327|url-status=live}}</ref> On June 3, 2020, AMC stated that it had "substantial doubt" that it would remain in business.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/media/amc-theatres-business-coronavirus/index.html | title=AMC Theatres has 'substantial doubt' it can remain in business | last=Pallotta | first=Frank | work=[[CNN]] | date=June 3, 2020 | access-date=June 4, 2020 | archive-date=January 27, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127012933/https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/03/media/amc-theatres-business-coronavirus/index.html | url-status=live }}</ref> On July 28, 2020, AMC and Universal were able to resolve their dispute, with AMC agreeing to a shorter theatrical window of 17 days before Universal could release their films via premium VOD, as well as revenue sharing on the premium VOD window.<ref>{{Cite news | last1=Lang | first1=Brent | last2=Rubin | first2=Rebecca | title=Universal, AMC Theatres Forge Historic Deal Allowing Theatrical Releases to Debut on Premium VOD Early | url=https://variety.com/2020/film/news/universal-amc-theatres-historic-deal-windows-1234718737/ | website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=July 28, 2020 | access-date=July 29, 2020 | archive-date=July 29, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729172330/https://variety.com/2020/film/news/universal-amc-theatres-historic-deal-windows-1234718737/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

In June 2020, 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.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deadline.com/2020/06/duncan-clark-exiting-universal-veronika-kwan-vandenberg-joining-president-international-distribution-1202954370/ |title=Duncan Clark To Exit Universal As President Of International Distribution; Former WB Exec Veronika Kwan Vandenberg Will Take Over Role |last=Tartaglione |first=Nancy |date=June 9, 2020 |website=Deadline |access-date=June 9, 2020}}</ref>

In 2021, Universal signed an 18-month deal with [[Netflix]] and [[Amazon Prime Video]] for their animated and live-action films, respectively, where the films would first stream on Peacock for the first four months of the pay-TV window, before moving to Netflix and Prime Video, respectively, for the next ten, and then returning to Peacock for the final four.<ref>{{cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |title=NBCUniversal's New Theatrical Window Scheme To Bring Films To Peacock After As Few As 45 Days Of Release |url=https://deadline.com/2021/12/nbcuniversal-theatrical-window-films-stream-peacock-45-days-1234887914/ |access-date=December 10, 2021 |work=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=December 9, 2021 |archive-date=December 9, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209190325/https://deadline.com/2021/12/nbcuniversal-theatrical-window-films-stream-peacock-45-days-1234887914/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/netflix-exclusive-rights-universal-animated-films-105446842.html|title=Netflix extends exclusive rights to Universal's animated films in the US|last=Moon|first=Mariella|website=[[Engadget]]|date=July 14, 2021|access-date=July 14, 2021|language=en|archive-date=July 10, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220710055401/https://www.engadget.com/netflix-exclusive-rights-universal-animated-films-105446842.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-video-universal-pictures-movies-peacock-183143573.html|title=Amazon locks down some exclusive streaming rights for Universal movies|last=Holt|first=Kris|website=[[Engadget]]|date=July 8, 2021|access-date=June 30, 2025|language=en|archive-date=July 8, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210708184019/https://www.engadget.com/amazon-prime-video-universal-pictures-movies-peacock-183143573.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In October 2024, Universal and Netflix renewed the licensing deal for the animated films, also adding live-action films starting in 2027.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayes |first=Dade |date=2024-10-29 |title=Netflix & Universal Renew Animation Licensing Deal, Adding Live-Action Titles In 2027; Peacock Pay-1 Intact |url=https://deadline.com/2024/10/netflix-universal-renew-licensing-deal-animation-streaming-1236161030/ |access-date=2024-11-30 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Units==
*Universal Pictures International
**Universal International Distribution

*[[Universal Pictures Home Entertainment]]
**[[Universal 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. Discovery Home Entertainment]])
*[[Focus Features]]
*Universal Pictures International Entertainment
**[[NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan]]
*[[Working Title Films]]
**WT<sup>2</sup> Productions
**Working Title Television
*[[Rede Telecine]] (12.5%, joint venture with [[Canais Globo]], [[Walt Disney Studios (division)|Walt Disney Studios]], [[Paramount Pictures]] and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]])
*[[Illumination (company)|Illumination]]
**[[Illumination Studios Paris]]
**Illumination Labs
**Moonlight
*[[DreamWorks Animation]]
**[[DreamWorks Animation Television]]
**[[DreamWorks Classics]]
***[[Big Idea Entertainment]] (in-name-only unit of DreamWorks Animation)
***[[Jay Ward Productions#Jay Ward Productions today|Bullwinkle Studios]] (JV)
***[[Harvey Entertainment]] (in-name-only unit of DreamWorks Animation)
**DreamWorks Theatricals
**DreamWorks New Media
***[[DreamWorksTV (YouTube channel)|DreamWorksTV]]
**[[DreamWorks Animation|DreamWorks Press]]
*Back Lot Music
*Universal Products & Experiences
*[[United International Pictures]] (50%, joint venture with [[Paramount Global]]'s [[Paramount Pictures]])
*[[Amblin Partners]] (minority stake)<ref name="variety1" /><ref name="deadline1" /> (JV)<ref name="NBCUniversal" />
**[[Amblin Entertainment]]
**[[Amblin Television]]
**[[DreamWorks Pictures]]
**Storyteller Distribution<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/steven-spielbergs-dreamworks-relaunches-as-amblin-partners-1450301848|title=Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Relaunches as Amblin Partners|last=Fritz|first=Ben|date=December 16, 2015|work=The Wall Street Journal|access-date=April 4, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>
* Blumhouse Holdings, LLC (minority stake with [[Jason Blum]] and [[James Wan]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/jason-blum-blumhouse-and-james-wan-atomic-monster-1235777913/|title=Jason Blum's Blumhouse and James Wan's Atomic Monster Close Merger Deal|first=Aaron|last=Couch|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=January 2, 2024}}</ref>
** [[Blumhouse Productions]]
*** [[Atomic Monster]]
*** [[Blumhouse Productions#BH Tilt|BH Tilt]] (with [[Neon (company)|Neon]])
*** BlumHansonAllen Films
*** [[Blumhouse Productions#Blumhouse Books|Blumhouse Books]]
*** [[Blumhouse Productions#Blumhouse Games|Blumhouse Games]]
*** Blumhouse International
*** Blumhouse Television (55%)
*** Haunted Movies

==Filmography==
{{Main|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===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title
! Release date
! No. Films
! Notes
|-
| ''[[The Cohens and Kellys]]'' 
| 1926–33
| 7
|-
| ''[[Oswald the Lucky Rabbit]]'' 
| 1927–38
| 190
| 190 short subjects from 1927 to 1938
|-
| ''[[Universal Monsters]]'' 
| 1931–56
| 31
|-
| ''[[The Mummy (franchise)|The Mummy]]'' 
| 1932–present
| 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 (franchise)|Woody Woodpecker]]''
| 1941–72; 2018–present
| 197
| 195 short subjects from 1941 to 1972, and two live-action films from 2018 to 2024
|-
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (1939 film series)|Sherlock Holmes]]''  
| 1942–46
|12
|-
| ''[[Ma and Pa Kettle]]'' 
| 1947–57
|10
|-
| ''[[Francis the Talking Mule]]''
| 1950–56 
| 7
|-
| ''[[Cape Fear (1962 film)|Cape Fear]]''
| 1962–91
| rowspan=2 | 2
|-
| ''[[The Birds (film)|The Birds]]'' 
| 1963–94 
|-
| ''[[King Kong (franchise)|King Kong]]''
| 1963–68; 2005
| rowspan=2 | 3
| Co-production with [[Toho|Toho Co., Ltd]] <small>(1963–1968)</small>, [[Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment|Rankin/Bass]] <small>(1968)</small>, and [[WingNut Films]] <small>(2005)</small>
|-
| ''[[McHale's Navy#Theatrical films|McHale's Navy]]''
| 1964–97
|-
| ''[[The Munsters]]''
| 1966–2022
| 5
|-
| ''[[Airport (film series)|Airport]]'' 
| 1970–79
| 4
|-
| ''[[American Graffiti]]''
| 1973–79
| rowspan=3 | 2
| Co-production with [[Lucasfilm Ltd.]]
|-
| ''[[The Day of the Jackal (film)|The Jackal]]'' 
| 1973–97 
| Co-production with [[Warwick Films]], Alphaville, and [[Mutual Film Company]]
|-
| ''[[The Sting]]''
| 1973–83
| Co-production with [[The Zanuck Company|The Zanuck/Brown Company]] <small>(1973)</small>
|-
| ''[[Monty Python]]''
| 1975–79; 1983 
| 3
| Co-production with [[Python (Monty) Pictures]], Michael White Productions, National Film Trustee Company, [[HandMade Films]], and Celandine Films
|-
| ''[[Jaws (franchise)|Jaws]]'' 
| 1975–87 
| 4
|-
| ''[[The Car (1977 film)|The Car]]''
| 1977–2019
| 2
| Co-production with Hollywood Road Films <small>(1977)</small> and UFO International <small>(2019)</small>
|-
| ''[[Smokey and the Bandit (franchise)|Smokey and the Bandit]]''
| 1977–83
| rowspan=2 | 3
| Co-production with [[Rastar]] <small>(1977–1980)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Muppets]]''
| 1979–81; 2002
| Co-production with [[ITC Entertainment]] <small>(1979–1981)</small>, [[Henson Associates]], and [[Universal Television#NBC Studios|NBC Studios]] <small>(2002)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Jerk]]''
| 1979–84
| rowspan=3 | 2
| Co-production with [[Aspen Film Society]] <small>(1979)</small> and 40 Share Productions <small>(1984)</small>
|-
| ''[[The Blues Brothers]]'' 
| 1980–98
| Co-production with [[SNL Studios]]
|-
| ''[[Endless Love (1981 film)|Endless Love]]''
| 1981–2014
|-
| ''[[Halloween (franchise)|Halloween]]'' 
| 1981–82; 2018–present
| 5 
| Co-production with [[Compass International Pictures|Compass International]], [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]], and [[Blumhouse Productions]]
|-
| ''[[Conan the Barbarian (franchise)|Conan the Barbarian]]'' 
| 1982–84; TBA
| rowspan=2 | 2
|-
| ''[[The Thing (1982 film)|The Thing]]'' 
| 1982–2011; TBA 
| Co-production with the Turman-Foster Company, [[Morgan Creek Productions]], and [[Strike Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Psycho (franchise)|Psycho]]'' 
| 1983–98 
| 5
|-
| ''[[Firestarter (1984 film)|Firestarter]]'' 
| 1984–2022 
| 2
|-
| ''[[Back to the Future (franchise)|Back to the Future]]'' 
| 1985–90
| 3
| Co-production with [[Amblin Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[An American Tail (franchise)|An American Tail]]'' 
| 1986–2000
| 4
| Co-production with Amblin Entertainment, [[Amblimation]], and [[Sullivan Bluth Studios]]
|-
| ''[[The Land Before Time (franchise)|The Land Before Time]]'' 
| 1988–2016 
| 14
| Co-production with Amblin Entertainment, [[Lucasfilm Ltd.]], and Sullivan Bluth Studios
|-
| ''[[K-9 (film series)|K-9]]''
| 1989–2002
| 3
|-
| ''[[Tremors (franchise)|Tremors]]'' 
| 1990–present
| 7 
|-
| ''[[Problem Child (film)|Problem Child]]''
| 1990–95
| rowspan=2 | 3 
|-
| ''[[Darkman (character)|Darkman]]'' 
| 1990–96
| Co-production with Renaissance Pictures
|-
| ''[[Buried Alive (1990 TV film)|Buried Alive]]''
| 1990–97
| 2
|-
| ''[[Child's Play (franchise)|Child's Play / Chucky]]'' 
| 1990–98; 2013–present
| 5
|-
| ''[[Kindergarten Cop]]'' 
| 1990–2016
| 2 
| Co-production with [[Imagine Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Knight Rider#Television films|Knight Rider]]''
| 1991–2008
| 3
|-
| ''[[The Little Engine That Could#Films|The Little Engine That Could]]'' 
| 1991–2011
| rowspan=2 | 2  
|-
| ''[[Backdraft (film)|Backdraft]]'' 
| 1991–2019 
| Co-production with Imagine Entertainment and Trilogy Entertainment Group
|-
| ''[[Beethoven (franchise)|Beethoven]]'' 
| 1992–2014 
| 8
|-
| ''[[Jurassic Park (franchise)|Jurassic Park]]''
| 1993–2001; 2015–present
| 7
| Co-production with Amblin Entertainment, [[Legendary Entertainment]], and [[The Kennedy/Marshall Company]]
|-
| ''[[Carlito's Way]]'' 
| 1993–2005 
| rowspan="5" | 2
|-
| ''[[Hard Target]]'' 
| 1993–2016
|-
| ''[[The Flintstones (film)|The Flintstones]]'' 
| 1994–2000
| Co-production with [[Hanna-Barbera]] and Amblin Entertainment
|-
| ''[[The Little Rascals (film)|The Little Rascals]]''
| 1994–2014
| Co-production with Amblin Entertainment
|-
| ''[[Timecop (franchise)|Timecop]]'' 
| 1994–2003 
| Co-production with Renaissance Pictures
|-
| ''[[The Rockford Files]]''
| 1994–99
| 8
|-
| ''[[Babe (film)|Babe]]''
| 1995–98
| 2
|-
| ''[[Casper the Friendly Ghost in film|Casper the Friendly Ghost]]'' 
| 1995–2006
| rowspan=3 | 3
| Co-production with Amblin Entertainment, [[The Harvey Entertainment Company]], [[Mainframe Studios|Mainframe Entertainment]], Kapow Pictures, Alligator Planet, and [[Classic Media]]
|-
| ''[[Apollo program#Depictions on film|Apollo]]'' 
| 1995–2019 
| Co-production with [[Imagine Entertainment]], Statement Pictures, [[CNN Films]], and [[Neon (company)|Neon]]
|-
| ''[[Balto (film)|Balto]]'' 
| 1995–2005 
| Co-production with Amblin Entertainment and [[Amblimation]]
|- 
| ''[[Sudden Death (1995 film)|Sudden Death]]'' 
| 1995–2020
| 2  
|-
| ''[[Dragonheart (franchise)|Dragonheart]]'' 
| 1996–present 
| 5
|-
| ''[[Twister (1996 film)|Twister]]''
| 1996–2024
| rowspan=2 | 2
| Co-production with [[Amblin Entertainment]], [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] <small>(both 1996–2024)</small>, [[The Kennedy/Marshall Company]] and [[Domain Entertainment]] <small>(both 2024)</small>
|-
| ''[[Mr. Bean (character)|Mr. Bean]]'' 
| 1997–2007 
| Co-production with [[PolyGram Films]], [[Gramercy Pictures]], [[Working Title Films]], [[StudioCanal]], and [[Tiger Aspect Productions]]
|-
| ''[[Alvin and the Chipmunks]]''
| 1998–2000
| 3
| Co-production with [[Bagdasarian Productions]] and [[Universal Animation Studios]] <small>(1999–2000)</small>
|-
| ''[[Jay Ward Productions#Films|Jay Ward]]''
| 1999–2000
| rowspan=2 | 2
| From ''[[Dudley Do-Right (film)|Dudley Do-Right]]'' to ''[[The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (film)|The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle]]''
|- 
| ''[[The Best Man (1999 film)|The Best Man]]'' 
| 1999–2013
|-
| ''[[American Pie (film series)|American Pie]]'' 
| 1999–2020 
| 9
| (including the [[American Pie Presents (film series)|spin-off series]])
|-
| ''[[Meet the Parents (film series)|Meet the Parents]]'' 
| 2000–10 
| rowspan=2 | 3
| Co-production with DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and [[TriBeCa Productions]]
|-
| ''[[The Chronicles of Riddick (franchise)|The Chronicles of Riddick]]'' 
| 2000–13 
| Co-production with [[Gramercy Pictures]], [[USA Films]], [[Original Film]], and [[Relativity Media]]
|-
| ''[[Dr. Seuss]]'' 
| 2000–18 
| 4
| From ''[[How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]'' to ''[[The Grinch (2018 film)|The Grinch]]''; co-production with [[Imagine Entertainment]], DreamWorks Pictures, and [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]]
|-
| ''[[Bring It On (film series)|Bring It On]]'' 
| 2000–22 
| 6
| Co-production with [[Strike Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Hannibal Lecter (franchise)|Hannibal Lecter]]'' 
| 2001–02 
| 2
| Co-production with the [[The Weinstein Company|Weinstein Company]] and [[De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]]
|-
| ''[[Fast & Furious]]''
| 2001–present
| 10
| Co-production with [[Original Film]], Relativity Media, and [[One Race Films]] 
|-
| ''[[Bourne (film series)|Bourne]]'' 
| rowspan="2" | 2002–present 
| rowspan="2" | 5
| Co-production with the [[The Kennedy/Marshall Company|Kennedy/Marshall Company]] and Relativity Media
|-
| ''[[The Scorpion King (film series)|The Scorpion King]]'' 
| Co-production with Alphaville and [[WWE Studios]]
|-
| ''[[Blue Crush]]''
| 2002–11
| rowspan="5" | 2
| Co-production with Imagine Entertainment
|-
| ''[[Undercover Brother]]''
| 2002–19
| Co-production with [[Imagine Entertainment]] and Hal Lieberman Company
|-
| ''[[VeggieTales]]''
| 2002–present
| Co-production with [[Big Idea Productions]]
|-
| ''[[Bruce Almighty|Almighty]]'' 
| 2003–07 
| Co-production with [[Spyglass Entertainment]], [[Shady Acres Entertainment]], and Original Film
|-
| ''[[Hulk in film|Hulk]]'' 
| 2003–08 
| Including [[Marvel Cinematic Universe|MCU]]'s ''[[The Incredible Hulk (film)|The Incredible Hulk]]'' (distribution only), right of first refusal holders (distribution only) of any future [[Marvel Cinematic Universe|MCU]] solo [[Hulk in film|Hulk]] films; co-production with [[Marvel Studios]]
|-
| ''[[Johnny English (film series)|Johnny English]]'' 
| rowspan=2 | 2003–18 
| 3
| Co-production with [[StudioCanal]] and [[Working Title Films]]
|-
| ''[[Honey (2003 film)|Honey]]''
| 4
|-
| ''[[Night of the Living Dead (film series)|Night of the Living Dead]]'' 
| 2004–05 
| 2
| Co-production with [[Mark Canton|Atmosphere Entertainment]], [[George A. Romero|Romero]]/[[Peter Grunwald|Grunwald]] Films, [[Cruel and Unusual Films]], and [[Strike Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Three Flavours Cornetto]]'' 
| 2004–13 
| 3
| Co-production with Rogue Pictures, [[Relativity Media]], [[Focus Features]], [[Working Title Films]], and [[StudioCanal]]
|-
| ''[[White Noise (2005 film)|White Noise]]'' 
| 2005–07
| rowspan=2 | 2 
| Co-production with [[Gold Circle Films]]
|-
| ''[[Nanny McPhee]]'' 
| 2005–10 
| Co-production with Working Title Films
|-
| ''[[Jarhead (book)#Film adapatation|Jarhead]]'' 
| 2005–16
| 3
|-
| ''[[Doom (franchise)|Doom]]''
| 2005–19 
| rowspan=2 | 2
| Co-production with [[Di Bonaventura Pictures]], [[Bethesda Softworks]], and [[id Software]]
|-
| ''[[Smokin' Aces]]'' 
| 2006–10 
| Co-production with Relativity Media
|-
| ''[[Curious George (franchise)|Curious George]]'' 
| 2006–21
| 6
| Co-production with [[Imagine Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Step Up (franchise)|Step Up]]''
| 2006–14
| 5
| Select international distribution only; produced by [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] <small>(1–2)</small> and [[Lionsgate Films|Lionsgate]] <small>(3–5)</small>
|-
| ''[[Barbie]]'' 
| 2006–17
| 27
| From ''[[Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses]]'' to ''Barbie: Video Game Hero''; Co-production with [[Mattel Television#Mattel_Studios/Mattel_Entertainment|Mattel Entertainment]]
|-
| ''[[Battlestar Galactica]]''
| 2007–09
| rowspan=2 | 2
|-
| ''[[Mamma Mia! (film)|Mamma Mia!]]'' 
| rowspan="2" | 2008–18 
| Co-production with [[Relativity Media]], [[Playtone]], LittleStar, [[Legendary Entertainment]], and [[Perfect World Pictures]]
|-
| ''[[Death Race (franchise)|Death Race]]'' 
| 5
| Co-production with [[Roger Corman#New Horizons|New Horizons]], [[Cruise/Wagner Productions]], and [[Relativity Media]]
|-
| ''[[Kick-Ass (franchise)|Hit-Girl & Kick-Ass]]'' 
| 2010–13
| 2
| Co-production with [[Lionsgate Films|Lionsgate]] and [[Marv Films]]
|-
| ''[[Despicable Me]]''
| 2010–present
| 6
| Co-production with [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]]
|-
| ''[[Ted (2012 film)|Ted]]'' 
| 2012–present 
| rowspan="2" | 2
| Co-production with [[Media Rights Capital]], [[Bluegrass Films]], and [[Fuzzy Door Productions]]
|-
| ''[[The Man with the Iron Fists]]'' 
| 2012–15
| Co-production with [[Strike Entertainment]] and [[Bluegrass Films]]
|-
| ''[[Pitch Perfect (film series)|Pitch Perfect]]'' 
| 2012–17 
| 3
| Co-production with [[Gold Circle Films]] and [[Brownstone Productions]]
|-
| ''[[The Purge (film series)|The Purge]]'' 
| 2013–present 
| 5
| Co-production with [[Blumhouse Productions]] and [[Platinum Dunes]]
|-
| ''[[R.I.P.D.]]''
| 2013–22
| rowspan=5 | 2
| Co-production with [[Dark Horse Entertainment]] and [[Original Film]]
|-
| ''[[Ouija (2014 film)|Ouija]]'' 
| rowspan=3 | 2014–16 
| Co-production with Blumhouse Productions, [[Hasbro Studios]], [[Genre Films]], and Platinum Dunes
|-
| ''[[Neighbors (2014 film)|Neighbors]]'' 
| Co-production with [[Point Grey]], Relativity Media, and [[Good Universe]]
|-
| ''[[Ride Along (film)|Ride Along]]''
| Co-production with [[Relativity Media]] and [[Perfect World Pictures]]
|-
| ''[[Insidious (film series)|Insidious]]''
| rowspan=2 | 2015–18
| Co-production with [[FilmDistrict]], Focus Features, [[Gramercy Pictures]], [[IM Global]], [[Alliance Films]], [[Stage 6 Films]], [[Entertainment One]], and [[Blumhouse Productions]]
|-
| ''[[Fifty Shades (film series)|Fifty Shades]]'' 
| 3
| Co-production with Focus Features, [[Michael De Luca Productions]], and [[Trigger Street Productions]]
|-
| ''[[The Secret Life of Pets (franchise)|The Secret Life of Pets]]'' 
| rowspan=2 | 2016–present
| rowspan=10 | 2  
| rowspan=2 | Co-production with [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]]
|-
| ''[[Sing (franchise)|Sing]]''
|-
| ''[[Unbreakable (film series)|Unbreakable]]''
| 2016–19 
| Co-production with [[Touchstone Pictures]], [[Blinding Edge Pictures]], and [[Blumhouse Productions]]
|- 
| ''[[My Big Fat Greek Wedding (franchise)|My Big Fat Greek Wedding]]''
| 2016–23
| Co-production with [[HBO Films]], [[Playtone|Playtone Films]], [[Gold Circle Films]], and Focus Features
|-
| ''[[Happy Death Day]]'' 
| 2017–present
| Co-production with [[Blumhouse Productions]]
|-
| ''[[The Addams Family (2019 film)|The Addams Family]]'' 
| 2019–21 
| International distributor; co-production with [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]] and [[Bron Creative]]
|-
| ''[[How to Train Your Dragon]]''
| 2019–present
| Co-production with [[DreamWorks Animation]] and [[Marc Platt Productions]] <small>(2025)</small>
|-
| ''[[Trolls (franchise)|Trolls]]''
| 2020–23
| Co-production with DreamWorks Animation 
|-
| ''[[Nobody (2021 film)|Nobody]]''
| 2021–present
| Co-production with [[87North Productions]], Eighty Two Films and [[Odenkirk Provissiero Entertainment]]
|-
|  ''[[The Bad Guys (franchise)|The Bad Guys]]''
| rowspan=3 | 2022–present
| rowspan=2 | Co-production with DreamWorks Animation 
|-
| ''[[Shrek (franchise)|Shrek]]'' 
| 1
|-
| ''[[M3GAN (film series)|M3GAN]]''
| 2
| Co-production with Blumhouse Productions and [[Atomic Monster]]
|-
| ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
| rowspan=2 | 2023–present
| rowspan="5" | 1
| Co-production with [[Illumination (company)|Illumination]] and [[Nintendo]]
|-
| ''[[Five Nights at Freddy's (film)|Five Nights at Freddy's]]''
| Co-production with [[Blumhouse Productions]] and [[Scott Cawthon|Scott Cawthon Productions]]
|-
| ''[[Kung Fu Panda]]''
| rowspan=2 | 2024–present
| Co-production with DreamWorks Animation
|-
| ''[[Wicked (film franchise)|Wicked]]''
| Co-production with Marc Platt Productions
|-
|[[Captain Underpants#Other media|''Captain Underpants'']]
|2025
|Co-production with DreamWorks Animation
|-
|}

===Highest-grossing films===
Universal was the first studio to have released three billion-dollar films in one year; this distinction was achieved in [[2015 in film|2015]] with ''[[Furious 7]]'', ''[[Jurassic World]]'', and ''[[Minions (film)|Minions]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/minions-crosses-1-billion-dollars-universal-record-1201509212/|title='Minions' Tops $1 Billion Worldwide; Universal Sets Another Industry Record – Deadline|author=Nancy Tartaglione|work=Deadline|date=August 28, 2015 }}</ref>
: ''{{legend|#B6FCB6;"|Indicates films currently in theatrical release in the week commencing {{Date of next Friday}}.|text={{†|alt=film currently playing}}}}''
<!-- Note: We only link the distributor ONCE -->
{|
|-
|
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Highest-grossing films in North America<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title=Universal All Time Box Office Results |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?studio=universal.htm|website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=April 9, 2017}}</ref>
! Rank !! Title !! Year !! Gross
|-
! 1
| ''[[Jurassic World]]'' 
| 2015
| $653,406,625
|-
! 2
| ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
| 2023
| $574,939,710
|-
! 3
| ''[[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]''
| 2024
| $474,560,015
|-
! 4
| ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' <sup>‡</sup> 
| 1982
| $439,251,124
|-
! 5
| ''[[Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom]]''
| 2018
| $417,719,760
|-
! 6
| ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' <sup>‡</sup>
| 1993
| $415,248,873
|-
! 7
| ''[[Jurassic World Dominion]]''
| rowspan=2|2022
| $376,851,080
|-
! 8
| ''[[Minions: The Rise of Gru]]''
| $369,695,210
|-
! 9
| ''[[The Secret Life of Pets]]''
| 2016
| $368,384,330
|-
! 10
| ''[[Despicable Me 2]]''
| 2013
| $368,061,265
|-
! 11
| ''[[Despicable Me 4]]''
| 2024
| $361,004,205
|-
! 12
| ''[[Furious 7]]''
| 2015
| $353,007,020
|-
! 13
| ''[[Jurassic World Rebirth]]''
| 2025
| $339,640,400
|-
! 14
| ''[[Minions (film)|Minions]]''
| 2015
| $336,045,770
|-
! 15
| ''[[Oppenheimer (film)|Oppenheimer]]''
| 2023
| $330,078,895	
|-
! 16
| ''[[Jaws (film)|Jaws]]'' 
| 1975
| $280,083,300
|-
! 17
| ''[[Meet the Fockers]]''
| 2004
| $279,261,160
|-
! 18
| ''[[The Grinch (film)|The Grinch]]''
| 2018
| $270,620,950
|-
! 19
| ''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]''
| 2016
| $270,329,045
|-
! 20
| ''[[Twisters (film)|Twisters]]''
| 2024
| $267,762,265
|-
! 21
| ''[[Despicable Me 3]]''
| 2017
| $264,624,300
|-
! 22
| ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (2025 film)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' 
| 2025
| $262,958,100	
|-
! 23
| ''[[Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000 film)|Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas]]''
| 2000
| $260,044,825	
|-
! 24
| ''[[Despicable Me (film)|Despicable Me]]''
| 2010
| $251,513,985
|-
! 25
| ''[[Bruce Almighty]]''
| 2003
| $242,829,261	
|}
|
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Highest-grossing films worldwide
|-
! Rank !! Title !! Year !! Gross 
|-
! 1
| ''[[Jurassic World]]''
| rowspan=2 | 2015
| $1,671,537,444
|-
! 2
| ''[[Furious 7]]''
| $1,516,045,911
|-
! 3
| ''[[The Super Mario Bros. Movie]]''
| 2023
| $1,361,767,338 
|-
! 4
| '' [[Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom]]''
| 2018
| $1,308,473,425	 
|-
! 5
| ''[[The Fate of the Furious]]''
| 2017
| $1,238,764,765	 
|-
! 6
| ''[[Minions (film)|Minions]]''
| 2015
| $1,159,398,397
|-
! 7
| ''[[Jurassic Park]]'' <sup>‡</sup>
| 1993
| $1,037,535,230
|-
! 8
| ''[[Despicable Me 3]]''
| 2017
| $1,034,800,131
|-
! 9
| ''[[Jurassic World Dominion]]''
| 2022
| $1,004,004,592
|-
! 10
| ''[[Oppenheimer (film)|Oppenheimer]]''
| 2023
| $976,120,348	
|-
! 11
| ''[[Despicable Me 2]]''
| 2013
| $970,761,885	 	 	 
|-
! 12
| ''[[Despicable Me 4]]''
| 2024
| $969,593,874
|-
! 13
| ''[[Minions: The Rise of Gru]]''
| 2022
| $939,628,210	
|-
! 14
| ''[[The Secret Life of Pets]]''
| 2016
| $875,457,937
|-
! 15
| style="background:#B6FCB6;" | ''[[Jurassic World Rebirth]]'' {{†|alt=film currently playing}}
| 2025
| $868,823,474	
|-
! 16
| ''[[E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]]'' <sup>‡</sup>
| 1982
| $797,103,542
|-
! 17
| ''[[Fast & Furious 6]]''
| 2013
| $788,679,850
|-
! 18
| ''[[No Time to Die]]''
| 2021
| $774,153,007
|-
! 19
| ''[[Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw]]''
| 2019
| $760,732,926
|-
! 20
| ''[[Wicked (2024 film)|Wicked]]''
| 2024
| $758,854,096
|-
! 21
| ''[[F9 (film)|F9]]''
| 2021
| $726,229,501
|-
! 22
| ''[[Fast X]]''
| 2023
| $704,875,015
|-
! 23
| style="background:#B6FCB6;" | ''[[How to Train Your Dragon (2025 film)|How to Train Your Dragon]]'' {{†|alt=film currently playing}}
| 2025
| $636,200,831
|-
! 24
| ''[[Sing (2016 American film)|Sing]]''
| 2016
| $631,214,341	
|-
! 25
| ''[[Fast Five]]''
| 2011
| $626,137,675
|}
|}
<sup>‡</sup> Includes theatrical reissue(s).

==Logos==
<gallery>
File:Universal Film Manufacturing Company 1912.png|Universal Film Manufacturing Company print logo, 1912
File:Universal films logo 1913.jpg|Logo used from 1913 to 1914
File:Universal Film Manufacturing Company 1914.png|Logo used from 1914 to 1919
File:Universal Pictures logo 1915.jpg|Logo used from 1923 to 1927
File:Universal Film Manufacturing Company 1919.png|Logo used from 1919 to 1923
File:Universal Pictures logo 1925-1928.jpg|Logo used from 1925 to 1927
File:Universal Pictures 1923.jpg|Logo used from 1923 to 1927
File:Universal logo, with cue mark.png|Logo version used in cartoons from 1927
File:Universal Pictures 1936.png|Logo used from 1936 to 1947
File:Universal Pictures 1963.png|Logo used from 1963 to 1990
File:Universal Pictures 1990.png|Logo used from 1990 to 1997
File:Universal Pictures logo (2000).svg|Logo used from 1996 to 2012. The logo is still used on some properties, such as the independent company [[Universal Music Group]].
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Universal Pictures}}
*{{Official website}}

{{NBCUniversal}}
{{Comcast}}
{{Universal Studios franchises}}
{{Film Studio}}
{{Academy Award Best Picture Producers}}

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