Mark Dintenfass (1872–1933), co-founder of Universal
Universal was founded byCarl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass,Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel,Pat Powers, William Swanson,David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane[b] andJules Brulatour. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons, and calculating the day's takings. Within weeks of hisChicago trip, Laemmle gave updry goods to buy the first severalnickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backedMotion Picture Patents Company (or the "Edison Trust") meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on theLatham Loop[dubious –discuss] 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 amonopoly 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[6]Abe Stern andJulius Stern.[7] That company quickly evolved into theIndependent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), with studios inFort Lee, New Jersey, where many early films inAmerica's first motion picture industry were produced in the early 20th century.[8][9][10][11] Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to givebilling andscreen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of thestar system. In 1910, he promotedFlorence Lawrence, formerly known as "The Biograph Girl",[12] and actorKing Baggot, in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing.
Trademark for Universal Moving Pictures, September 12, 1916MelodramaA Great Love (1916) byClifford S. Elfelt for Universal Big U. Dutch intertitles, 12:33. CollectionEYE 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.
Universal Weekly andMoving Picture Weekly[15] 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.[16] 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.[16]
Universal advertisement touting the benefit of the studio's short films to theater operators[17]Universal Pictures film sets photographed 1915
On March 15, 1915,[18]: 8 Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility,Universal City Studios, on a 230-acre (0.9-km2) converted farm just over theCahuenga Pass from Hollywood.[19] 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 inexpensivemelodramas,westerns, andserials.
In 1916,Universal formed a three-tier branding system for their releases. Unlike the top-tier studios, Universal did not own any theaters[contradictory] 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:[20][21]
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
Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivalsAdolph Zukor,William Fox, andMarcus Loew, Laemmle chose not to develop atheater chain. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-directorErich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his filmsBlind Husbands (1919) andFoolish Wives (1922), but Universal shrewdly gained a return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensationalad campaign that attracted moviegoers.Character actorLon 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) andThe Phantom of the Opera (1925).[22]
During the early 1920s Laemmle entrusted most of Universal's production policy decisions toIrving 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 directorErich 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 ofMerry-Go-Round (1923) and replacing him withRupert 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 whenMetro-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.
Advertisement for comedy short films withArthur Lake andOlive HasbrouckShare 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 ofJoe Pasternak. This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face ofHitler'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.[23]
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.[24]Walt Disney andUb Iwerks created the character and theWalt 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.[25] However, after Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the films, Mintz took most of Walt'sanimators to work at his own studio. Disney and Iwerks would createMickey 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 byWalter Lantz, which would later result in the creation ofWoody Woodpecker in 1940.
In February 2006,NBCUniversal sold all the Disney-animated Oswald cartoons, along with the rights to the character himself, toThe Walt Disney Company. In return, Disney releasedABC sportscasterAl Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's recently acquiredSunday night NFL football package. Universal retained ownership of the remaining Oswald cartoons.
In 1928, Laemmle Sr. made his son,Carl Jr., head of Universal Pictures, a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation fornepotism—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/producerWilliam 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 pannedpart-talkie version ofEdna Ferber's novelShow Boat (1929), the lavish musicalBroadway (1929) which includedTechnicolor sequences; and the first all-color musical feature (for Universal),King of Jazz (1930). The more seriousAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930) won its year'sBest PictureOscar.
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 theGreat Depression was risky, and for a time, Universal slipped intoreceivership. The theater chain wasscrapped, but Carl Jr. held fast to distribution, studio, and production operations.
The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version ofShow Boat (1936), a remake of its earlier 1929part-talkie production, and produced as a high-quality, big-budget film rather than as aB-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 onShow 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 ascollateral. 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 1936Show 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'sJ. 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 entrepreneursC.M. Woolf andJ. Arthur Rank, who bought a significant stake in the studio.[26] Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had a few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler andMargaret 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 singerDeanna 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.
When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin's pictures, and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-oldGloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939; she went on to star withBing Crosby,W. C. Fields, andDonald O'Connor. A popular Universal film of the late 1930s wasDestry Rides Again (1939), starringJames Stewart as Destry andMarlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leavingParamount.
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 andBing Crosby were two of the major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, includingEdgar Bergen,W. C. Fields, and the comedy team ofAbbott and Costello (Bud Abbott andLou Costello). Abbott and Costello's military comedyBuck Privates (1941) gave the formerburlesquecomedians a national and international profile.
As Universal's main product had always been lower-budgeted films, it was one of the last major studios to contract withTechnicolor. The studio did not make use of thethree-strip Technicolor process untilArabian Nights (1942), starringJon Hall andMaria Montez. Technicolor was also used for the studio's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama,Phantom of the Opera (1943) withClaude Rains andNelson 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 companyInternational 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.[27]William Goetz, a founder of International along withLeo 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 ofLouis B. Mayer, decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production ofB movies,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.[28] Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc.
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 asDavid Lean'sGreat Expectations (1946) andLaurence Olivier'sHamlet (1948). Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into the lucrative non-theatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealerCastle 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'sRealart 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 likeThe Killers (1946) andThe Naked City (1948), both produced byMark 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 asMa and Pa Kettle (1949), a spin-off of the studio's 1947 hitThe Egg and I and the inexpensiveFrancis (1950), the first film of a series about a talking mule, became mainstays of the company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, includingAbbott 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 investorMilton Rackmil, whoseDecca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello, the studio retained theWalter Lantz cartoon studio, whose product was released with Universal-International's films.
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 1948U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. decision. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950MCA agentLew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his clientJames 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
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 inFrance. In the late 1960s, the company also started a production company inParis,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'sLe scandale (English titleThe Champagne Murders, 1967) andRomain Gary'sLes oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (English titleBirds in Peru), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, includingLouis Malle'sLacombe, Lucien,Bertrand Blier'sLes Valseuses (English titleGoing Places, 1974), andFred Zinnemann'sThe 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 FrenchCinema International Corporation arm.
In 1954, the studio loaned out television syndication rights to the black-and-white cartoons produced byWalter Lantz Productions to Motion Pictures for Television (later absorbed into Guild Films).[29] In 1957, Universal-International secured a deal withScreen Gems, a television subsidiary ofColumbia Pictures Corporation to license 600 of its pre-1948 sound films for $20 million.[30]
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. TheMusic Corporation of America (MCA), the world's largest talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space atRepublic Studios for itsRevue Productions subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km2) studio lot to MCA in 1958 for $11 million, renamedRevue 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 likeDoris Day,Lana Turner,Cary Grant, and directorAlfred 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 formedUniversal City Studios, Inc., merging the motion pictures and television arms of the formerly Universal Pictures Company and Revue Studios (which was officially renamed asUniversal Television). And so, with MCA in charge, Universal became a full-blown, A-film movie studio, withleading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and astudio 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;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 byNorman Lear'sTandem Productions/Embassy Television, includingDiff'rent Strokes,One Day at a Time,The Jeffersons,The Facts of Life, andSilver Spoons which premiered onNBC that same fall.
In 1983, Universal Pictures launched an independent film arm designed to release specialty films, Universal Classics, and the division has sights on separation.[32] In 1987, Universal Pictures,MGM/UA Communications Co., andParamount 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.[33]
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 studioNew Line Cinema.[34]
In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up withParamount to formCinema International Corporation, which distributed films by Paramount and Universal outside of the US and Canada. Although Universal did produce occasional hits, among themAirport (1970),The Sting (1973),American Graffiti (also 1973),Earthquake (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes:Jaws (1975), Universal during the decade was primarily a television studio. WhenMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer purchasedUnited 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 asUnited International Pictures. There would be other film hits likeSmokey and the Bandit (1977),Animal House (1978),The Muppet Movie (1979),The Jerk (also 1979),The Blues Brothers (1980),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 (1988),Field of Dreams (1989),Jurassic Park (1993) andCasper (1995), but the film business was financially unpredictable with some films likeThe Thing (1982),Scarface (1983),Dune (1984),Howard the Duck (1986),The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) orWaterworld (1995), which turned out to be big box office disappointments despite their high budget; however, these films became cult films in later years.[citation needed] UIP began distributing films by start-up studioDreamWorks in 1997 due to the founders' connections with Paramount, Universal, and Amblin Entertainment. In 2001, MGM dropped out of the UIP venture and went with20th 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 ofPolyGram Filmed Entertainment and wanted UPI to distribute their films starting in 2001.[35] Only a small handful of films were released theatrically by Universal Pictures International, up until the release of the filmMickey Blue Eyes. UIP then took over the theatrical distribution inventory of future films planned to be released by Universal Pictures International, such asThe Green Mile andAngela's Ashes.[36] On October 4, 1999, Universal renewed its commitments to United International Pictures to release its films internationally through 2006.[37][38]
Matsushita and Seagram
Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA headLew Wasserman sought a rich partner. He locatedJapanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known asPanasonic), which agreed to acquire MCA for $6.6 billion in 1990.
On December 9, 1996, the new owners dropped the MCA name; the company becameUniversal Studios Inc.[39] and MCA's music division, MCA Music Entertainment Group, was renamedUniversal 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 thePenguin Group subsidiary ofPearson 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 distributorSeagram for $5.7 billion.[40] Seagram sold off its stake inDuPont to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry. Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal, Seagram boughtPolyGram fromPhilips 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
Gate 2, Universal Studios
Afterward, Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal's films, such asDavid Lynch'sMulholland Drive (2001) andBrotherhood of the Wolf (2001) which became the sixth-highest-grossingFrench-language film of all time in the United States.[41][42] Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co-produced several films, such asLove Actually (2003); a $40 million-budgeted film that eventually grossed $246 million worldwide.[43] In late 2000, theNew York Film Academy was permitted to use theUniversal Studios backlot for student film projects in an unofficial partnership.[44]
In late 2005, Viacom'sParamount Pictures acquiredDreamWorks 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 chairmanMarc Shmuger andFocus Features headDavid 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.[45] In 2009,Stephanie Sperber founded Universal Partnerships & Licensing within Universal to license consumer products for Universal.[46]
In September 2013, Adam Fogelson was ousted as co-chairman of Universal Pictures, promoting Donna Langley to the sole chairperson. In addition, NBCUniversal International chairmanJeff Shell would be appointed as chairman of the newly createdUniversal Filmed Entertainment Group. Longtime studio headRon 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.[47][48]
Universal's multi-year film financing deal withElliott Management expired in 2013.[49] In summer 2013, Universal made an agreement withThomas Tull'sLegendary Pictures to distribute their films for five years starting in 2014 (the year that Legendary's similar agreement withWarner Bros. Pictures ended).[50]
In June 2014, Universal Partnerships took over licensing consumer products forNBC andSprout with the expectation that all licensing would eventually be centralized within NBCUniversal.[46]
In May 2015,Gramercy Pictures was revived by Focus Features as a genre label concentrating on action, sci-fi, and horror films.[51]
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 orFocus Features.[52][53]
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.[54]
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.[57]
In December 2019, Universal Pictures entered early negotiations to distribute upcoming feature films based on theLego toys. Although the originalThe Lego Movie characters and projects are still owned byWarner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures would serve as a distributor of future releases and would develop additionalLego films. The first Lego film under Universal Pictures' run of their film rights isPiece by Piece (2024).[58]
On April 28, 2020, following the release ofTrolls World Tour onpremium video on demand due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,AMC Theaters announced they would not carry films from Universal afterNBCUniversal CEOJeff Shell commented inThe 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."[59] On June 3, 2020, AMC stated that it had "substantial doubt" that it would remain in business.[60] 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.[61]
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.[62]
In 2021, Universal signed an 18-month deal withNetflix andAmazon 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.[63][64][65] In October 2024, Universal and Netflix renewed the licensing deal for the animated films, also adding live-action films starting in 2027.[66]
Universal was the first studio to have released three billion-dollar films in one year; this distinction was achieved in2015 withFurious 7,Jurassic World, andMinions.[69]
† Indicates films currently in theatrical release in the week commencing 21 November 2025.
Universal Film Manufacturing Company print logo, 1912
Logo used from 1913 to 1914
Logo used from 1914 to 1919
Logo used from 1923 to 1927
Logo used from 1919 to 1923
Logo used from 1925 to 1927
Logo used from 1923 to 1927
Logo version used in cartoons from 1927
Logo used from 1936 to 1947
Logo used from 1963 to 1990
Logo used from 1990 to 1997
Logo used from 1996 to 2012. The logo is still used on some properties, such as the independent companyUniversal Music Group.
Notes
^Current logo used since 2013. Originally designed byWētā FX, the modified version was designed by Brian Jackson.
^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.[5]
^Reeder, Thomas (2021).Time is money! : the Century, Rainbow, and Stern Brothers comedies of Julius and Abe Stern. Orlando, Florida.ISBN978-1-62933-798-2.OCLC1273678339.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
.jpg)
.svg){kind=logo}
