Distributor Research - The Big Six.

"The Big Six"

In the film industry, there are six major companies that dominate it. These six companies are very successful in the competitive industry as they are multi-million dollar conglomerates. A conglomerate is a cooperation made up of different similar but smaller companies, called subsidiaries. For example The Walt Disney Company is a major conglomerate, but some of its subsidiaries are EPSN, abc and Pixar. 

The Big Six consists of:

1.20th Century Fox.

Twentieth Century Fox Film Cooperation is an american film studio and distributor, owned by 20th Century Fox, founded in 1935. The conglomerate have distributed some of the highest grossing films worldwide of all time, including Avatar, Titanic and Star Wars. 20th Century Fox distribute films of different genre, meaning their target audience varies massively, explaining why they are a major conglomerate.They draw inspiration from real life and artfully bring works of literature to life, such as Life Of Pi. They distribute films not only for entertainment however to inspire others and to send a message to the audience what ever it may be.

"Our mission is the same it was centuries ago, give people the simple pleasure of being transported by a story on a screen."

2.Warner Bro's Pictures.

Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc, is an american entertainment company, film studio and film distributor that is a division of Time Warner and is headquartered in California, US. It is the worlds Third largest movie studio after Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios. In 2015 they earned $3.51 billion, something which a lot of conglomerates find it hard to achieve. On average the company distributes 18-22 films per year. It is beneficial that it is part of a larger conglomerate, Time Warner, as through cross-media ownership Time Warner owns lots of successful subsidiaries such as HBO for example, and these provide a constant source of income for Warner Bros, An Example of this can be seen by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. 

3.Paramount Pictures.

Paramount Pictures Cooperation is an American film studio based in Hollywood, California. In 2014 Paramount Pictures became the first Major Hollywood studio to distribute all of its films in digital form only. It has almost a century of experience providing the finest production services from development to post production. Paramount Pictures have distributed films from Interstellar to Shrek, meaning it varies dramatically with their audience, also making them a major conglomerate. 

"Today, we’re ushering in a new era of excellence and embarking on a new phase of history by continuing the evolution of our services and facilities to meet the demands of today and tomorrow’s production partners".

4.Universal Studios.

Universal Studios is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division. The company was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann and many others. It is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States and is the worlds fourth oldest. It's studios are located in California and Distribution & other corporate offices are in New York City. Six of the Universal Studios' films; Jaws (1975), E.T. (1982),  Jurassic Park (1993), Despicable Me 2 (2013), Furious 7 (2015) and Jurassic World (2015) achieved box office records, and the first three (all directed by Steven Spielberg) all becoming the highest grossing film at the time of it's initial release. 

5. Walt Disney Pictures. 

Walt Disney Pictures is an American Diversified, multinational mass media and Entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in California. It is the worlds second largest media conglomerate in terms of revenue (after Comcast). The company was founded in 1923, by brothers Walt Disney and Roy O. Disney, as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, and established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into live-action film production, television and theme parks. Taking on it's current name in 1986, it expanded it's existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theatre, radio, music, publishing and online media. The company is best known for the products of it's film studio, Walt Disney Studios, which today is one of the worlds largest and best-known studios in American Cinema. 

"We seek to develop the most creative, innovative and profitable entertainment experiences and related products in the world".

6. Colombia Pictures

Colombia Pictures Industries Inc. is an american film studio, production company and film distributor that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The studios was founded in 1918 and released it's first feature film in 1922. It is one of the leading film studios in the world, being the worlds fifth largest major film studio. Films Distributed includes The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Groundhog Day (1993), Ghostbusters (1984), Annie (1982) and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011).