Harshita Mary Varghese and Jaspreet Singh
(Reuters) – Media heiress Shari Redstone abruptly ended talks with David Ellison-led Skydance Media on Tuesday, calling off a potential sale of a majority stake in Paramount Global to an independent studio, people familiar with the talks said.
The reports mentioned several contenders, including Sony (NYSE:) for popular studio Paramount Pictures, but an agreement with Skydance seemed close.
Here are the best Hollywood studios and their performances:
UNIVERSAL PICTURES
Founded in 1912 and owned by media giant Comcast (NASDAQ:) through its subsidiary NBCUniversal, Universal Pictures is one of Hollywood’s largest film studios.
He is responsible for such classics as Jurassic World, Fast and the Furious and Minions. Jaws and E.T., which became the highest-grossing films of all time during their initial releases, are also part of Universal’s library.
According to the annual report, the film library contains more than 6,500 titles.
Last year, Universal took first place at the global box office for the first time since 2015.
Universal Pictures and Comcast-branded Focus Features earned an estimated $1.94 billion in box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada in 2023, according to market research firm Comscore.
According to the company’s annual report, theatrical revenue totaled $2.08 billion last year, helped by big wins such as Christopher Nolan’s epic Oppenheimer and the animated adventure The Super Mario Bros. Movie”.
Universal dominated this year’s Oscars, fueled by Oppenheimer, which won seven Oscars, including best picture.
EXCELLENT IMAGES
Considered the crown jewel of Paramount Global, Paramount Pictures has attracted many fans over the years.
But Shari Redstone, the company’s controlling shareholder through her stake in parent company National Amusements, was reluctant to part with the studio, which her father, the late Sumner Redstone, purchased in 1994.
The studio’s library includes more than 1,000 titles, including Star Trek, The Godfather and Mission: Impossible, as well as rights to an additional 2,500 films.
“Mission: Impossible: Deadly Reckoning Part One,” starring Tom Cruise, is its highest-grossing film, bringing in $172.1 million in box office receipts last year in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, IMDb Box Office data shows. Mojo.
Paramount Pictures’ box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada totaled $842.4 million last year, according to Comscore.
Paramount, like other studios in the United States, is recovering from last year’s months-long strikes by Hollywood writers and actors. In addition to the weak advertising market, the strikes had a negative impact on the company’s profit decline.
WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
Walt Disney (NYSE:) and brother Roy Disney founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio after signing a contract with distributor MJ Winkler for Alice Comedies in October 1923. In 1926, the studio was renamed Walt Disney Studios.
Its collection includes the renowned Disney Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Lucasfilm, Marvel Studios, Searchlight Pictures and 20th Century Studios.
Disney is home to popular film franchises such as The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Pirates of the Caribbean, and also has a collection of live-action versions of classic fairy tales such as Alice in Wonderland, Maleficent, and The Jungle Book. , Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King .
In total, up to September 30 last year, the company had released about 1,100 full-length feature films and 100 full-length animated films.
According to Comscore, studio box office revenue in the U.S. and Canada totaled $1.90 billion in 2023, with hits like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Volume 3″ and the musical fantasy film “The Little Mermaid” topped the charts.
WARNER BROS. KINO GROUP
Warner Bros. Group Motion Picture Group, owned by Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:), includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures Animation.
The company’s library includes 12,500 feature films, including franchises such as Wonder Woman, Harry Potter and Batman.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation began with the iconic Looney Tunes cartoons in 1930 and has produced such classics as The Iron Giant, The Lego Movie franchise and Happy Feet.
In 2023, he made headlines with the feminist doll adventure “Barbie,” which surpassed $1 billion in ticket sales worldwide.
The company’s recent releases, such as the star-studded Dune: Part Two, have grossed an estimated $711.8 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
The studio ranked third at the U.S. and Canadian box office last year, with about $1.43 billion, according to Comscore.
SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT Sony Pictures Entertainment, a division of Japan’s Sony Group, was formed through the purchase of Columbia Pictures Entertainment for $3.4 billion in 1989.
As of March 2023, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group includes more than 3,500 films, including 12 top Academy Award-winning films.
It has produced some of the most famous franchises in the industry, such as Jumanji, Resident Evil, Spider-Man, Bad Boys and Men in Black.
Last year, the studio released the highly anticipated adrenaline-pumping film Gran Turismo, an adaptation of the popular Sony PlayStation racing franchise of the same name.
The film grossed over $44 million domestically and over $122 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. Sony Pictures Entertainment and private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE:) have expressed interest in acquiring the film. Paramount Global.