Walt Disney (A rated)

The Walt Disney Company is the third largest media and entertainment corporation in the world, after News Corporation and Time Warner. Walt Disney Pictures, the film division, was established in 1983.

Another label, Touchstone Pictures, was created in 1984 to enable Disney to release films with a more mature content than what was associated with the Disney name. Disney also produces and distributes motion pictures under Hollywood Pictures, Miramax Films and Pixar Animation Studios. Recent film successes include the Toy Story series, the Pirate of the Caribbean series, The Sixth Sense, and Ratatouille.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (A rated)

Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc., traded as SPE, is the U.S. television and film production/distribution unit of Japan-based media conglomerate Sony. Its group sales in 2005 were reported to be in excess of $6.6 billion.

In 1989, Sony acquired the American film and television production company Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, etc.) from The Coca-Cola Company for $3.4 billion. The company was renamed Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1991. Sony has since created numerous other film production and distribution units, such as Sony Pictures Classics for art-house fare, and expanded its growth on April 8, 2005, when a consortium led by Sony and its equity partners acquired the legendary Hollywood studio Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc. (MGM) in a deal worth nearly $5 billion.

Sony Pictures Entertainment Picture Group, released 2007's Spider-Man 3, which broke records at the box office. Additional recent titles include Superbad and The Pursuit of Happyness.

20th Century Fox (BBB rated)

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, also known as 20th Century Fox, was founded in 1935 as the result of a merger of two entities, Fox Film Corporation founded by William Fox in 1915, and Twentieth Century Pictures, begun in 1933 by Darryl F. Zanuck, Joseph Schenck, Raymond Griffith and William Goetz.

Located in the Century City area of Los Angeles, the studio, in 1985, became a subsidiary of News Corporation, the media conglomerate controlled by Rupert Murdoch. As of December 31, 2007, News Corporation had total assets of approximately $69 billion and total annual revenues of approximately $31 billion. 20th Century Fox is responsible for some of the top grossing movies of all time, including history’s most successful movie, Titanic.

Paramount Pictures (BBB rated)

Founded as Famous Players Film Company by Adolph Zukor in 1912, Paramount is the oldest running movie studio in Hollywood. Paramount has been owned by the media conglomerate Viacom since 1994.

The company produces and distributes films through Paramount Pictures (Blades of Glory), Paramount Vantage (Arctic Tale), and DreamWorks (Transformers). It maintains the Paramount Pictures library of more than 1,000 films including classic hits from the Star Trek, Godfather, and Indiana Jones series, and releases about a dozen new titles annually.

Paramount Pictures distributes its titles on video and DVD through Paramount Home Entertainment. It bought rival DreamWorks in 2006.

Warner Bros. (BBB rated)

Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., a subsidiary of Time Warner, is the world's second largest media and entertainment conglomerate after News Corporation. Warner Bros. has several subsidiary companies, including Warner Bros. Studios, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Home Video, DC Comics, and New Line Cinema. Warner Bros. also owns half of The CW Television Network.

Founded in 1918, Warner Bros. is the third-oldest American movie studio in continuous operation, after Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios. In 2007, Warner Bros. Pictures had their most successful years ever, as well as their seventh consecutive billion dollar-plus years at the box office. The Warner Bros. Studios division billion, and overseas receipts soared to $2.24 billion, an industry record.

In February 2007, Warner Bros. Pictures received six Academy Awards®, including Best Motion Picture for The Departed and Best Animated Feature for Happy Feet.

Universal Studios (BBB rated)

Universal Studios is a subsidiary of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience.

Formed in May 2004 through the merger of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.

Universal has achieved both popular success and critical acclaim with its recent Academy Award® winners King Kong, Brokeback Mountain, Ray, A Beautiful Mind, The Pianist, and Lost in Translation. Classic Academy Award®-winning films from Universal include All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), The Deer Hunter (1978), and Schindler’s List (1993).