By Corey Schoellkopf
100 Universal City Place
Universal City, CA 91608 United States
(818) 777-1000
http://www.universalpictures.com
About the Company
Universal Pictures (or Universal Studios) is one of the Big Six major film companies. It is a motion picture studio that produces and distributes films. Universal Pictures owns Focus Features and Illumination Entertainment as well. [1][2]
Brief History
Universal Pictures was founded in 1912, making it the oldest movie studio in the United States, and the fourth oldest studio currently in production in the world. In May 2004 Vivendi Universal sold it’s controlling share of the company to General Electric, creating NBCUniversal (General Electric is NBC’s parent company). However, the film production subsidiary of the company remains named Universal Studios. Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), and Jurassic Park (1993) are some of Universal Studios most famous films, each breaking box office records to become the highest-grossing film of their time. [3]
Key Executives [4]
Stephen B. Burke
Chief Executive Officer, NBCUniversal
photo courtesy of NBCUniversal
Stephen B. Burke oversees all aspects of NBCUniversal, including Universal Pictures. He has been in this position since January 2011, and has previously worked as Chief Operating Officer of Comcast Corporation, which owns NBCUniversal. [5]
Cesar Conde
Executive Vice President, NBCUniversal
Photo courtesy of NBCUniversal
Cesar Conde oversees NBCUniversal International. This includes film production and distribution. Conde was previously the president of Univision, before joining NBCUniversal in October 2013. [6]
Stuart J. Epstein
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, NBCUniversal
Photo courtesy of NBCUniversal
Stuart J. Epstein oversees the company’s financials, which includes the financials of Universal Pictures. He has been in this position since October 2011. [7]
Jeff Shell
Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment
Photo courtesy of NBCUniversal
Jeff Shell oversees worldwide operations for Universal Pictures. This includes the global theatrical, as well as home entertainment businesses. He was appointed this position in September 2013. [8]
Financials
Financially Universal Pictures is doing extremely well. Revenue increased 3.3% from the third quarter of 2012 to the third quarter of 2013. This brought the revenue to $1.4 billion. There was a decrease in home entertainment revenue brought on by the fact that there was a lower volume of releases. The revenue still increased however, due to strong box office results from films such as Despicable Me 2. [9] [10]
On November 18th, 2013 Universal Pictures announced the studio had broken the record for highest-grossing year ever at the North American box office with $1.352 billion. Universal Pictures has had eight films come in at number one in the box office this past year including Mama, Identity Thief, Oblivion, Fast & Furious 6, Despicable Me 3, The Purge, 2 Guns, and Riddick. [11]
Current News
Photo courtesy of SourceFed
Click to view trailer
Despicable Me 2
Despicable Me 2 was released July 3rd, 2013. It is an animated film, that was also released in 3D. It revisits the now ex-villain Gru (voiced by Steve Carell), his newly adopted daughters, and the lovable and hilarious Minions. The film shows Gru trying to find and defeat a new super criminal with the help of new characters Lucy Wilde (voiced by Kristen Wiig) and Dr. Nefario (voiced by Russell Brand). With new characters that include new star power to the film, along with an already huge fan base set up by the first film, Despicable Me 2 was destined to succeed. [13] [14] [15]
In Theaters Now
Universal Pictures currently has films in theaters, some of which are doing very successfully. The most recent releases are:
Photo courtesy of Cinemark
Click to view trailer
The Best Man Holiday
Released: November 15th, 2013
Domestic revenue so far: over $32 million [16][17][18]
After 15 years a group of college friends reunite for the holidays, resulting in drama, comedy and romance.
Photo courtesy of ComingSoon.net
Click to view trailer
About Time
November 1st, 2013
Domestic revenue over $11 million [16]
Tim discovers a family secret; that he can time travel. He uses this ability to fix his mistakes, and get his dream girl. [19]
Universal Pictures has some highly anticipated movies set to release in 2014. These films are anticipated to be box office hits, which will undoubtedly add to the company’s financial success. Universal Pictures also has a variety of films that differ in genre and audience, pulling in different demographics to their films.
Release date: January 10th, 2014
Neighbors
Release date: May 9th, 2014
This comedy features a couple (played by Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) who move in next to a fraternity house filled with obnoxious college boys (played by Zac Efron and Dave Franco). This film employs star power from seasoned comedians, as well as actors that appeal to a young adult audience. [23]
