{"id":13326,"date":"2013-10-28T01:51:14","date_gmt":"2013-10-28T05:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/?p=13326"},"modified":"2013-11-20T10:41:58","modified_gmt":"2013-11-20T15:41:58","slug":"universal-pictures-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/2013\/10\/28\/universal-pictures-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Universal Pictures"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Luke Lamble<\/pre>\n
\"Universal<\/a>
Universal Pictures logo<\/p><\/div>\n
History<\/strong><\/p>\n
Founded in 1912, Universal Pictures, Inc.<\/a> is the oldest American movie studio and continues to be a leader in the world of motion picture production and distribution. [1]<\/a>\u00a0In 2004, General Electric<\/a> bought Universal Pictures.\u00a0[2]<\/a>\u00a0GE sold all of its control of Universal in 2011 to the cable provider, Comcast<\/a>, creating NBCUniversal<\/a>.\u00a0 Universal Pictures still operates as the movie production subsidiary.\u00a0[3]<\/a>\u00a0In 2012 alone, Universal has produced a diverse selection of award-winning movies such as the film production of\u00a0Les Mis\u00e9rables<\/i><\/a> and the comedy hit, Ted<\/i><\/a>. [4]<\/a><\/p>\n
Key Executives<\/strong> [5]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n
\"Ron<\/a>
Ron Meyer (nbcumv.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
Ron Meyer \u2013 Vice Chairman<\/i>, NBCUniversal<\/p>\n
Meyer served as President and COO of Universal Pictures since 1995 before being made Vice Chairman of NBCUniversal in September 2013.\u00a0 He currently oversees all facets of the company, while still managing its portfolio of film assets amongst others<\/p>\n
\"Donna<\/a>
Donna Langley (nbcumv.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
Donna Langley \u2013 Chairman<\/i>, Universal Pictures<\/p>\n
Langley began working at Universal in 2001 as the senior vice president of production.\u00a0 After being named Chairman of Universal Pictures in September 2013, she assumed the role of overseeing the production and distribution of the company\u2019s feature films.<\/p>\n
\"Suzanne<\/a>
Suzanne Cole (nbcumv.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
Suzanne Cole \u2013 Executive VP, Media<\/i>, Universal Pictures<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of her tenure at Universal Pictures, the studio has experienced some of its most lucrative successes.\u00a0 Because of this success, Cole was named Executive Vice President of Media in 2008.\u00a0 She now oversees all strategic activities for the marketing and distribution of the studio\u2019s feature films.<\/p>\n
Financials<\/strong> <\/b>(all numbers in millions)<\/b><\/p>\n
Recent years have been good for Universal Pictures and its parent NBCUniversal.\u00a0 From 2011 to 2012, revenue for NBCUniversal grew by almost $5,000, from $19,028 to $23,812.\u00a0 Filmed entertainment was responsible for approximately 21% of the total revenue in 2012, generating $5,159.\u00a0 That was up from $4,239 generated by Universal Pictures in 2011. [6]<\/a><\/p>\n
\"NBCUniversal<\/a>
NBCUniversal logo<\/p><\/div>\n
In regards to how Universal Pictures measured up against the five other major movie studios, so far in 2013, Universal holds a 14.6% market share amongst all the studios, placing it second behind Warner Brothers<\/a>.\u00a0 This year Universal Pictures has grossed $1,329.3 from the release of 13 movies. [7]<\/a><\/p>\n
Competition<\/strong><\/p>\n
The main concern for NBCUniversal and Universal Pictures right now is the new technologies that are affecting traditional media production and distribution methods.\u00a0 This is referring mainly to companies like Netflix<\/a> and Hulu<\/a> that syndicate video programming online.\u00a0 A growing concern is that these companies and others like them are beginning to create and obtain their own original content. [8]<\/a><\/p>\n
Recent Film Releases<\/strong><\/p>\n
Universal Pictures has developed a reputation for having great success with movie franchises with such iconic franchises such as Back to the Future<\/i><\/a>, Jurassic Park<\/i><\/a>, and the Bourne<\/i><\/a> series. [9]<\/a> In 2013, Universal stuck with this trend and reaped the benefits of new installments in the Despicable Me<\/i><\/a> and Fast & Furious<\/i><\/a> series, amongst an eclectic mix of other successful films. [10]<\/a><\/p>\n
The Best Man Holiday<\/i><\/p>\n
A sequel to 1999\u2019s The Best Man<\/i><\/a>, The Best Man Holida<\/i>y<\/a> picks right up with the old college friends from the The Best Man<\/i>, as they all reconvene for some Christmas celebrations.\u00a0 Amidst all the fun times, sparks of old romances begin to rekindle and old rivalries that had faded away over time arise again.\u00a0 Taye Diggs<\/a>, Terrence Howard<\/a>, Morris Chestnut<\/a>, Monica Calhoun<\/a>, and Regina Hall<\/a> star in this quintessential holiday comedy-drama written and directed by Malcolm D. Lee<\/a>. [11]<\/a><\/p>\n
\"The<\/a>
The Best Man Holiday (vibe.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
Released on November 15, 2013, in just three days The Best Man Holiday <\/i>has nearly doubled its budget so far, bringing in $32,536,350.\u00a0 That\u2019s also $6.5 million over the $24 million it was projected to earn. [12]<\/a> Tagged as \u201cjust another black comedy,\u201d The Best Man Holiday<\/i> has not only offered more evidence that generally black films can succeed, but that this is no typical movie by any sense, except for the fact that it is generally crowd-pleasing.\u00a0 (No particular race or age group dominantly represents itself in the film\u2019s audience demographics).\u00a0 In fact, CinemaScore<\/a> even gave the movie an A+, an extremely rare feat for any film. [13]<\/a><\/p>\n
Despicable Me 2<\/i><\/p>\n
Gru (Steve Carell<\/a>), a former master villain, has settled into family life after adopting and coming to love his three daughters, but peace and quiet is not lasting for the villain-turned-hero, as he is called upon to save the world from a new super-villain. \u00a0And just as the world needs Gru\u2019s help, so does his eldest daughter who has fallen for a classic bad-boy and an inevitable source of heartbreak.\u00a0 Kristen Wiig<\/a> and Benjamin Bratt<\/a> star alongside Carell in this story of one former villain\u2019s attempt to be a hero for the world and for his own family. [14]<\/a><\/p>\n
\"Despicable<\/a>
Despicable Me 2 (ropeofsilicon.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
 <\/p>\n
The original Despicable Me<\/i> (2010) was a tremendous release for Universal, ranking seventh all-time amongst its highest grossing movies by bringing in $251,513,985 domestically.\u00a0 On July 3, 2013, Despicable Me 2 <\/i>was released and has shattered that record, becoming the all-time highest grossing movie for Universal Pictures with $365,943,520 of domestic revenue. \u00a0This income has far surpassed the film\u2019s production budget of $76 million, and that\u2019s not even factoring in its performance in the worldwide box office.\u00a0 To the delight of the studio, 60.1% of the movie\u2019s total revenue came from foreign releases, grossing $550,100,000 worldwide.\u00a0 All in all, Despicable Me<\/i> 2 <\/i>has brought in $916,043,520 for Universal Studios, and subsequently, is still playing in 305 theaters across the U.S. [15]<\/a><\/p>\n
Fast & Furious 6<\/i><\/p>\n
The very CIA agent who has been trying to track them down in order to defeat a new crew of criminal drivers who are causing chaos in twelve countries across the world calls upon refugees of the law.\u00a0 In an effort to be pardoned from the charges against themselves, Dom and Brian (Vin Diesel<\/a> and Paul Walker<\/a>) get their old gang of expert drivers back together to take to the streets of London and defeat these mercenary drivers.\u00a0 Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, and Dwayne \u201cThe Rock\u201d Johnson<\/a> star in this pedal-to-the-metal thriller. [16]<\/a><\/p>\n
\"Fast<\/a>
Fast & Furious 6 (teaser-trailer.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
The sixth film in the Fast & Furious<\/i> series was the most successful installment to date for the studio, becoming its ninth highest grossing film of all time, and reaping in the most revenue of all the Fast & Furious<\/i> films. Fast & Furious 6<\/i> generated $238,679,850 for Universal, making it the second highest grossing film of 2013 behind Despicable Me 2<\/i>.\u00a0 In the worldwide box office, Fast & Furious 6<\/i> brought in another $550 million, bringing its total gross to a lofty $788,659,850.\u00a0 Given the $160 million budget, Universal Pictures had another major box office winner with this film. [17]<\/a><\/p>\n
What\u2019s to Come from Universal Studios<\/strong><\/p>\n
Fast & Furious 7<\/em><\/p>\n
\"Fast<\/a>
Fast & Furious 7 (hitfix.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
Just a little over a year after Fast & Furious 6<\/i> came out, the seventh is already on its way, slated for a July, 2014 release date.\u00a0 This time, the brother of the defeated world-criminal from Fast & Furious 6<\/i> has come onto the scene seeking revenge for his brother\u2019s death. [18]<\/a><\/p>\n
Ted 2<\/em><\/p>\n
\"Ted<\/a>
Ted 2 (collider.com)<\/p><\/div>\n
Universal Pictures also has plans to release the sequel to its wildly successful, raucous comedy Ted.<\/i>\u00a0 However, Universal did not produce the original, but acquired the rights to it and distributed it as a Universal Pictures film.\u00a0 Despite not having the rights yet, the studio is confident it will be able to secure them and go forward with production of the sequel. [19]<\/a><\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
 <\/p>\n
Sources<\/strong><\/p>\n
[1] Universal Pictures History<\/a><\/p>\n
[2] NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment Unite to Create NBC Universal<\/a><\/p>\n
[3] Comcast Completes Acquisition of GE’s 49% Stake In NBCUniversal<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n
[4] About Universal Pictures<\/a><\/p>\n
[5] NBCUniversal Film Executives<\/span><\/a><\/h1>\n
[6] NBCUniversal 2012 Annual Report<\/a><\/p>\n
[7] 2013 Studio Market Shares<\/a><\/p>\n
[8] NBCUniversal 2012 Annual Report<\/a><\/p>\n
[9] Movie Franchises by Studio<\/a><\/p>\n
[10]\u00a0Universal Pictures’ 2013 Movie Releases<\/a><\/p>\n
[11] The Best Man Holiday<\/i> Plot Summary<\/a><\/p>\n
[12] The Best Man Holiday<\/i> Box Office Performance<\/a><\/p>\n
[13] The Best Man Holiday<\/i> Performance Analysis<\/a><\/p>\n
[14] Despicable Me 2<\/i> Plot Summary<\/a><\/p>\n
[15]\u00a0<\/b>Despicable Me 2 <\/i>Box Office Performance<\/a><\/p>\n
[16] Fast & Furious 6<\/i> Plot Summary<\/a><\/p>\n
[17] Fast & Furious 6<\/i> Box Office Performance<\/a><\/p>\n
[18] Dwayne Johnson Tweets Fast & Furious 7<\/i> Photo<\/a><\/p>\n
[19] Ted 2 <\/i>Scheduled Release<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Luke Lamble History Founded in 1912, Universal Pictures, Inc. is the oldest American movie studio and continues to be a leader in the world of motion picture production and distribution. [1]\u00a0In 2004, General Electric bought Universal Pictures.\u00a0[2]\u00a0GE sold all … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":318,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[28,10,9,1479],"tags":[1291,2023,1290,518,2021,965,685,686,2010,1857,2008,2009,1052,1027,1214,2022,2017,2015,2014,2024,1864,90,534,2020,2016,1258,2018,2011,1361,665,2007,2013,2012,269,2019,105],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13326"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/318"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13326"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16673,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13326\/revisions\/16673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}