THESE COMPANIES CONTROL THE GLOBAL BOX OFFICE

Annually, a large amount of film is produced all around the world but we get to hear of only a few. This is so because the global film market is dominated by a handful of major film studios.

According to Wikipedia.org, a major film studio, is a production and film distribution company that releases a substantial number of films annually and consistently commands a significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In simple terms, a major film studio is one which dominates in terms of number of films released and profit made, the market in which it operates.

Currently, there are six film distribution companies that dominate the international film market. It is an established fact that it is near impossible, or if it does happen, very rare "for a film to reach a broad international audience on multiple continents and in multiple languages", without the distribution network of these studios.

These studios are major divisions of diversified media conglomerates. Colloquially referred to as "the majors" or more popularly as "the big six", they engage in development, financing, marketing and merchandising. Between them they own and control numerous smaller film studios to which we can credit many of our favourite movies.

While the names that make up the list of the world's biggest film studios are not cast in cement, the following are the studios that make up the big six:

1. UNIVERSAL PICTURES

Founded in 1912, the studio is currently owned by Comcast. This studio gave us classics like Jaws, E.T, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future and recent features like the Mummy, the Bourne movies, The Chronicles of Riddick, Fast and Furious, Despicable Me and the Purge. It owns the following studios:

• Universal Studios
• Focus Features
• Working Title Films
• Illumination Entertainment
• Universal Animation Studio

Market share for 2015 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) equaled 22.3% and 2016 (Jan. 1 - May 29) is 8.3%

2. BUENA VISTA

Established in 1953, this studio is more popularly known as the Walt Disney and is a division of The Walt Disney Company. Films to their credit include: The Lion King; Star Wars: The Force Awakens; Frozen; Zootopia;  the Pirates of the Caribbean series; Sixth Sense and all Marvel Studios films since 2012 including the Avengers, Captain America: Civil War.  It owns and controls the following smaller film studios:

• Walt Disney Pictures
• Pixar Animation Studios
• Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Touchstone Pictures
• Miramax Films
• Hollywood Pictures
• Marvel Studios
• Lucasfilm

Market share for the 2015 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) was 19.8% and for 2016 (Jan. 1 - May 29) is 31.5%

3. WARNER BROTHERS ENTERTAINMENT

Established in 1923, now owned by the Time Warner Corporation and popularly known as Warner Bros., this studio has entertained the global audience with films like the Harry Potter movies, V for Vendetta, The Lord of the Ring trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, the Matrix trilogy, Batman v. Superman, The Dark Knight, Man of Steel and others including I Am Legend, American Sniper and Oceans 11, 12 and 13. The following studios are its subsidiaries:

• Castle Rock Entertainment
• Warner Bros. Animation
• New Line Cinema
• HBO/HBO Films

Its Market share for 2015 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) was 16.9% and 2016 (Jan. 1 - May 29) is 11.3%

4. FOX FILMED ENTERTAINMENT

The parent company of this studio is 21st Century Fox. It was established in 1935 and under its belt are  films including:Titanic, Star Wars Episode I - VI, Alien, Predator, Home Alone, The Omen, Independence Day, Avatar, the X-Men movies, Ice Age, Die Hard, Planet of the Apes, Fantastic Four, Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Deadpool. It controls:

• 20th Century Fox
• Fox Searchlight
• TSG Entertainment
• Fox Animation Studios

Its Market share for 2015 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) was 12.4% and 2016 (Jan. 1 - May 29) is 18.8%

5. SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT

Founded in 1987, this studio at the moment is owned by Sony Corporation. It has its name attached to the Pursuit of Happiness, Monster House, the Spiderman Movies, Men in Black, Face the Giants, Casino Royale, Underworld, The Angry Birds Movie and Risen. It owns:

• Columbia Pictures
• TriStar Pictures
• Sony Pictures Classics
• Sony Pictures Animation
• Screen Gems
• Stage 6 Films
• Destination Films
• Affirm Films  

Its Market share for 2015 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) was 8.9% and 2016 (Jan. 1 - May 29) is 6.2%

6. PARAMOUNT MOTION PICTURES

This film studio was established in 1912 and is currently a division of Viacom. It has given us favourites including but not limited to Indiana Jones, Forrest Gump, Shrek, Star Trek, Ghost, War of the Worlds, Transformers, Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon, Teenage Mutant Nninja Turtles, Kung Fu Panda, G.I. Joe, Mission Impossible ans World War Z. It's subsidiaries include:

• Paramount Vantage
• Paramount Animation
• Insurge Pictures
• MTV Films
• Comedy Central Films
• Nickelodeon Movies

Its Market share for 2015 (Jan. 1 - Dec. 31) was 5.9% and 2016 (Jan. 1 - May 29) is 7.1%

For the year 2015, the big six accounted for 86.2% of total box office revenue.