Which film companies have won the global box office titles over the years？

Since the film was born in 1895, commercial films have been closely related to Hollywood in the United States. The history of American movies accounts for almost half of the world’s movie history. Since the birth of a country appeared in 1915, American blockbusters have topped the global box office almost every year. Of course, their companies are basically American.

This paper counts the global box office champions from 1915 to 2023, which film company they came from, and the acquisition pattern and current situation between companies.

Text: clockwork

Typesetting: Yaoyao

Editor: Liu Xiaodai

Planning: Throw away the book editorial department

According to the final company statistics at this stage (August 2024):

Disney = Bowei Film Publishing Company *5+ Walt Disney Film *11+ Touchstone Film *1+ Marvel Film *2+ Twentieth Century Fox Film *1+ Lucasfilm *1=21 times.

MGM = MGM *12+ United States *1=13 times.

Warner Bros. = Warner Bros. *19+ New Line Pictures *2=11 times

Sony = Samsung Film Company *1+ Columbia Film Company *1=2 times.

The acquisition pattern and present situation between companies

01

Paramount, who won the most titles in 21 years, has maintained great competitiveness since its establishment in 1912. Except for the 1960s, every decade has its own ruling period. Its representative works are The Godfather, raiders of the lost ark, Mission Impossible, Transformers and Top Gun, and its single films include Titanic and Rear Window …

However, after 2014, I never won the annual championship again.

Paramount)1912 since 1912.

(acquired by Viacom in 1994)

1919《The Miracle Man》

1923 "caravan"

1926 The Mermaid of the South China Sea

The Adventures of Tom in 1930

1932 Shanghai Express

1933 I am not an angel

1947 "Golden Earrings"

1949 Samson and Sun Lida

1954 "Rear Window"

1956 Ten Commandments

1970 "Love Story"

1972 The Godfather

1978 Grease

Raiders of the lost ark in 1981.

1986 Top Gun

1987 fatal temptation

1989 Indiana Jones 3

1990 "Ghost"

1997 Titanic

2000 Mission Impossible 2

2014 Transformers 4

02

The second place is Disney Pictures for 14 times, but counting the companies currently acquired, it is also 21 times. Disney began to dominate the film industry in the 1990s, and Rowen, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Avengers, Star Wars and Avatar series have all been merged into Disney’s subsidiary.

Walt Disney Pictures)1923 since 1923.

1992 Aladdin

1994 The Lion King

1995 "Die Hard Rowen 3"

2006 Pirates of the Caribbean 2

2007 Pirates of the Caribbean 3

Toy Story 3 in 2010

2012 The Avengers 1

Frozen in 2013

2015 Star Wars 7

2016 Captain America: Civil War

2017 Star Wars 8

2018 Avengers 3

2019 Avengers 4

2022 Avatar 2

03

The third place is MGM 12 times, plus the acquisition of United States is 13 times. MGM’s peak was founded in 1924 to 1950s, and its representative works are Ben Xu, Rocky Series and Gone with the Wind.

MGM)1924-present)

1925 Flower of the Battlefield

1929 Broadway Melody

1934 The Veil

1936 La Traviata

1939 Gone with the Wind

1943 "The Biwing Birds"

1944 "Fire Tree and Silver Flower"

1948 "Flowers bloom and butterflies are full of branches"

1951 "The tyrant burned the city"

1959 Ben Xu

1976 rocky

1979 rocky 2

04

The fourth and fifth places are Twentieth Century Fox (acquired by Disney in 2019) for 12 times and Warner Bros. for 9 times (plus the acquisition of New Line Pictures for 11 times).

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation from 1935 to the present.

(Acquired by News Corporation in 1985 and Walt Disney Pictures in 2019)

1958 South Pacific

1963 Cleopatra

1965 The Sound of Music

Butch cassidy and the sundance kid in 1969

Towering inferno in 1974.

1977 Star Wars

1980 Star Wars 2

1983 "Star Wars 3"

Independence Day in 1996

1999 Star Wars Prequel 1

Avatar in 2009

2022 Avatar 2

Warner Bros. (WBEI) since 1923

(acquired by AT&T in 2018)

1927 Jazz Singer

Sergeant York in 1941

1973 exorcist

Towering inferno in 1974.

2001 Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The Dark Knight of Batman in 2008

2011 Harry Potter and Under the Deathly Hallows

2023 Barbie

05

Other global box office champion production companies are as follows:

Epoch Production Company 1915-[? Incomplete information]

(Only "The Birth of a Country" was produced and distributed, and the funds obtained were used to set up the Triangle Film Company)

The Birth of a Country in 1915

Triangle Film Corporation 1915-1922

(In 1917, the distribution network was acquired by WW Hawkins Company, and in 1918, the studio was acquired by Godwin Film Company [1/3 MGM].)

In 1916, "Clash with the Same Party"

Fox Film (1915-1935)

(In 1935, it merged with 20th Century Pictures to become 20th Century Fox Pictures)

1917 Cleopatra

American Film Reservation Office (FBO)1918-1929

(In 1928, the funds were merged into Radio and Television China Film Company)

1918 Mickey

United States Corporation (UA)1919-2019

(It was acquired by MGM in 1981 and officially discontinued in 2019)

1920 "All the way east"

1922 Robin Hood

1966 "Soul Desires spring night"

1971 The Violinist on the Roof

1976 rocky

1988 Rain Man

Metro Pictures)1915-1924

(Acquired by individuals in 1919 and merged into MGM in 1924)

1921 Four Horsemen of Revelation

First National Pictures 1917-1936

(It was acquired by Warner Bros. in 1929 and officially discontinued in 1936)

1924 "Seahawk"

True-life photo plays (1928-1934)

(Only the silent version of The Road to Ruin in 1928 and the audio version of the same name in 1934 were produced and released.)

1928《The Road to Ruin》

Universal (1912-present)

(acquired by MCA in 1962)

1931 Frankenstein

1975 jaws

1982《E.T Alien

1985 "Back to the Future"

1993 Jurassic Park

RKO Film Company (1929-1959)

(acquired by General Tire & Rubber Company in 1955)

1935 Politeness

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1940 Pinocchio

1942 Bambi the Deer

1945 "The Bell of Saint Mary"

1946 Song of the South

1950 "Fairy Journey"

1953 Peter Pan

Columbia Pictures Industries (1918-present)

(acquired by Sony in 1989)

1938 "Life is like a Dream"

1957 bridge on the river kwai

Lawrence of Arabia in 1962

1968 "Wonderful Girl"

1984 Ghostbusters

2021 "Spider-Man Heroes No Return"

Xinyi Rama Publishing Company (CRC)1966-1975

(It was acquired by Pacific Coast Theatre in 1963 and completely liquidated in 1978)

1952 This is the New Art Rama

Bowei Film Publishing Company (BVDC) since 1953

(owned by Walt Disney Pictures, officially renamed Walt Disney Studio Film in 2007)

1955 "Miss and the Tramp"

1960 Cape Paradise

1961 "101 loyal dog"

1964 "Happy Man"

1967 jungle book

True-life photo plays (1928-1934)

(Only the silent version of The Road to Ruin in 1928 and the audio version of the same name in 1934 were produced and released.)

1928《The Road to Ruin》

Universal (1912-present)

(acquired by MCA in 1962)

1931 Frankenstein

1975 jaws

1982《E.T Alien

1985 "Back to the Future"

1993 Jurassic Park

RKO Film Company (1929-1959)

(acquired by General Tire & Rubber Company in 1955)

1935 Politeness

1937 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

1940 Pinocchio

1942 Bambi the Deer

1945 "The Bell of Saint Mary"

1946 Song of the South

1950 "Fairy Journey"

1953 Peter Pan

Columbia Pictures Industries (1918-present)

(acquired by Sony in 1989)

1938 "Life is like a Dream"

1957 bridge on the river kwai

Lawrence of Arabia in 1962

1968 "Wonderful Girl"

1984 Ghostbusters

2021 "Spider-Man Heroes No Return"

Xinyi Rama Publishing Company (CRC)1966-1975

(It was acquired by Pacific Coast Theatre in 1963 and completely liquidated in 1978)

1952 This is the New Art Rama

Bowei Film Publishing Company (BVDC) since 1953

(owned by Walt Disney Pictures, officially renamed Walt Disney Studio Film in 2007)

1955 "Miss and the Tramp"

1960 Cape Paradise

1961 "101 loyal dog"

1964 "Happy Man"

1967 jungle book

Touchstone Pictures)1984-2016 (a subsidiary of Walt Disney Pictures, specializing in PG-13 and R-rated films)

1998 The End of the World

New Line Cinema)1967-2008

(Warner Bros. became an independent studio in 2008)

Lord of the Rings 2, 2002

Lord of the Rings 3, 2003

DreamWorks Pictures)1994 since 1994.

(Paramount took over the distribution business in 2006, Touchstone Pictures in 2009, 20th Century Fox in 2013 and Universal Pictures in 2016.)

Shrek 2 in 2004

Marvel Studios)1993 since 1993.

(Walt Disney Pictures, completely out of the control of Marvel Entertainment in 2015)

2012 The Avengers 1

2021 "Spider-Man Heroes No Return"

Huayi Brothers Media Corporation since 1994.

2020 The Eight Hundred

Summary of global box office champion film production companies

The director who won the most titles in the following year was Steven Allan Spielberg, who was the only one for five times. Next are Geroni Mi, Lusko and James Cameron.

The most popular movie series was Star Wars, which topped the list in six years, followed by The Avengers and Harry Potter, which won three years each.

It is worth mentioning that in 2000, China won the box office title for the first time, and it was John Woo’s Mission Impossible 2. By 2020, The Eight Hundred, directed by Guan Hu, was the first China film to win the global title.

Director and film series data summary