Major Distribution Companies of the Motion Picture Industry

     This article talks about specific motion picture distribution companies, and the power of these companies. A distribution company often finances a product and distributes it to the public. Viacom, and Time Warner Inc., Fox Entertainment Group, The Walt Disney Company, Universal Studios Group, and Sony Corporation are the 6 largest distribution companies for motion pictures. 
     Viacom includes Paramount Pictures which is one of the first major motion picture studios. They have released Forrest Gump, The Godfather, and the Ten Commandments. 
     Time Warner Inc. is one of the largest entertainment conglomerations. Some subsets include Warner Brothers, and New Line Cinema which are "two of the leading motion picture distribution companies existing today."
     Fox Entertainment Group is involved in development, production, and worldwide distribution of films, and tv programs. One of this subsets is Twentieth Century Fox Film which has released Star Wars Episode 1, and Entrapment. 
     The Walt Disney Company has expanded drastically from cartoons to now even vacation resorts.  Miramax is a distribution company owned by Disney . Oversees, Buena Vista International is responsible for distributing Disney films. Buena Vista has also released Pulp Fiction, Life is Beautiful, and the Sixth Sense to name some. 
     Universal Studios Group is one of the largest entertainment companies in the nation. Within it Universal Pictures represents the films. It often works closely with Jersey Films.
     Sony Corporation is one of the largest international corporations. From movies, tv, video, dvd, cable, music and electronics. Within this company, films are represented by Sony Pictures Entertainment, and it works closely with Columbia Pictures and Tri-Star Pictures. 
     "The power of the industry is very much dominated in the distribution companies, for the product, the film, can not be completely produced without the finances and influence of the distribution company. These vast entertainment conglomerates very much dominate the industry because they do have more clout with theater owners and TV networks...They can offer brand name recognition to the viewer, and have more connections to the creative talent and experience with effective management." Cleary, distribution companies hold immense power of the content that they wish to distribute and how the public will view it.


Major Distribution Companies of the Motion Picture Industry; Retrieved from: http://www.soc.duke.edu/~s142tm05/corporate.htm#whatisadistributioncompany