Marc Shmuger

Universal Pictures

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Film
Founded	April 30, 1912; 104 years ago (1912-04-30) (as Universal Film Manufacturing Company)
Founder	Carl Laemmle Pat Powers David Horsley William Swanson Mark Dintenfass Charles Baumann Robert H. Cochrane Adam Kessel Jules Brulatour
Headquarters	Universal City, California, United States Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris, France London, England, United Kingdom
Number of locations	3
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Donna Langley (Chairman) Jeff Shell (Chairman, Filmed Entertainment)
Products	Motion pictures
Revenue	US$4.239 billion (2011)
Operating income	US$27 million (2011)
Owner	Comcast
Parent	NBCUniversal
Divisions	Universal Animation Studios Focus Features Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Subsidiaries	Gramercy Pictures DreamWorks Animation Illumination Entertainment Amblin Partners (minority) Working Title Films NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan United International Pictures (50%) Rede Telecine
Website	universalpictures.com

Universal Pictures (also referred to as Universal Studios or simply Universal) is an American film studio owned by Comcast through the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group division of its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal. The company was founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane, and Jules Brulatour, and is the oldest surviving film studio in the United States, the world's fourth oldest after Gaumont, Pathé and Nordisk Film, and the oldest in terms of the overall film market. Its studios are located in Universal City, California, and its corporate offices are located in New York City. Universal Pictures is a member of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and is one of Hollywood's "Big Six" studios.

Universal Studios was founded by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, Robert H. Cochrane and Jules Brulatour. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the day's takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on the Latham Loop used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution.