Universal Studios | Hollywood, CA, Movies, TV

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They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.</div> </a> <div data-popper-arrow></div> </div> <span class="btn btn-link editor-link p-0 qa-byline-link gtm-byline font-12 byline-contributor text-decoration-underline"> The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</span></div> <div class="last-updated font-12 font-serif"> <span class="text-gray-700"> Last Updated: <time datetime="2024-11-25T00:00:00CST" >Nov 25, 2024</time> •</span> <a class="byline-edit-history" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Universal-Studios/additional-info#history" rel="nofollow">Article History</a> </div></div> </div> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button d-none d-sm-block js-sections-inline-button module-spacing btn d-lg-none"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <div class="d-flex d-sm-none flex-row"> <button class="d-flex d-lg-none btn btn-outline-blue border rounded-sm shadow-sm mobile-toc-button gtm-mobile-toc-inline-button js-sections-inline-button module-spacing"> <em class="material-icons mr-5 ml-n10 my-n5 md-icon" data-icon="toc"></em> Table of Contents </button> <button class="ai-ask-button btn border-2 ai-ask-button btn border-2 module-spacing btn-sm js-inline-ai-ask-button btn-outline-red-400 border-red-400 p-10 ml-5"> Ask the Chatbot a Question </button> </div> <div class="js-qf-module qf-module px-40 px-sm-20 py-15 mx-auto module-spacing font-14 bg-gray-50 rounded"> <div class="qf-title font-weight-bold font-14 mb-10 text-center"> Quick Facts</div> <div class="facts-list mt-10"> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Date: </dt> <dd>1912 - present</dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Areas Of Involvement: </dt> <dd><a href="/art/motion-picture">film</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="js-fact mb-10 line-clamp clamp-3"> <dl> <dt>Related People: </dt> <dd><a href="/biography/Henry-Koster">Henry Koster</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Grant-Tinker">Grant Tinker</a></dd> <dd><a href="/biography/Carl-Laemmle">Carl Laemmle</a></dd> </dl> <button class="js-more-btn d-none btn btn-unstyled font-12 bg-gray-50" aria-label="Toggle more/less fact data"> <em class="js-content link-blue">(Show more)</em> </button> </div> <div class="text-center"> <a class="btn btn-sm btn-link p-0" href="/facts/Universal-Studios"> See all related content </a> </div> </div> </div> </div><div class="bg-gray-50 p-15 rounded module-spacing recent-news d-flex flex-column float-false"> <div> <h2 class="font-weight-bold font-14 m-0 d-inline"> News <span class="text-gray-600">•</span> </h2> <div class="recent-news-item first-recent-news-item d-inline"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/618127/c1fb55f5831a1af3984185dcea0cd4b5" rel="nofollow">'Wicked' and 'Gladiator' make gravity-defying theater debuts</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 25, 2024, 6:38 AM ET (AP) <button class="btn btn-link d-inline p-0 font-12 js-toggle-recent-news"> <span class="text-gray-500">...</span><span>(Show more)</span> </button> </span> </div> </div> <div class="rest-of-recent-news-items"> <div class="recent-news-item mt-5"> <a class="font-14 gtm-ap-news-link" href="/news/618127/4cf8acc526dd4630d9f5328e2ee78df1" rel="nofollow">Mattel says it 'deeply' regrets misprint on 'Wicked' dolls packaging that links to porn site</a> <span class="font-14 text-gray-600"> <span>•</span> Nov. 11, 2024, 11:08 AM ET (AP) </span> </div> <button class="js-toggle-recent-news d-flex btn btn-unstyled font-14 pr-10 rounded-sm mt-10" aria-label="Toggle additional news items"> Show less <em class="material-icons" data-icon="expand_less"></em> </button> </div> </div><span class="marker before-article"></span><section data-level="1" id="ref1"><span class="marker PREMOD1 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph"><strong><span id="ref960403"></span>Universal Studios</strong>, American motion-picture studio that was one of the leading producers of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/art/motion-picture" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">film</a> serials in the 1920s and of popular horror films in the ’30s. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Carl-Laemmle" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Carl Laemmle</a>, a film exhibitor turned producer, formed the company in 1912. In its early days it was a top producer of popular low-budget serials and also presented many of the films of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Erich-von-Stroheim" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">Erich von Stroheim</a> (1885–1957), who was a pioneer in realistic film direction.</p><span class="marker MOD1 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD2 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">For many years after the award-winning film <em>All Quiet on the Western Front</em> (1930), the studio presented its <a class="md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off eb" data-term="characteristic" href="https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/characteristic" data-type="EB">characteristic</a> low-budget films, which included the well-known horror films <em>Frankenstein</em> (1931) and <em>Dracula</em> (1931). In the 1960s it regained much box-office success through the comedies of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Doris-Day" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Doris Day</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Rock-Hudson" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Rock Hudson</a>. It was known as Universal-International for a time and in the early 1970s it was purchased by the Music Corporation of America, which turned it into the largest and most profitable packager of films for television in the world. Universal was subsequently involved in a series of acquisitions, and in 2004 the company (as part of Vivendi Universal Entertainment) merged with the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/money/National-Broadcasting-Co-Inc" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">National Broadcasting Co., Inc.</a>, to form NBC Universal.</p><div class="one-good-fact-module"> </div><span class="marker MOD2 mod-inline"></span><span class="marker PREMOD3 mod-inline"></span><p class="topic-paragraph">Universal Studios opened a number of theme parks that highlight its movie and television productions. In addition to being a working studio, <span id="ref1081577"></span>Universal Studios Hollywood includes rides and attractions and offers tours of various television and film sets. It was damaged by fires in 1990 and 2008; the latter destroyed two square blocks of the studio lot as well as its popular King Kong attraction. <span id="ref1081572"></span>Universal Orlando Resort in Florida features the Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure theme parks. The latter includes the Wizarding World of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Harry-Potter" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Harry Potter</a>, an attraction based on <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/J-K-Rowling" class="md-crosslink " data-show-preview="true">J.K. Rowling</a>’s popular book series. Other Universal Studios theme parks are located in Ōsaka, <a href="https://www.britannica.com/place/Japan" class="md-crosslink autoxref " data-show-preview="true">Japan</a>, and in Singapore.</p><a class="link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module" href="/quiz/pop-culture-quiz" data-link-module-iframe-link=""> <img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.britannica.com/65/129465-131-8F637272/USA-Annual-Academy-Awards-Closeup-entrance-statue-2009.jpg" alt="USA 2006 - 78th Annual Academy Awards. Closeup of giant Oscar statue at the entrance of the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hompepage blog 2009, arts and entertainment, film movie hollywood" class="rounded-sm mr-15" width="70" /> <div class="line-clamp clamp-5"> <div class="module-title bg-green">Britannica Quiz</div> <div class="font-weight-semi-bold mt-5">Pop Culture Quiz</div> </div> </a><span class="marker MOD3 mod-inline"></span></section> <span class="md-signature"><a href="/editor/The-Editors-of-Encyclopaedia-Britannica/4419">The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica</a></span> <span class="md-signature">This article was most recently revised and updated by <a href="/editor/Amy-Tikkanen/6393">Amy Tikkanen</a>.</span><span class="marker end-of-content"></span><span class="marker after-article"></span></div> <div id="chatbot-root"></div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ai-dialog-placeholder"></div> </div> </div> <aside class="col-md-da-320"></aside> </div> </div> </div> </div> </article></div> </div></div> </div> </main> <div id="md-footer"></div> <noscript><iframe src="//www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-5W6NC8" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript> <script type="text/javascript" id="_informizely_script_tag"> var IzWidget = IzWidget || {}; (function (d) { var scriptElement = d.createElement('script'); scriptElement.type = 'text/javascript'; scriptElement.async = true; scriptElement.src = "https://insitez.blob.core.windows.net/site/f780f33e-a610-4ac2-af81-3eb184037547.js"; var node = d.getElementById('_informizely_script_tag'); node.parentNode.insertBefore(scriptElement, node); } )(document); </script>  <script> window.ap3c = window.ap3c || {}; var ap3c = window.ap3c; ap3c.cmd = ap3c.cmd || []; ap3c.cmd.push(function() { ap3c.init('ZO4siT4cLwnykPnzZWJtd3Byb2Q', 'https://engage.email.britannica.com/'); ap3c.track({v: 0}); }); ap3c.activity = function(act) { ap3c.act = (ap3c.act || []); ap3c.act.push(act); }; var s, t; s = document.createElement('script'); s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.src = "https://engage.email.britannica.com/app.js"; t = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; t.parentNode.insertBefore(s, t); </script> <script class="marketing-page-info" type="application/json"> {"pageType":"Topic","templateName":"DESKTOP","pageNumber":1,"pagesTotal":1,"pageId":618127,"pageLength":301,"initialLoad":true,"lastPageOfScroll":false} </script> <script class="marketing-content-info" type="application/json"> [] </script> <script src="https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/js/libs/jquery-3.5.0.min.js?v=3.130.14"></script> <script type="text/javascript" data-type="Init Mendel Code Splitting"> (function() { $.ajax({ dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: 'https://cdn.britannica.com/mendel-resources/3-130/dist/topic-page.js?v=3.130.14' }); })(); </script> <script class="analytics-metadata" type="application/json"> {"leg":"D","adLeg":"D","userType":"ANONYMOUS","pageType":"Topic","pageSubtype":null,"articleTemplateType":"MEDIUM","gisted":false,"pageNumber":1,"hasSummarizeButton":false,"hasAskButton":false} </script> <script type="text/javascript"> EBStat={accountId:-1,hostnameOverride:'webstats.eb.com',domain:'www.britannica.com', json:''}; </script> <script type="text/javascript"> ( function() { $.ajax( { dataType: 'script', cache: true, url: '//www.britannica.com/webstats/mendelstats.js?v=1' } ) .done( function() { try {writeStat(null,EBStat);} catch(err){} } ); })(); </script> <div id="bc-fixed-dialogue"></div> </body> </html>

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