In 1893, Thomas Edison built the first movie studio in the United States when he constructed the Black Maria, a tarpaper-covered structure near his laboratories in West Orange, New Jersey, and asked circus, vaudeville, … See more

The Big Five's ownership of movie theaters was eventually opposed by eight independent producers, including Samuel Goldwyn, David O. Selznick, Walt Disney, Hal Roach, … See more

Halfway through the 1950s, with television proving to be a lucrative enterprise not destined to disappear any time soon—as many in the film … See more

The Big 5
By the mid-1920s, the evolution of a handful of American production companies into wealthy motion … See more

Smaller studios operated simultaneously with the majors. These included operations such as Republic Pictures, active from 1935, … See more

By the 1950s, the physical components of a typical movie studio had become standardized. Since then, a movie studio has usually been housed on a "studio lot." Physically, a studio lot is a secure compound enclosed by a tall perimeter wall. This is … See more

With the growing diversification of studios into such fields as video games, television stations, broadcast syndication, television, theme parks, home video and publishing, they have become … See more