Big Six

The Big Six are the six major studios that stand at the top of Hollywood.

Hollywood has long been ruled by the studio system. The studio system includes a selected number of major studios who engage in film production & distribution. They release a substantial number of films every year & earn a major share of box office revenues.

The "Big Six" collectively command approximately 80 – 85 percent of US & Canadian box office revenue. These Big Six include 20th Century Fox, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warner_Bros. Warner Bros.], Paramount Pictures, Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures & Walt Disney Pictures. Of these, 20th Century Fox, Warner Bros., and Paramount Pictures were part of the original "Big Five" who operated during the Golden Age of Hollywood (late 1920s to mid-1940s). The other three – Columbia Pictures, Universal Pictures & Walt Disney Pictures earned the market share much later.

Some medium-sized studios such Orion Pictures, New Line Cinema, Lionsgate and Dreamworks Pictures came close to the level of the "Big Six" during the '80s, '90s and '2000s but, due to lacking heritage, they all suffered the fate of bankruptcy which led to the studio either closing down or being acquired by one of the "Big Six." Only Lionsgate somehow managed to survive thanks to its founder, Frank Giustra, having deep connections with Canadian banks. M.G.M-United Artists, one of the original "Big Five" from the "Golden Age of Hollywood" suffered a miserable fate of being sucked dry by casino tycoon Kirk Kerkorian after the latter acquired the studio.