Shares of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) rose 10% in morning trade after the firm announced on 21 October that it is broadening its strategic examination of the business and is open to a sale. WBD declared earlier this year that it will divide into two distinct companies: a worldwide networks business and a streaming and studios business. Additionally, the recently combined Paramount Skydance has expressed interest in taking it over.
However, WBD announced on 21 October that it has received “unsolicited interest” from a number of companies and will now consider all of its alternatives. In the interim, the firm stated that it is continuing working towards the separation that was previously announced.
According to a statement from CEO David Zaslav, stakeholders are making significant progress in positioning their company to thrive in the rapidly changing media landscape of today by expanding HBO Max internationally, regaining industry leadership for its studios, and advancing the brand’s strategic goals. The corporation firmly felt that this was the right course of action; therefore, it took the audacious move of getting ready to split into two separate, well-known media organisations, Warner Bros. and Discovery Global.
Netflix and Comcast Showing Interest in BuyingWBD
CNBC’s David Faber was informed by sources that Netflix and Comcast are among the interested parties. According to the report, WBD chose to publicly declare that it has received interest from a number of companies after turning down multiple bids from Paramount and an offer from a separate business that was greater than the Paramount price. The seriousness of any proposals from sources other than Paramount is unknown.
The media report further claimed that Netflix did not want WBD to go to another buyer at a low price, but it was also not interested in purchasing heritage media assets. According to those close to Comcast, the business will consider the option of pursuing WBD even though it does not feel the need to make a deal, CNBC’s Julia Boorstin was informed. Purchasing WBD’s studio and streaming assets after a split later this year is preferable for tax considerations if the buyer only wants them. WBD and Paramount representatives chose not to comment. Requests for comment were not immediately answered by Comcast or Netflix.
Zaslav added that it’s not surprising that other market participants are becoming more aware of the brand’s substantial portfolio value. Following interest from many parties, stakeholders have started a thorough analysis of strategic options to determine the best course of action for releasing the full potential of the brand’s assets.
Why WBD is on For a Sale?
Since WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc. merged in 2022, leaving WBD with over $40 billion in debt, the firm has been dealing with escalating financial difficulties. Since then, it has aggressively reduced costs, reorganised its production pipeline, and concentrated on lucrative brands like the spinoffs of “Harry Potter” and “Game of Thrones”. As consumers shift to streaming, the company’s cable network portfolio has contributed to investors’ scepticism, despite the company’s success in debt reduction.
Quick Shots
•Warner
Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced it is exploring a sale while continuing its
previously planned company split.
•WBD
shares rose 10% in morning trade following the announcement.
•WBD
plans to divide into two entities: a global networks business and a streaming
& studios business.
•Multiple companies have shown
interest, including Netflix and Comcast.
According to various media reports, Warner Bros. Discovery plans to fire roughly 10% of its Motion Picture Group employees, causing a significant upheaval as the business gets ready to divide into two distinct companies.
Marketing and Production Teams Hit by Layoffs
Marketing, distribution, production, and other operational divisions are among the areas that would be affected by the job reduction. The layoffs are a major step in a larger restructuring exercise, even though the exact number of impacted employees is still unknown.
Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Pamela Abdy and Michael De Luca reportedly wrote to employees in a memo indicating business leadership had started examining the group’s activities earlier this year.
Company Split into Two Publicly Traded Entities
The decision to switch from the current U.S. Home Office/International model to a truly global structure was the result of the internal evaluation. According to the document, as the firm moves towards a more global framework, these adjustments are required to revolutionise its business. Warner Bros.
Discovery recently declared that it will divide into two publicly traded companies: Discovery Global, which will compete with cable networks like CNN, TNT, and the streaming service Discovery+, and Warner Bros., which will keep the Warner Bros. name and house the film group and the HBO Max streaming platform.
Box Office Performance & 2025 Film Recovery
Joker: Folie à Deux and Furiosa were among the box office failures that plagued Warner Bros.’ film division in 2024. But 2025 has witnessed a comeback, thanks to recent blockbusters like Superman, Sinners, and A Minecraft Movie.
Tech and Media Layoffs Continue in 2025
With big companies like Google, Microsoft, and others continuing to reduce their workforces, layoffs in the tech sector are not expected to halt in 2025.
Companies are still cutting employees in an effort to simplify operations, save money, and emphasise automation and artificial intelligence, even though these figures are much lower than the major layoffs that occurred between 2022 and 2023.
Layoffs.fyi, a website that tracks layoffs in the industry, reports that 93 organisations have laid off nearly 23,500 tech workers so far this year, and the number is still growing.
Industry-Wide Trend: AI Reshaping the Workforce
Google and Microsoft are apparently contemplating a new round of layoffs, according to the most recent job reduction reports. According to reports, AI-led restructuring and performance-based terminations are part of the corporations’ goals to increase the effectiveness of their personnel.
Similarly, Disney laid off about 200 workers, or nearly 6% of the workforce, from its ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks divisions in March 2025.
According to a media report, the Walt Disney Company restructured in October 2024, closing ABC Signature and combining its operations into 20th Television. It also merged the scripted drama and comedy teams from ABC and Hulu Originals.
Movies are continually smashing box office records, with Avatar at the top of the list. The average person goes to the movies around once a month, and consumer expenditure on movies in theatres has increased by 30% over the previous decade. The best movie production firms in the world are driving this expansion to fulfill market demand by innovating with films that break box office records. Universal Pictures is the largest movie studio globally in terms of box office receipts, followed by Warner Bros and The Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, which complete the top three movie production corporations.
Here are some of the biggest movie companies in the world.
1. Universal Pictures
Revenue
$1.88 billion (2024)
Movies
400+
Popular Movies
Despicable Me, Jurassic Park, King Kong, Fast & Furious movie series
Headquarters
Universal City, California
Owner
Comcast
Founded
1912
Universal Pictures – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward to: Jurassic World Rebirth, How TO Train Your Dragon, Shrek 5, Wolf Man, Nobody 2
The US’s oldest surviving movie production company, Universal Pictures, tops our list with the highest global box-office performance of the year, generating $1.88 billion in 2024, and is one of the richest studios or production houses in the world. Universal Pictures, founded in 1912, is a movie studio in the United States owned by Comcast’s NBC Universal F&E division. Universal Pictures is based in California, United States. Despicable Me, Jurassic Park, King Kong, the Fast & Furious movie series, and others are among the company’s most well-known movie projects, making it one of the biggest production house in world.
Universal Pictures generated a box office revenue of 1.88 billion U.S. dollars in 2024.
2. Warner Bros
Revenue
$39.57 billion (2024)
Movies
12,500
Popular Movies
The Harry Potter series, The Matrix, and Joker
Headquarters
Burbank, California
Owner
Warner Bros. Discover
Founded
1923
Warner Bros – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward: Superman, F1, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Batman Part II, Mortal Kombat II
Warner Bros. is an American diversified global mass media and entertainment corporation based in Burbank, California.
Other divisions and companies owned by Warner Bros. include DC Movies, Castle Rock Entertainment, Turner Entertainment, New Line Cinema, and Warner Bros. Animation. Warner Bros. is credited with 11 of the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time. It is one of the top film studios in the world. Warner Bros. has produced around 5000 television episodes and 7000 movies since its inception. The Harry Potter series, The Matrix, Joker, and others are among them. It is one of the biggest and richest movie studios in the world.
Warner Bros., which is one of the well-known Hollywood studios, grossed $39.57 billion at the box office in 2024, making it the second-largest movie production business on our list.
3. The Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group
Revenue
$3.74 billion (2024)
Movies
3500+
Popular Movies
Resident Evil, Spiderman, and Jumanji
Headquarters
Culver City, California
Owner
Sony
Founded
1998
The Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward to: The Legend of Zelda, Street Fighter, Goat, Karate Kid: Legends
The Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a component of Sony Entertainment, was created in 1998. Columbia Pictures, which was purchased for $3.4 billion from Coca-Cola in 1989, is the company’s largest subsidiary. TriStar Pictures and Screen Gems are two of the company’s other subsidiaries. Resident Evil, Spider-Man, and Jumanji are just a few of the excellent movies and franchises created by Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, making it one of the biggest production houses in the world.
Sony has two movies among the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time. It made $3.74 billion in 2024. The domestic Box Office performance for Sony Pictures Movies in 2023 was $808 million.
Avengers: Endgame, Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and The Lion King
Headquarters
Burbank, California
Owner
The Walt Disney Company
Founded
1923
Walt Disney Pictures – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward to: Zootopia 2, Moana, Frozen 3, Elio, Toy Story 5
Walt Disney Pictures is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios. Avengers: Endgame, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and The Lion King are among the highest-grossing and most lucrative movies ever released by Walt Disney Pictures.
The movie production firm subsidiary is situated at the Walt Disney Studios in Burbank, California. Avengers: Endgame, the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, and The Lion King are among the highest-grossing and most lucrative movies ever released by Walt Disney Pictures. Disney has produced 21 of the top 50 highest-grossing movies of all time, making it one of the biggest film studios in the world. It is one of the biggest film companies in the world.
This movie production company grossed $34.1 billion in 2024, making it one of the largest movie studio companies. The domestic Box Office performance for Walt Disney Pictures in 2024 was $2 billion.
Titanic, The Transformers series, Shrek, and The Mission Impossible
Headquarters
Los Angeles, California
Owner
Gulf and Western Industries
Founded
1912
Paramount – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward to: Smurfs, The Naked Gun, The Spongebob Movie, The Running Man, Regretting You
The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) has recognized Paramount Pictures as a subsidiary of ViacomCBS (MPA). Titanic, The Transformers series, Shrek, and The Mission Impossible movie are among the highest-grossing films ever made by Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Animation, one of the biggest production house in world, is one of the studio’s departments. It was revealed that Paramount Animation would be a subsidiary committed to producing animated feature pictures that could compete with DreamWorks, Walt Disney, and Pixar.
Titanic, The Transformers series, Shrek, and The Mission Impossible movie are among the highest-grossing films ever made by Paramount Pictures, which makes it one of the biggest movie production companies in the world.
Paramount Animation, founded in 2011 when DreamWorks Animation left the company, is one of the studio’s departments. It was revealed that Paramount Animation would be a subsidiary committed to producing animated feature pictures that could compete with DreamWorks, Walt Disney, and Pixar.
It produced $39.19 billion in revenue in 2024.
Biggest Movie Studios
6. Lionsgate
Revenue
$4.02 billion (2024)
Movies
540
Popular Movies
Now You See Me, Twilight, and Knowing
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
Owner
Canadian American Entertainment Company
Founded
1997
Lionsgate – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward to: Now You See Me 3, The Long Walk, I Can Only Imagine 2, The Housemaid, Good Fortune
Lionsgate Films is one of the most lucrative film production companies in North America and the most commercially successful mini-major film and television distribution firm.
Cinepix was formed in Montreal in 1962 and was purchased by the Lion Gate Entertainment Group in 1997, resulting in the studio we know today.
The Hunger Games, Kick-Ass, and The Expendables are just a few of the amazing film series created by Lionsgate. Summit Entertainment is one of the studio’s subsidiaries, and it is perhaps its most successful at present, having produced successes such as Now You See Me, Twilight, and Knowing. It is one of the biggest movie studios in the world.
It made over $4.02 billion in 2024,an increase over the revenue in the year 2023, which was $3.08billion.
Movies to Look Forward to: Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Predator, Ice Age 6, Ella McCay.
On this list, 20th Century Studios is ranked seventh. 20th Century Studios is an American film company that is a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Studios, a branch of The Walt Disney Company, formed in 1935 in Los Angeles, California. It is recognized for blockbusters like Avatar, Star Wars, Bohemian Rhapsody, and others, and is one of the biggest movie companies. Avatar presently holds the record for the most earning film of all time, generating over $2.7 billion.
From 1984 to 2013, it was owned by New Corporation. News Corporation and 21st Century Fox broke up to become News Corporation and 21st Century Fox, which now controls the studio.
20th Century Fox has created some incredible and profitable properties. Ice Age and X-Men are two of them. Fox Animation Studios was their major production unit. In 1997, they had considerable success with Anastasia. It received positive reviews. However, it was frequently mistaken for a Disney film. It is one of the biggest movie company in the world.
Titan AE was the studio’s next project. On a $75 million budget, the picture grossed around $37 million. Blue Sky Studios, which concentrates on computer animation movies such as Robots, Rio, and Ice Age, acquired in 1997, has had much greater success for 20th Century Fox.
20th Century Fox made $14 billion in revenue in 2024. This movie production company made $1.08 billion in gross profit on sales for its fourth fiscal quarter of 2022.
After leaving Miramax in 2005, brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein founded The Weinstein Company.
At one point, this studio was Hollywood’s largest mini-major studio. Derailed, Scream 4, and 1408 are among their popular flicks. They immediately established a reputation for producing high-quality pictures that turned a profit.
Django Unchained is their highest-grossing picture, with nearly $425 million in worldwide box office receipts.
Dimension Films, which was purchased from Disney, which owned Miramax, is owned by the studio. They’ve made some fantastic sequels to some of the label’s previous films, including Scary Movie 4 and 5, Scream 4, and Spy Kids: All the Time in the World.
In late 2017, the studio was rocked by allegations of sexual misconduct against Harvey Weinstein. On March 19, 2018, he was sacked from the corporation, and the studio filed for bankruptcy. Lantern Capital, a private equity group, won the studio’s assets at an auction. Following the auction, the company was completely shut down.
9. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
Revenue
$13.1 billion (2024)
Movies
4000+
Popular Movies
The Dirty Dozen, GoldenEye, and Ben-Hur
Headquarters
Beverly Hills, California
Owner
MGM Studios
Founded
1924
Metro Goldwyn Pictures – Best Film Studios
Movies to Look Forward to: Mercy, Project Hail Mary, and many more.
MGM, Metro Goldwyn Pictures, and Metro Goldwyn Mayer are all trademarks of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, an American media business that mostly produces films and television shows. It was established in 1924 and was the largest and most prestigious film production company in the world. Throughout the years, it was acquired and sold several times before it filed for bankruptcy in 2010.
It has recovered its losses and is now classified as a mini-major studio. Over the years, MGM Film Company has produced timeless masterpieces such as The Dirty Dozen, GoldenEye, and Ben-Hur. MGM’s later success stemmed from its ownership of the James Bond franchise. MGM is one of the biggest movie companies in the world.
The gross revenue of this movie production company was $13.1 billion.
10. DreamWorks Studios
Revenue
$915.9 million (2023)
Movies
48
Popular Movies
Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda
Headquarters
Universal City, California
Owner
Amblin Partners
Founded
1994
DreamWorks – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward: Shrek 5, The Bad Guys 2, and many more
Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen formed DreamWorks Pictures in 1994. Amblin Partners presently owns the company. Transformer and Gladiator are two of their finest flicks. Around the turn of 2000, the firm was doing well, winning three Academy Awards for Best Picture. However, owing to over $400 million in debt, the company was sold to Viacom in 2005 and is one of the best movie studios in the world.
DreamWorks Animation is one of their most significant and most successful companies. With films like Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda, it became a great commercial success. NBCUniversal now owns the division, which was split off in 2004. It made $915.9 million in revenue in 2023, making it one of the biggest movie company in the world.
Ranking of highest lifetime grossing DreamWorks Animation animated movies in the United States and Canada as of 2025
11. Amazon MGM Studios
Revenue
Not publicly disclosed (part of Amazon’s overall media revenue)
Movies
Over 4,000 film titles (MGM library)
Popular Movies
James Bond, Rocky, Legally Blonde, Creed
Headquarters
Culver City, California
Owner
Amazon (acquired MGM in 2022)
Founded
1924 (as MGM), merged under Amazon in 2022
Amazon MGM Studios – Top Movie Studio Company
Movies to Look Forward: Road House, Blitz, James Bond 26, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
Amazon MGM Studios is one of the biggest names in entertainment today. Originally founded as MGM in 1924, it became famous for classics like James Bond, Rocky, and Legally Blonde. In 2022, Amazon bought MGM for $8.5 billion, adding over 4,000 movies and 17,000 TV episodes to its streaming library.
Now part of Amazon Prime Video, the studio continues to grow with hit franchises like Creed and The Addams Family. While Amazon doesn’t share exact earnings for MGM, the deal helped boost its streaming power. With a rich legacy and Amazon’s tech muscle, MGM remains a major force in the film and TV world.
New movies are being made every single day and with the release of every film, the competition between these studios is increasing. We have yet to see which movie studio comes out on top.
FAQs
What are the top Movie Studio Companies in the world?
Some of the biggest film production companies in the world are:
Universal Pictures
Warner Bros
The Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group
Walt Disney Pictures
Paramount
Lionsgate
20th Century Fox
Weinstein Company
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
DreamWorks Studios
What do movie studios do?
A movie studio is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facilities. Movie studios are used to shoot and make movies.
Which is the highest-grossing film?
Avengers: Endgame is the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing over $2 billion.
Which are the top-grossing films?
Top-grossing films are:
Avengers: Endgame
Avatar
Titanic
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Avengers: Infinity War
Which are the major movie studios with top-grossing films?
Major film studios with top-grossing films are:
Universal Pictures
Warner Bros
Columbia Pictures
Walt Disney Pictures
Marvel Studios
Which is the richest production house in the world?
The richest production house in the world is Walt Disney Studios (part of The Walt Disney Company).
Which is the biggest film studio in the world?
The largest film studio in the world by physical size is Ramoji Film City in Hyderabad, India. While Ramoji Film City is the largest by area, the most powerful/wealthy studios globally in terms of content and revenue include Walt Disney Studios, Warner Bros., and Universal Pictures.
The global gaming market was valued at $ 151.55 billion in 2019 . This industry is expected to reach a value of $ 256.97 billion by 2025. It is expected to register a CAGR of 9.17% over the period (2020 – 2025). Gamer’s experience is what all the emerging comapnies are focusing at. Every company is eager to write codes for mobile phones, play station, xbox. All this will be provided to the users incorporated in a single cloud storage.
Role of Cloud Storage and Gaming
The market is driven by the emergence of cloud gaming. The idea of cloud gaming has been formed a reality with the advances in technology. The server is the place where all the games are stored , in cloud gaming. All the computation work is done here. The work includes game scene rendering, game logic processing video encoding, and video streaming. Companies like Onlive, G-Cluster, StreamMyGame, Gaikai, and T5-Labs are offering cloud gaming services that are commercial. This new sector seems to be a threat to the idea of traditional
This idea of cloud computing has prompted video game majors. Companies such as Sega, Ubisoft, Epic Games, Atari, Warner Bros, Disney Interactive studio to partnerships with Onlive. This will be done to distribute their games.
Startups in Gaming and Industry boost
The market growth is being propelled by new startups.This sector is seeing considerable activity from new comers.
Share of Hardware devices used for playing games
The outbreak of COVID-19 has given the gaming industry a boost.A survey in March 2020 shows that the video gamers in the United States have reported playing 45% more time than usual playing games.The gamers have reported playing more than usual every week amidst the lockdown. Esports is a gaming company that manages to make more than a billion dollars a year. Twitch’s first time download has seen a rise to the epidemic in March has risen to 14% in the U.S.A and a staggering 41% in Italy.
Mobile gaming has seen the biggest increase due to the Covid-19 measures all around the globe. Mobile games are expected to generate revenues of $77.2 billion in 2020.The industry will grow +13.3% this year. Reasons for choosing phone over PC:
Mobile gaming has the lowest need to entry: A smartphone is owned by more than two – fifths of the global population. Playing on mobile phone gives the added benefit of having free games.
Mobile gaming provide an option to PC cafes: The covid-19 situation has seen the closure of many gaming cafes. This forced gamers to move to phones on a temporary basis.
The mobile game developement is a lot easier than PC one : The mobile gaming had no major effects due to this .
The number of players on mobile phone will rise to 2.6 Billion in 2020. This would contain 38% who would pay . The growth in console marketing has slowed down. It has gone down from what it was in 2018. The expectations for next – gen consoles had its effect on sales of consoles in 2019. Due to this a lot of companies had to adjust their annual sales and savings.
Gaming scene in India
Indian mobile marketing has grown over the past few months. Growth of gaming has forced the manufacturers to make a lot of changes in the normal smartphones. A whole new type of Revolution. Not only the mobile industry but also the gaming industry is going through a revolution. The industry is growing from investments from players like Tencent , Nazara and Alibaba. The market value of Indian Gaming industry was around 62 Billion INR in 2019. This is expected to rise to 250 Billion INR till 2024. This growth indicates a growth in the number of jobs in this sector. By 2022 the strength of employees is expected to become 40 thousand.
The value of the gaming market in India was around 62 billion Indian rupees in 2019. This is estimated to go up to over 250 billion rupees by 2024. The industry is expected to generate 40 thousand new job opportunities by 2022. According to a survey a majority of Indians play a type of game daily. It showed that shooter and sports games were popular among men. The women preferred adventure and strategy games. Gaming in India has seen its peaks more in Mobile Gaming. With the availability of cheap and almost free internet mobile has become he best option. The industry is expected to grow a lot in the upcoming years.
Console Gaming In India
The market value of console Gaming in India is expected to reach about 291 million USD by 2022. The console gaming market is expected to be about 36.3 percent by 2022. The industry has seen a growth of 35.5 percent since 2016.
“PS4 sales have doubled in Q1 FY20 (April-June) as compared to Q4 FY19 (January-March). There has been an outstanding 200%+ growth in peripheral sales as well, which indicates an attitudinal shift, making gaming a more inclusive family entertainment option in India. May and June 2020 have witnessed the highest ever sales,” said Prosenjit Ghosh, Head of PlayStation Business, Sony India.
