Paramount Pictures facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Paramount Pictures Corporation

The Paramount Pictures studio lot in Los Angeles, California
Trade name	Paramount Pictures
Formerly	Famous Players Film Company (1912–1916) Famous Players–Lasky Corporation (1916–1927) Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation (1927–1930) Paramount Publix Corporation (1930–1935) Paramount Pictures Inc. (1935–1950)
Type	Division
Industry	Film
Predecessors	Famous Players Film Company Famous Players–Lasky Corporation Republic Pictures
Founded	May 8, 1912; 113 years ago (1912-05-08)
Founders	William Wadsworth Hodkinson Adolph Zukor Jesse L. Lasky
Headquarters	5555 Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, California , U.S.
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Brian Robbins (chairman and CEO)
Products	Motion pictures
Parent	Paramount Global
Divisions	Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Players Paramount Animation Paramount Television Studios Paramount Music
Subsidiaries	Rede Telecine (12.5%) United International Pictures (50%)

Paramount Pictures, also known as Paramount, is a famous American company. It makes and distributes movies and TV shows. It's part of a bigger company called Paramount Global. Paramount is one of the oldest film studios in the world. It's the second oldest in the United States, right after Universal Pictures. It's also the only major film studio still located in Los Angeles.

In 1916, a film producer named Adolph Zukor signed 24 actors and actresses. He honored each of them with a star on the company's logo. Later, in 1967, the number of stars on the logo was changed to 22. In 2014, Paramount Pictures made history. It became the first big Hollywood studio to release all its movies only in digital form. The main offices and studios are in Hollywood, California. Paramount Pictures is also a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).

History of Paramount Pictures

How Paramount Began

Paramount is the sixth oldest film studio still around today. It started after companies like Gaumont Film Company (1895) and Universal Studios (1912). It's the last major film studio still based in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles.

Paramount Pictures' first logo, used from 1914 to 1967.

Paramount Pictures started with the Famous Players Film Company in 1912. Its founder, Adolph Zukor, believed movies could appeal to everyone. He wanted to make longer films with famous actors. By 1913, his company was doing well. Their first movie starred the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt.

Around the same time, Jesse L. Lasky started his own company. He hired Cecil B. DeMille, who became a very famous director. DeMille found an old horse barn in Hollywood. This barn became their first studio. In 1914, they released their first movie, The Squaw Man.

On May 8, 1914, W. W. Hodkinson founded Paramount Pictures Corporation. He brought together five smaller film companies. Hodkinson signed a deal to distribute films from Famous Players and Lasky. Paramount was the first company to distribute movies all over the country. Before this, movies were sold only in certain regions.

Famous Players–Lasky Merger

In 1916, Zukor brought his Famous Players, Lasky's company, and Paramount together. They formed a new company called Famous Players–Lasky Corporation. It was worth $12.5 million, making it the biggest film company at the time. This new company continued to use the name "Paramount."

Lasky's original studio (a.k.a. "The Barn") in the mid-1920s.

Zukor believed in movie stars. He signed many popular actors like Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks. With so many stars, Paramount started "block booking." This meant movie theaters had to buy many Paramount films to get the ones with the biggest stars. This system helped Paramount become a leader in the 1920s and 1930s.

By the mid-1920s, the old studio barn was too small. In 1926, Lasky bought a larger studio facility. This new location at 5451 Marathon Street is still part of Paramount Pictures today.

On April 1, 1927, the company changed its name to Paramount Famous Lasky Corporation. They also started making "talkies," which were movies with sound. In 1929, they released their first musical, Innocents of Paris. Paramount also released animated cartoons like Inkwell Imps by Fleischer Studios.

Growth and Challenges (1920s-1940s)

Zukor helped Paramount grow by building a chain of nearly 2,000 movie theaters. He also invested in radio. In 1926, Paramount acquired the successful Balaban & Katz theater chain. This brought in Barney Balaban, who later became Paramount's president. Balaban & Katz had created "Wonder Theaters," which were very fancy and grand.

In 1930, the company became the Paramount Publix Corporation. However, during the Great Depression, Paramount faced financial problems. In 1933, the company went into bankruptcy. Zukor lost control for a while. After a big reorganization, the company became Paramount Pictures Inc. in 1935. Barney Balaban became president in 1936, and the studio started to do well again.

Paramount continued to focus on stars. They had popular actors like Gary Cooper, Marlene Dietrich, and Mae West. Mae West's movies in 1933, like She Done Him Wrong, were very successful. Animated characters like Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor also became very popular.

Court Case and Studio Split (1940s-1960s)

In 1940, Paramount agreed to stop "block booking." This meant they couldn't force theaters to buy many films to get the popular ones. Even so, with new stars like Bob Hope and Alan Ladd, Paramount made a lot of money during World War II.

However, the U.S. government sued the major studios. In 1948, the Supreme Court ruled that movie studios could not own movie theater chains. This decision, called United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc., changed Hollywood forever. It forced Paramount to split its movie production from its theater chain. The theater chain became a new company called United Paramount Theaters.

After losing its theater chain, Paramount Pictures faced challenges. It cut back on movie production and released many of its contract actors. By the mid-1950s, many famous names had left. Only Cecil B. DeMille, who had been with Paramount since 1913, continued to make big movies. His 1956 film The Ten Commandments was a huge success. In 1958, Paramount sold 764 of its older films to MCA Inc. (now Universal Television).

New Ownership and Success (1960s-1990s)

In 1966, Charles Bluhdorn's company, Gulf and Western Industries, bought Paramount. Bluhdorn hired Robert Evans to lead movie production. Evans helped Paramount make successful films like The Godfather, Rosemary's Baby, and Love Story.

In 1967, Gulf and Western also bought Desilu Productions, a TV studio. This helped Paramount Television create hit shows like Star Trek and Mission: Impossible.

In 1970, Paramount joined with Universal Studios to form Cinema International Corporation (CIC). This new company distributed their films outside the United States. Later, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer also joined.

In the late 1970s, Paramount focused on "high concept" movies. These were films with simple, exciting ideas that appealed to many people. Examples include Saturday Night Fever and Grease. The popularity of Star Trek also grew, becoming a huge science fiction franchise.

Paramount's success continued into the 1980s and 1990s. They made hits like Airplane!, Top Gun, Ghost, and the Indiana Jones series. They also had many successful films starring Eddie Murphy.

In 1989, Gulf and Western changed its name to Paramount Communications. This showed its focus on entertainment. Paramount also bought TV stations and theme parks, renaming them Paramount Parks.

In 1993, Sumner Redstone's company, Viacom, bought Paramount Communications for $10 billion. This brought Paramount into a new era. Paramount is still the only major film studio located in Hollywood itself.

Viacom and Paramount Global Eras (1994-Present)

From 1994 to 2005, Paramount Pictures was led by Jonathan Dolgen and Sherry Lansing. During this time, the studio had great success. One of its most successful films was Titanic (1997), which became the highest-grossing film of its time. Other Paramount films like Braveheart and Forrest Gump also won Best Picture Academy Awards.

Star Trek became a very important property for Paramount. It brought in a lot of money from TV shows, movies, books, and merchandise. In 1995, Viacom and United Television launched United Paramount Network (UPN), with Star Trek: Voyager as a main show.

In 2005, Viacom split into two companies: CBS Corporation and a new company also called Viacom. Paramount Pictures became part of the new Viacom. In 2006, Paramount bought DreamWorks Pictures, adding more films to its collection.

In 2009, CBS Corporation stopped using the Paramount name for its TV shows. In 2011, Paramount started a new division called Paramount Animation to create animated movies.

In 2013, Walt Disney Studios gained the rights to future Indiana Jones films. Paramount kept the rights to the first four movies. In 2017, Paramount Players was formed to make films based on properties from Viacom's TV networks like Nickelodeon and MTV.

In 2019, CBS Corporation and Viacom merged back into one company, named ViacomCBS. In 2020, ViacomCBS bought a share of Miramax, adding its film library to Paramount's. The streaming service CBS All Access was rebranded as Paramount+ in 2021.

In 2022, ViacomCBS changed its name to Paramount Global, named after the famous studio. This shows how important Paramount Pictures is to the company.

Paramount's Investments

DreamWorks Pictures Films

In 2006, Paramount became the owner of DreamWorks Pictures. This meant Paramount gained the rights to distribute many of DreamWorks' live-action films. Later, in 2010, Viacom bought back more of DreamWorks' film library.

Paramount also had the rights to distribute DreamWorks Animation films made before 2013. These included popular movies like Shrek the Third and Kung Fu Panda. In 2014, DreamWorks Animation bought back these distribution rights from Paramount.

CBS Film Library

After the 2000 merger of Viacom and CBS, Paramount gained video distribution rights to many films from the CBS library. This includes movies produced by CBS over the years.

Paramount's Divisions

Paramount Pictures has several important divisions:

• Paramount Home Entertainment: Handles movies for home viewing.
• Paramount Pictures International: Distributes films outside the U.S.
• Paramount Players: Makes movies based on Viacom's TV shows.
  • Nickelodeon Movies: Creates films based on Nickelodeon shows.
• Paramount Studio Group: Manages the studio's physical facilities.
• Paramount Animation: Creates animated movies.
• Paramount Music: Handles music for films and other projects.

Joint Ventures

• United International Pictures: A partnership with Universal Pictures for international film distribution.
• Rede Telecine: A partnership with other companies for a Brazilian movie channel.

Paramount's Logo

Artist Dario Campanile with his painting for Paramount's 75th anniversary. This painting became the basis for a new logo.

The famous Paramount mountain logo is one of the oldest in Hollywood. It has been the company's symbol since it started. The logo is said to be based on a drawing by co-founder W. W. Hodkinson. He drew it from memories of mountains in Utah. Some say it looks like Ben Lomond in Utah or Artesonraju in Peru.

The logo has changed many times over the years:

• The first logo had 24 stars around the mountain. This was a tribute to the 24 stars (actors) Paramount had signed.
• In 1951, the logo was redesigned to look more like a painting.
• A more realistic 3D logo appeared in 1953. In 1968, the number of stars was reduced to 22.
• In 1975, the logo became simpler and blue.
• In 1986, a new computer-generated logo was introduced. It showed a lake and stars moving into an arc shape.
• In 2002, an updated logo showed shooting stars forming the arc.
• In 2011, a new logo with a surrounding mountain range and shining sun was introduced. Michael Giacchino composed new music for this logo.
• In 2022, the word "Pictures" was added back to the bottom of the logo for printed materials.

Studio Tours

Paramount Studios offers tours of its famous lot. The 2-hour Studio Tour lets visitors see where many classic films were made. These include Sunset Blvd. and Breakfast at Tiffany's. The studio's backlot has streets designed to look like different parts of New York City. There is also an "After Dark Tour" that visits the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Film Library

Paramount has produced many popular and critically acclaimed films. Some of these include Titanic, Footloose, Braveheart, Ghost, and Forrest Gump. They are also known for major film series like The Godfather, Star Trek, and Mission: Impossible.

Film series

Highest-Grossing Films

     Indicates films playing in theatres in the week commencing 20 June 2025.

Highest-grossing films in the United States and Canada

Rank	Title	Year	Box office gross
1	Top Gun: Maverick	2022	$718,732,821
2	Titanic	1997	$666,078,628
3	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	2009	$402,111,870
4	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	2011	$352,390,543
5	Forrest Gump	1994	$330,252,182
6	Shrek the Third	2007	$322,719,944
7	Transformers		$319,246,193
8	Iron Man	2008	$318,412,101
9	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull		$317,101,119
10	Iron Man 2	2010	$312,433,331
11	Star Trek	2009	$257,730,019
12	Raiders of the Lost Ark	1981	$248,159,971
13	Transformers: Age of Extinction	2014	$245,439,076
14	Shrek Forever After	2010	$238,736,787
15	Beverly Hills Cop	1984	$234,760,478
16	War of the Worlds	2005	$234,280,354
17	Star Trek Into Darkness	2013	$228,778,661
18	Mission: Impossible – Fallout	2018	$220,159,104
19	Ghost	1990	$217,631,306
20	How to Train Your Dragon	2010	$217,581,231
21	Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted	2012	$216,391,482
22	Kung Fu Panda	2008	$215,434,591
23	Mission: Impossible 2	2000	$215,409,889
24	Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol	2011	$209,397,903
25	World War Z	2013	$202,359,711

Highest-grossing films worldwide

Rank	Title	Year	Box office gross
1	Titanic	1997	$2,218,011,297
2	Top Gun: Maverick	2022	$1,495,696,292
3	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	2011	$1,123,794,079
4	Transformers: Age of Extinction	2014	$1,104,054,072
5	Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen	2009	$836,303,693
6	Shrek the Third	2007	$813,367,380
7	Mission: Impossible – Fallout	2018	$791,017,452
8	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	2008	$786,636,033
9	Shrek Forever After	2010	$752,600,867
10	Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted	2012	$746,921,274
11	Transformers	2007	$709,709,780
12	Interstellar	2014	$701,729,206
13	Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol	2011	$694,713,380
14	Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation	2015	$682,330,139
15	Forrest Gump	1994	$677,945,399
16	Kung Fu Panda 2	2011	$665,692,281
17	Kung Fu Panda	2008	$631,744,560
18	Iron Man 2	2010	$623,933,331
19	Transformers: The Last Knight	2017	$605,425,157
20	Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa	2008	$603,900,354
21	War of the Worlds	2005	$603,873,119
22	Iron Man	2008	$585,174,222
23	Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One	2023	$567,535,383
24	Puss in Boots	2011	$554,987,477
25	Mission: Impossible 2	2000	$546,388,105

— Includes theatrical reissue(s)

Diversity Efforts

Paramount Pictures is working to include more diverse talent. This means hiring more Latino and Hispanic actors and crew members. In 2018, the National Hispanic Media Coalition spoke with Paramount about this. Paramount said they are making progress. They are working to have more diverse people in front of and behind the camera. This includes films like Dora the Explorer and Bumblebee.

Images for kids

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  Paramount Showman's Pictures advertisement, 1925

• 

  Paramount Pictures ad in The Film Daily, 1932

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  Detail of Publix Theatre logo on what is now Indiana Repertory Theatre

See also

In Spanish: Paramount Pictures para niños

• CBS Studios
• Paramount Television Studios
• List of Paramount executives
• List of Paramount Global television programs