Universal Studios

Universal Studios Inc. (also known as Universal Pictures), is an American motion picture studio, owned by Comcast through its wholly owned subsidiary NBCUniversal, and is one of the six major movie studios. Its production studios are at 100 Universal City Plaza Drive in Universal City, California. Distribution and other corporate offices are in New York City.

Founded in 1912 by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour, it is the oldest movie studio in the United States of America. It is also the fourth oldest in the world that is still in continuous production; the first being Gaumont Pictures, the second oldest is Pathé, the third is Nordisk Film, and the fifth oldest is Paramount Pictures. On May 11, 2004, the controlling stake in the company was sold by Vivendi Universal to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBC Universal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. In addition to owning a sizable film library spanning the earliest decades of cinema to more contemporary works, it also owns a sizable collection of TV shows through its subsidiary NBCUniversal Television Distribution. It also acquired rights to several prominent filmmakers' works originally released by other studios through its subsidiaries over the years.

Four of Universal Studios' films—Jaws (1975), E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), and Despicable Me 2 (2013)—achieved box office records, each becoming the highest-grossing film made at the time.

Early years
Universal was founded by Carl Laemmle, Mark Dintenfass, Charles O. Baumann, Adam Kessel, Pat Powers, William Swanson, David Horsley, and Jules Brulatour. One story has Laemmle watching a box office for hours, counting patrons and calculating the day's takings. Within weeks of his Chicago trip, Laemmle gave up dry goods to buy the first of several nickelodeons. For Laemmle and other such entrepreneurs, the creation in 1908 of the Edison-backed Motion Picture Trust meant that exhibitors were expected to pay fees for Trust-produced films they showed. Based on Edison's patent for the electric motor used in cameras and projectors, along with other patents, the Trust collected fees on all aspects of movie production and exhibition, and attempted to enforce a monopoly on distribution.

Soon, Laemmle and other disgruntled nickelodeon owners decided to avoid paying Edison by producing their own pictures. In June 1909, Laemmle started the Yankee Film Company with partners Abe and Julius Stern. That company quickly evolved into the Independent Moving Pictures Company (IMP), with studios in Fort Lee, New Jersey, where many early films in America's first motion picture industry were produced in the early 20th century. Laemmle broke with Edison's custom of refusing to give billing and screen credits to performers. By naming the movie stars, he attracted many of the leading players of the time, contributing to the creation of the star system. In 1910, he promoted Florence Lawrence, formerly known as "The Biograph Girl," and actor King Baggot, in what may be the first instance of a studio using stars in its marketing.

The Universal Film Manufacturing Company was founded on April 30, 1912, in New York. Laemmle, who emerged as president in July 1912, was the primary figure in the partnership with Dintenfass, Baumann, Kessel, Powers, Swanson, Horsley, and Brulatour. Eventually all would be bought out by Laemmle. The new Universal studio was a vertically integrated company, with movie production, distribution and exhibition venues all linked in the same corporate entity, the central element of the Studio system era.

Following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. On March 14, 1915, Laemmle opened the world's largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on a 230-acre (0.9-km²) converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood. Studio management became the third facet of Universal's operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the largest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive melodramas, westerns and serials.

Despite Laemmle's role as an innovator, he was an extremely cautious studio chief. Unlike rivals Adolph Zukor, William Fox, and Marcus Loew, Laemmle chose not to develop a theater chain. He also financed all of his own films, refusing to take on debt. This policy nearly bankrupted the studio when actor-director Erich von Stroheim insisted on excessively lavish production values for his films Blind Husbands (1919) and Foolish Wives (1922), but Universal shrewdly gained a return on some of the expenditure by launching a sensational ad campaign that attracted moviegoers. Character actor Lon Chaney became a drawing card for Universal in the 1920s, appearing steadily in dramas. His two biggest hits for Universal were The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) and The Phantom of the Opera (1925). During this period Laemmle entrusted most of the production policy decisions to Irving Thalberg. Thalberg had been Laemmle's personal secretary, and Laemmle was impressed by his cogent observations of how efficiently the studio could be operated. Promoted to studio chief, Thalberg was giving Universal's product a touch of class, but MGM's head of production Louis B. Mayer lured Thalberg away from Universal with a promise of better pay. Without his guidance Universal became a second-tier studio, and would remain so for several decades.

In 1926, Universal opened a production unit in Germany, Deutsche Universal-Film AG, under the direction of Joe Pasternak. This unit produced three to four films per year until 1936, migrating to Hungary and then Austria in the face of Hitler's increasing domination of central Europe. With the advent of sound, these productions were made in the German language or, occasionally, Hungarian or Polish. In the U.S., Universal Pictures did not distribute any of this subsidiary's films, but at least some of them were exhibited through other, independent, foreign-language film distributors based in New York, without benefit of English subtitles. Nazi persecution and a change in ownership for the parent Universal Pictures organization resulted in the dissolution of this subsidiary.

In the early years, Universal had a "clean picture" policy. However, by April 1927, Carl Laemmle considered this to be a mistake as "unclean pictures" from other studios were generating more profit while Universal was losing money.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Universal owned the rights to the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit character, although Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks had created Oswald, and their films had enjoyed a successful theatrical run. After Charles Mintz had unsuccessfully demanded that Disney accept a lower fee for producing the property, Mintz produced the films with his own group of animators. Instead, Disney and Iwerks created Mickey Mouse for the first sound cartoon short, Steamboat Willie (1928). This moment effectively launched Walt Disney Studios' foothold, while Universal became a minor player in film animation. Universal subsequently severed its link to Mintz and formed its own in-house animation studio to produce Oswald cartoons headed by Walter Lantz.

In 2006, after almost 80 years, NBC Universal sold all Walt Disney-produced Oswald cartoons back to Disney. In return, Disney released ABC sportscaster Al Michaels from his contract so he could work on NBC's Sunday night NFL football package. However, Universal kept the Oswald cartoons that Walter Lantz produced for them from 1929 to the mid-1930s.

Keeping leadership of the studio in the family
In 1928, Laemmle, Sr. made his son, Carl, Jr. head of Universal Pictures as a 21st birthday present. Universal already had a reputation for nepotism—at one time, 70 of Carl, Sr.'s relatives were supposedly on the payroll. Many of them were nephews, resulting in Carl, Sr. being known around the studios as "Uncle Carl." Ogden Nash famously quipped in rhyme, "Uncle Carl Laemmle/Has a very large faemmle." Among these relatives was future Academy Award winning director/producer William Wyler.

"Junior" Laemmle persuaded his father to bring Universal up to date. He bought and built theaters, converted the studio to sound production, and made several forays into high-quality production. His early efforts included the critically mauled part-talkie version of Edna Ferber's novel Show Boat (1929), the lavish musical Broadway (1929) which included Technicolor sequences; and the first all-color musical feature (for Universal), King of Jazz (1930). The more serious All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), won its year's Best Picture Oscar.

Laemmle, Jr. created a niche for the studio, beginning a series of horror films which extended into the 1940s, affectionately dubbed Universal Horror. Among them are Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (also 1931), The Mummy (1932) and The Invisible Man (1933). Other Laemmle productions of this period include Imitation of Life (1934) and My Man Godfrey (1936).

The Laemmles lose control
Universal's forays into high-quality production spelled the end of the Laemmle era at the studio. Taking on the task of modernizing and upgrading a film conglomerate in the depths of the depression was risky, and for a time Universal slipped into receivership. The theater chain was scrapped, but Carl, Jr. held fast to distribution, studio and production operations.

The end for the Laemmles came with a lavish version of Show Boat (1936), a remake of its earlier 1929 part-talkie production, and produced as a high-quality, big-budget film rather than as a B-picture. The new film featured several stars from the Broadway stage version, which began production in late 1935, and unlike the 1929 film was based on the Broadway musical rather than the novel. Carl, Jr.'s spending habits alarmed company stockholders. They would not allow production to start on Show Boat unless the Laemmles obtained a loan. Universal was forced to seek a $750,000 production loan from the Standard Capital Corporation, pledging the Laemmle family's controlling interest in Universal as collateral. It was the first time Universal had borrowed money for a production in its 26-year history. The production went $300,000 over budget. When Standard called the loan in, a cash-strapped Universal couldn't pay. Standard foreclosed and seized control of the studio on April 2, 1936.

While Universal's new Show Boat, released a little over a month afterwards, became a critical and financial success, it was not enough to save the Laemmles' involvement with the studio. They were unceremoniously removed from the company they had founded. Because the Laemmles had personally overseen the production, Show Boat was released, despite the takeover, with Carl Laemmle and Carl Laemmle Jr.'s names on the credits and in the advertising campaign for the film. Standard Capital's J. Cheever Cowdin had taken over as president and chairman of the board of directors, and instituted severe cuts in production budgets. Gone were the big ambitions, and though Universal had a few big names under contract, those it had been cultivating, like William Wyler and Margaret Sullavan, now left.

Meanwhile, producer Joe Pasternak, who had been successfully producing light musicals with young sopranos for Universal's German subsidiary, came to America and repeated his formula. Teenage singer Deanna Durbin starred in Pasternak's first American film, Three Smart Girls (1936). The film was a box-office hit and reputedly restored the studio's solvency. The success of the film led Universal to offer her a contract, which for the first five years of her career produced her most successful pictures.

When Pasternak stopped producing Durbin's pictures, and she outgrew her screen persona and pursued more dramatic roles, the studio signed 13-year-old Gloria Jean for her own series of Pasternak musicals from 1939; she went on to star with Bing Crosby, W. C. Fields, and Donald O'Connor. A popular Universal film of the late 1930s was Destry Rides Again (1939), starring James Stewart as Destry and Marlene Dietrich in her comeback role after leaving Paramount Studios.

By the early 1940s, the company was concentrating on lower-budget productions that were the company's main staples: westerns, melodramas, serials and sequels to the studio's horror pictures, the latter now solely B pictures. The studio fostered many series: The Dead End Kids and Little Tough Guys action features and serials (1938–43), the comic adventures of infant Baby Sandy (1938–41), Hugh Herbert comedies (1938–42),

Universal could seldom afford its own stable of stars, and often borrowed talent from other studios, or hired freelance actors. In addition to Stewart and Dietrich, Margaret Sullavan, and Bing Crosby were two of the major names that made a couple of pictures for Universal during this period. Some stars came from radio, including Edgar Bergen, and the comedy team of Abbott and Costello (Bud Abbott and Lou Costello). Abbott and Costello's military comedy Buck Privates (1941) gave the former burlesque comedians a national and international profile. W. C. Fields joined the studio for his last films.

During the war years Universal did have a co-production arrangement with producer Walter Wanger and his partner, director Fritz Lang, lending the studio some amount of prestige productions. Universal's core audience base was still found in the neighborhood movie theaters, and the studio continued to please the public with low to medium-budget films. Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in new Sherlock Holmes mysteries (1942–46), teenage musicals with Gloria Jean, Donald O'Connor, and Peggy Ryan (1942–43), and screen adaptations of radio's Inner Sanctum Mysteries (1943–45). Alfred Hitchcock was also borrowed for two films from Selznick International Pictures: Saboteur (1942) and Shadow of a Doubt (1943).

As Universal's main product had always been low-budget film, it was one of the last major studios to have a contract with Technicolor. The studio did not make use of the three-strip Technicolor process until Arabian Nights (1942), starring Jon Hall and Maria Montez. The following year, Technicolor was also used in Universal's remake of their 1925 horror melodrama, Phantom of the Opera with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy. With the success of their first two pictures, a regular schedule of high-budget, Technicolor films followed.

Universal-International
In 1945, the British entrepreneur J. Arthur Rank, hoping to expand his American presence, bought into a four-way merger with Universal, the independent company International Pictures, and producer Kenneth Young. The new combine, United World Pictures, was a failure and was dissolved within one year. Rank and International remained interested in Universal, however, culminating in the studio's reorganization as Universal-International. William Goetz, a founder of International, was made head of production at the renamed Universal-International Pictures Inc., which also served as an import-export subsidiary, and copyright holder for the production arm's films. Goetz, a son-in-law of Louis B. Mayer decided to bring "prestige" to the new company. He stopped the studio's low-budget production of B movies, serials and curtailed Universal's horror and "Arabian Nights" cycles. Distribution and copyright control remained under the name of Universal Pictures Company Inc.

Goetz set out an ambitious schedule. Universal-International became responsible for the American distribution of Rank's British productions, including such classics as David Lean's Great Expectations (1946) and Laurence Olivier's Hamlet (1948). Broadening its scope further, Universal-International branched out into the lucrative non-theatrical field, buying a majority stake in home-movie dealer Castle Films in 1947, and taking the company over entirely in 1951. For three decades, Castle would offer "highlights" reels from the Universal film library to home-movie enthusiasts and collectors. Goetz licensed Universal's pre Universal-International film library to Jack Broeder's Realart Pictures for cinema re-release but Realart was not allowed to show the films on television.

The production arm of the studio still struggled. While there were to be a few hits like The Killers (1946) and The Naked City (1948), Universal-International's new theatrical films often met with disappointing response at the box-office. By the late 1940s, Goetz was out, and the studio returned to low-budget films. The inexpensive Francis (1950), the first film of a series about a talking mule and Ma and Pa Kettle (1949), part of a series, became mainstays of the company. Once again, the films of Abbott and Costello, including Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948), were among the studio's top-grossing productions. But at this point Rank lost interest and sold his shares to the investor Milton Rackmil, whose Decca Records would take full control of Universal in 1952. Besides Abbott and Costello, the studio retained the Walter Lantz cartoon studio whose product was released with Universal-International's films.

In the 1950s, Universal-International resumed their series of Arabian Nights films, many starring Tony Curtis. The studio also had a success with monster and science fiction films produced by William Alland with many directed by Jack Arnold. Other successes were the melodramas directed by Douglas Sirk and produced by Ross Hunter, although for film critics they were not so well thought of on first release as they have since become. Among Universal-International's stable of stars were Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Jeff Chandler, Audie Murphy and John Gavin.

Though Decca would continue to keep picture budgets lean, it was favored by changing circumstances in the film business, as other studios let their contract actors go in the wake of the 1948 U.S. vs. Paramount Pictures, et al. case. Leading actors were increasingly free to work where and when they chose, and in 1950 MCA agent Lew Wasserman made a deal with Universal for his client James Stewart that would change the rules of the business. Wasserman's deal gave Stewart a share in the profits of three pictures in lieu of a large salary. When one of those films, Winchester '73 proved to be a hit, the arrangement would become the rule for many future productions at Universal, and eventually at other studios as well.

MCA takes over
By the late 1950s, the motion picture business was changing. The combination of the studio/theater-chain break-up and the rise of television saw the audience size reduce for cinema films. The Music Corporation of America (MCA), then mainly a talent agency, had also become a powerful television producer, renting space at Republic Studios for its Revue Productions subsidiary. After a period of complete shutdown, a moribund Universal agreed to sell its 360-acre (1.5 km²) studio lot to MCA in 1958, for $11 million, renamed Revue Studios. Although MCA owned the studio lot, but not Universal Pictures, MCA was increasingly influential on Universal's product. The studio lot was upgraded and modernized, while MCA clients like Doris Day, Lana Turner, Cary Grant, and director Alfred Hitchcock were signed to Universal Pictures contracts.

The long-awaited takeover of Universal Pictures by MCA, Inc. finally took place in mid-1962 as part of the MCA-Decca Records merger. The company reverted in name back to Universal Pictures. As a last gesture before getting out of the talent agency business, virtually every MCA client was signed to a Universal contract. In 1964 MCA formed Universal City Studios, Inc., merging the motion pictures and television arms of Universal Pictures Company and Revue Productions (officially renamed as Universal Television in 1966). And so, with MCA in charge, Universal became a full-blown, A-film movie studio, with leading actors and directors under contract; offering slick, commercial films; and a studio tour subsidiary (launched in 1964). Television productions though became more dominant in the studio's output, with Universal heavily committed, in particular, to deals with NBC (which later merged with Universal to form NBC Universal; see below) providing up to half of all prime time shows for several seasons. An innovation of which Universal was especially proud was the creation in this period of the made-for-television movie. At this time, Hal B. Wallis, who had latterly worked as a major producer at Paramount, moved over to Universal, where he produced several films, among them a lavish version of Maxwell Anderson's Anne of the Thousand Days (1969), and the equally lavish Mary, Queen of Scots (1971). Though neither could claim to be a big financial hit, both films received Academy Award nominations, and Anne was nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor (Richard Burton), Best Actress (Geneviève Bujold), and Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Quayle). Wallis retired after making the film Rooster Cogburn (1975) at Universal, a sequel to True Grit (1969), which Wallis had produced at Paramount. Rooster Cogburn co-starred John Wayne, reprising his Oscar-winning role from the earlier film, and Katharine Hepburn, their only film together. The film was only a moderate success.

In the early 1970s, Universal teamed up with Paramount Pictures to form Cinema International Corporation, which distributed films by Paramount and Universal worldwide. Though Universal did produce occasional hits, among them Airport (1970), The Sting (1973), American Graffiti (also 1973), Earthquake (1974), and a big box-office success which restored the company's fortunes: Jaws (1975), Universal during the decade was primarily a television studio. CIC was succeeded by United International Pictures in 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer joined the fold. There would be other film hits like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Back to the Future (1985), Field of Dreams (1989), and Jurassic Park (1993), but the film business was financially unpredictable. UIP began distributing films by start-up studio DreamWorks in 1997, and MGM subsequently dropped out of the venture in 2001, letting 20th Century Fox internationally distribute MGM's films.

Universal Productions France
In the early 1950s, Universal set up its own distribution company in France, and in the late 1960s, the company also started a production company in Paris, Universal Productions France S.A., although sometimes credited by the name of the distribution company, Universal Pictures France. Except for the two first films it produced, Claude Chabrol's Le scandale (English title The Champagne Murders) and Romain Gary's Les oiseaux vont mourir au Pérou (English title Birds in Peru), it was only involved in French or other European co-productions, the most noticeable ones being Louis Malle's Lacombe, Lucien, Bertrand Blier's Les Valseuses (English title Going Places), and Fred Zinnemann's The Day of the Jackal. It was only involved in some 20 film productions before being dismantled in the mid-1970s.

Matsushita and Vivendi
Anxious to expand the company's broadcast and cable presence, longtime MCA head Lew Wasserman sought a rich partner. He located Japanese electronics manufacturer Matsushita Electric (now known as Panasonic), which agreed to acquire MCA for $6.6 billion in 1990. Meanwhile, around this time, the production subsidiary was renamed Universal Studios Inc., and (in 1990) MCA created MCA/Universal Home Video Inc. for the VHS video cassette (later DVD) sales industry.

Matsushita provided a cash infusion, but the clash of cultures was too great to overcome, and five years later Matsushita sold an 80% stake in MCA/Universal to Canadian drinks distributor Seagram for $5.7 billion. Seagram sold off its stake in DuPont to fund this expansion into the entertainment industry. Hoping to build an entertainment empire around Universal, Seagram bought PolyGram in 1999 and other entertainment properties, but the fluctuating profits characteristic of Hollywood were no substitute for the reliable income stream gained from the previously held shares in DuPont.

To raise money, Seagram head Edgar Bronfman Jr. sold Universal's television holdings, including cable network USA, to Barry Diller (these same properties would be bought back later at greatly inflated prices). In June 2000, Seagram was sold to French water utility and media company Vivendi, which owned StudioCanal; the conglomerate then became known as Vivendi Universal. Afterward, Universal Pictures acquired the United States distribution rights of several of StudioCanal's films, such as Mulholland Drive (which received an Oscar nomination) and Brotherhood of the Wolf (which became the second-highest-grossing French-language film in the United States since 1980). Universal Pictures and StudioCanal also co-produced several films, such as Love Actually (an $40 million-budgeted film that eventually grossed $246 million worldwide).

NBCUniversal
Burdened with debt, in 2004 Vivendi Universal sold 80% of Vivendi Universal Entertainment (including the studio and theme parks) to General Electric, parent of NBC. The resulting media super-conglomerate was renamed NBCUniversal, while Universal Studios Inc. remained the name of the production subsidiary. After that deal, GE owned 80% of NBC Universal; Vivendi held the remaining 20%, with an option to sell its share in 2006. GE purchased Vivendi's share in NBCU in 2011 and in turn sold 51% of the company to cable provider Comcast. Comcast merged the former GE subsidiary with its own cable-television programming assets, creating the current NBCUniversal. Following FCC approval, the Comcast-GE deal was closed on Jan. 29, 2011. In March 2013, Comcast bought the remaining 49% of NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion.

In late 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures acquired DreamWorks SKG after acquisition talks between GE and DreamWorks stalled. Universal's long time chairperson, Stacey Snider, left the company in early 2006 to head up DreamWorks. Snider was replaced by then-Vice Chairman Marc Shmuger and Focus Features head David Linde. On October 5, 2009, Marc Shmuger and David Linde were ousted and their co-chairperson jobs consolidated under former president of worldwide marketing and distribution Adam Fogelson becoming the single chairperson. Donna Langley was also upped to co-chairperson.

Universal's multi-year film financing deal with Elliott Management expires in 2013.

Universal Studios Hollywood
Albert Dorskind had envisioned a theme park and film studio in Hollywood, California. He convinced Lew Wasserman, the Chairman of the MCA, to invest $4 million in developing this particular theme that focused on Universal Motion Pictures. After numerous improvements, a branch of Universal Studios opened in Los Angeles County, California in 1964. The entertainment value it brought to the city gave an up rise to its slogan "The Entertainment Capital of LA." Since it embodies a film studio theme park, there are a lot of motion picture themes incorporated. Some films include Shrek in 4-D. Themes from movies and television shows are integrated into the rides like The Simpsons Ride, Jurassic Park: The Ride, and Revenge of the Mummy. In April 2012, the highly anticipated Transformers: The Ride was opened to the public in the theme park and is based on the hit Transformers film series. The theme park has live shows including The Special Effects Stage and Waterworld: A Live Sea War Spectacular. It also has a carnival fun house called House of Horrors and, a studio tour. Universal Studios Hollywood has a CityWalk which offers visitors numerous dining and shopping places. Hotels are available in the area including Hilton Universal City and Sheraton Universal City. In 2014, Universal Studios Hollywood will open two new attractions. Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem will replace Terminator 2: 3D in mid 2014 and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter will also open in 2014, replacing the Gibson Amphitheatre.

Universal Orlando Resort
The Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida is a theme park, film studio, and television Video production facility that was opened on June 7, 1990. Universal Studios direct competition was Walt Disney World. These two corporations are in constant competition with one another. When Universal Studios Florida first opened, there were minor technical setbacks in rides such as Kongfrontation and Jaws. Another problem was found in the wait time to use the rides. These problems were fixed as soon as possible and lead to Universal's wish to update the park. Steven Spielberg, who assisted in the original making of the theme park, returned to help expand it, adding Universal's Island's of Adventure in 1999.

Universal Orlando Resort, formerly known as Universal Studios Escape, is considered a resort with plenty of accommodated hotels, rides and attractions. It eventually turned into a complete resort with the addition of the upscale hotel, Portofino Bay Hotel. A second theme park called, Islands of Adventure, was also built. This area included the nighttime entertainment district, CityWalk. The Hard Rock Hotel was added in 2000, followed by the Royal Pacific Hotel in 2002.

Universal Studios Japan
Universal Studios Japan is one of three theme parks that is owned by USJ Co., Ltd. It was opened  on March 31, 2001, in Osaka, Japan. Within the first year, 11 million guests went to the theme park, the fastest any theme park has achieved in a year's time. Tourists all over Asia are the main guests. Tourists from other Asian countries - such as Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and Philippines - visit Osaka, Japan to go to Universal Studios. The Japan location is very similar to the theme park in Orlando, Florida. It contains many similar rides and attractions, but added some characters that target the Asian market such as Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty Fashion Avenue is one of Universal Studios Japan's popular sites.

Universal Studios Japan encountered problems just like the other locations. Environmental concerns were some of their biggest issues; parts of the theme park had been built on top of contaminated soil, laced with PCBs, heavy metals and other carcinogens and toxic chemicals. Sumitomo Metal Industries instructed their workers to dump metal waste, cover the waste with soil, and build on top of the dirt even though little effort had been made to protect the area from the waste that was dumped there previously.

Universal Studios Singapore
Universal Studios Singapore is located within the boundaries of Resorts World Sentosa on the island of Sentosa in Singapore, making it the second Universal Studios theme park in Asia after Universal Studios Japan. It was the first Universal Studios that was made in the 21st century, making it the latest installment of the Universal Studios corporation. It first opened on March 18, 2010. When it first opened, it was only available to the faculty of Resorts World Sentosa and their families. The grand opening was on May 28, 2011. Universal Studios Singapore contains seven themed zones: Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World, Far Far Away, and Madagascar. The Lost World is the zone that has the most similar features to the other Universal Studios theme parks through its water-based attractions like Jurassic Park Rapids Adventure and Waterworld. In addition, this location of Universal Studios incorporates a theme parade in its variety of attractions. It is known as Universal Studios Singapore Hollywood Dreams Parade and includes a variety of floats, as well as performers. This parade made its debut on New Year's Eve 2011 and has continued to take place every Saturday and Sunday. There is also the option of a VIP Tour which offers several discounts, and access to rides and attractions. Furthermore, there is the added opportunity of taking photos with celebrity lookalikes. Night-time entertainment at the Universal Studios is commonly referred to as Hollywood After Hours and includes a pyrotechnics show known as The Lake Hollywood Spectacular.

Divisions

 * Universal Television
 * Universal Studios Home Entertainment
 * Universal Parks & Resorts
 * Focus Features
 * Working Title Films
 * Illumination Entertainment
 * Universal Animation Studios

Joint ventures

 * United International Pictures