It was also the beginning of an industry that would have an incredible and overwhelming impact on the world. It marked the emergence of Hollywood as America's premier center of filmmaking. For this grand opening Laemmle invited thousands of guests to Universal City. Lankershim Township presented Laemmle with a solid gold key to open the gate of Universal City on March 15, 1915.
In 1914 he bought a 230-acre ranch at the east end of the San Fernando Valley for $165,000, which was to be the world's first film studio created expressly for the production of feature-length films. Universal Studios was founded in Chicago in 1912 by Carl Laemmle. The company's music business contributed $1.5 billion, or 23 percent of revenue, while the remaining 17 percent of revenue was generated by recreation and other businesses. Filmed entertainment brought in about $3.9 billion, or about 60 percent of total revenue in fiscal 1997. Revenue in fiscal 1995 was estimated at $5.8 billion, compared with$5.7 billion the previous year. However, the company's revenue for fiscal 1997, ending June 30, 1997, was estimated at $6.5 billion, compared with estimated revenue of $5.9 billion in fiscal 1996. Seagram's CEO Edgar Bronfman at one point suggested that movie ticket prices should be tied to production costs, a notion that most in Hollywood found laughable.Īs a privately held company, Universal does not report the full details of its financial operations.
The alliance between Universal Studios and its parent, Seagram, has been somewhat uneasy at times, with Seagram's "bottom-line" mind-set being more than a little alien to the world of filmmaking. Additionally, Universal operates the Spencer Gifts retail chain with more than 500 stores across the country and has a 25-percent stake in Loews Cineplex Entertainment, which operates about 450 movie theaters. Other Universal operations include book publishing, concert promotion, two Universal Studios theme parks, management of six amphitheaters, and the licensing and marketing of products inspired by its films.
The Universal umbrella covers a multitude of entertainment ventures, including the production and distribution of motion pictures and music. Universal Studios is the world's largest film and television production company, although in late 1997 it spun off much of its television operations.
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