58 Fun Facts About Paramount Pictures

In which year does Paramount Pictures date its founding?

Paramount dates its founding to 1912, the year the Famous Players Film Company, its earliest forerunner, was organised in New York.

Which studio is the only American film studio older than Paramount?

Universal Pictures, founded by Carl Laemmle days before Famous Players was organised, is the only surviving American studio older than Paramount; Warner Bros. and Columbia both came later.

Which Hungarian-born producer founded the Famous Players Film Company that grew into Paramount?

Adolph Zukor, born in Hungary, founded the Famous Players Film Company, the first link in the Paramount chain, after making his money in penny arcades and nickelodeons.

What slogan did Zukor adopt for his first film company, which put stage stars on screen?

The slogan 'Famous Players in Famous Plays' captured the plan to film leading stage actors in established plays, drawing middle-class theatre audiences to the movies.

Which legendary French actress starred in Famous Players' first film?

Sarah Bernhardt starred in the French-made Les Amours de la reine Elisabeth, which Famous Players released in the United States as its first film; the feature's American success bankrolled the new company.

Which brother-in-law lent Jesse L. Lasky the money to start his Feature Play Company?

Samuel Goldwyn, then named Samuel Goldfish and married to Lasky's sister Blanche, put up money for the Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in 1913.

Which director, the Lasky company's first employee, set up in a rented Hollywood horse barn?

Cecil B. DeMille, a stage director with almost no film experience, made the Lasky company's first feature in a rented barn at Selma and Vine, later known as the Lasky-DeMille Barn.

What was the title of the Lasky company's first feature film, released in 1914?

The Squaw Man, released in February 1914, was the Lasky company's first feature and one of the first feature films made in Hollywood, shot at the rented barn near Selma and Vine.

Which Utah theatre owner founded the original Paramount Pictures Corporation as a distributor in 1914?

W. W. Hodkinson, who had run theatres in Ogden, Utah, founded Paramount Pictures Corporation in 1914 to distribute films nationally; he also sketched the studio's mountain logo.

What was Paramount's original distribution company called before taking the Paramount name in 1914?

Progressive Pictures was the distribution firm that took the Paramount Pictures name in 1914, becoming the first successful nationwide distributor of feature films.

What was the name of the corporation Zukor formed through a three-way merger in 1916?

Famous Players-Lasky, the corporation created in 1916 by merging Famous Players, the Lasky company and the Paramount distributor, was valued at $12.5 million, the largest film company of its day.

What was the practice that forced exhibitors to buy a year of Paramount films to get one star's pictures?

Block booking forced exhibitors to take a whole year of Paramount releases to get a star's films; the practice gave Paramount a leading position but drew antitrust pursuit for more than twenty years.

Which studio facility did Lasky buy in 1926 that remains part of Paramount's headquarters?

Robert Brunton Studios, a 26-acre lot at 5451 Marathon Street, was bought in 1926 for $1 million and became the core of Paramount's present studio lot.

On which Hollywood street is Paramount's headquarters, at number 5555?

Paramount's headquarters is at 5555 Melrose Avenue; the lot's original arched Bronson Gate, the studio's symbol for decades, faces Marathon Street.

Which animation studio, home of Betty Boop and Popeye, made cartoons for Paramount from 1927?

Fleischer Studios, run by brothers Max and Dave Fleischer in New York, supplied Paramount's cartoons including Betty Boop and Popeye; a 1935 poll rated Popeye more popular than Mickey Mouse.

What did Paramount first rename the Popeye cartoon studio after taking it over in 1942?

Famous Studios was the name Paramount gave the New York cartoon unit it took over in 1942; it became Paramount Cartoon Studios in 1956 and closed in 1967.

In which radio network did Paramount buy a half interest in the late 1920s?

Paramount bought half of CBS for stock in the network's early years but sold the holding back in 1932; decades later Viacom owned both Paramount and CBS.

Which Chicago theatre chain did Zukor acquire in 1926?

Balaban & Katz, the Chicago chain famous for its movie palaces, was bought in 1926 and merged into the Publix circuit; Barney Balaban later ran Paramount as president from 1936.

Which taxi and rental-car magnate did Zukor hire in 1931 to fix Paramount's finances?

John D. Hertz, founder of Yellow Cab and the Hertz rental business, was brought onto the finance committee in 1931; his cost-cutting failed and Paramount entered receivership in 1933.

Whose suggestive 1933 films She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel helped trigger Production Code enforcement?

Mae West's 1933 Paramount hits She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel outraged the Catholic Legion of Decency, whose boycott threat helped force strict Production Code enforcement in 1934.

The 1948 Supreme Court case United States v. Paramount Pictures ruled that studios could not do what?

The decision split off United Paramount Theaters and effectively ended the classic studio system.

Which television network did the spun-off United Paramount Theaters acquire in 1953?

Leonard Goldenson led ABC to first place in the Nielsen ratings by the mid-1970s.

Paramount's experimental 1939 Los Angeles TV station became which first commercial station on the West Coast?

KTLA, which began as Paramount's experimental W6XYZ, took its commercial licence in January 1947 as the West Coast's first commercial station; Paramount sold it to Gene Autry in 1964.

Which 1956 DeMille remake of his own 1923 film gave the struggling studio some relief?

The Ten Commandments (1956), DeMille's remake of his own 1923 silent epic with Charlton Heston as Moses, was the highest-grossing film of 1956.

Which industrial conglomerate bought Paramount in 1966?

Gulf and Western, Charles Bluhdorn's sprawling industrial conglomerate, bought Paramount in 1966, and Bluhdorn soon installed a little-known producer as the studio's head of production.

Which production chief restored Paramount's fortunes with Rosemary's Baby, Love Story and The Godfather?

Robert Evans ran production at Paramount from 1966 to 1974, overseeing Rosemary's Baby, Love Story and The Godfather before leaving to produce Chinatown.

From whom did Paramount's parent buy the neighboring Desilu studio in 1967?

Lucille Ball, sole owner of Desilu after buying out Desi Arnaz in 1962, sold the former RKO lot next door to Paramount's parent in 1967 for about $17 million.

Which studio joined Paramount's Cinema International Corporation as a third partner in 1973?

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer joined Cinema International Corporation, the overseas distribution venture Paramount had launched with MCA's film studio in 1970, after closing its own foreign distribution offices in 1973.

Which executive, later founder of Fox Broadcasting, ran Paramount from 1974 to 1984?

Barry Diller ran Paramount from 1974 to 1984 with a team nicknamed the 'Killer-Dillers'; Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Dawn Steel all went on to run studios of their own.

Which two late-1970s "high concept" Paramount musicals hit big worldwide?

Saturday Night Fever and Grease, released in 1977 and 1978 and both starring John Travolta, were huge worldwide hits for Paramount, and their soundtrack albums topped the charts as well.

Which network did Paramount launch in January 1995 with Star Trek: Voyager as its flagship?

UPN, the United Paramount Network, debuted in January 1995 with Star Trek: Voyager and ran eleven years before merging with The WB to form The CW in 2006.

Which video game company shared Paramount's conglomerate parent until being sold after the 1983 crash?

Paramount's conglomerate parent owned Sega from 1969 until selling it in 1984 after the video game crash; Paramount and Sega reunited on the live-action Sonic the Hedgehog films from 2020.

Which comedian starred in 1980s Paramount hits Trading Places, Beverly Hills Cop and Coming to America?

Eddie Murphy starred in Trading Places (1983), Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Coming to America (1988), all Paramount releases, and reprised Axel Foley in three Beverly Hills Cop sequels.

What did the parent conglomerate rename itself in 1989, after its main asset?

Paramount Communications was the name the parent conglomerate took in 1989 after shedding its industrial businesses to focus on entertainment and publishing; its stock ticker changed from GW to PCI.

Which home-shopping company lost the 1993 bidding war for Paramount to Viacom?

QVC's rival offer kept the Paramount bidding war going for five months until Viacom won in early 1994 with a bid of about $10 billion.

Which two New York teams did Paramount's parent own when Viacom acquired it in 1994?

The Rangers and Knicks came with Madison Square Garden, which Paramount's parent owned along with publisher Simon & Schuster; Viacom later sold the Garden and its teams to ITT and Cablevision for about $1 billion.

Which Paramount co-production became the highest-grossing film ever on release, at over $1.8 billion?

Titanic (1997), co-produced with 20th Century Fox and Lightstorm Entertainment, grossed over $1.8 billion in its original release, then the highest total ever; Paramount handled North American distribution.

Which studio did Paramount buy in December 2005 for $1.6 billion?

DreamWorks SKG, the live-action studio of Spielberg, Katzenberg and Geffen, was bought for about $1.6 billion in a deal announced in December 2005; DreamWorks Animation was excluded, though Paramount distributed its films from 2006 to 2012.

In 2014 Paramount became the first major Hollywood studio to do what?

In January 2014 Paramount became the first major studio to distribute all its films only in digital form in the US, ending 35mm prints; The Wolf of Wall Street was its first digital-only release.

In 2018 Paramount became the first major studio to sign a multi-picture deal with which company?

Netflix signed a multi-picture deal with Paramount in 2018, a first for a major studio; a year earlier Paramount had sold Netflix the international rights to Annihilation.

Which 2018 horror hit was the first film produced and released under Paramount's new management team?

A Quiet Place, John Krasinski's April 2018 horror hit, was the first film made and released under Jim Gianopulos's management and helped Paramount post its first quarterly profit since 2015.

What did ViacomCBS rename itself in February 2022?

Paramount Global was the name adopted in February 2022, trading on the studio brand a year after the company's streaming service had been relaunched as Paramount+.

Which Skydance CEO became head of Paramount when the two companies merged in 2025?

David Ellison, Skydance's founder and CEO, became chairman and chief executive of the merged Paramount Skydance when the $28 billion deal closed in August 2025 after FCC approval in July.

Which studio's 700-film library did Paramount gain distribution of via a 49% stake bought in 2019?

Miramax's roughly 700-film library, including Pulp Fiction and Good Will Hunting, came under Paramount distribution after it bought a 49% stake from beIN Media Group; the deal closed in April 2020.

How many stars originally ringed the mountain in the Paramount logo?

The original logo had 24 stars, said to represent the stars Paramount then had under contract; the redesign of the late 1960s cut the ring to 22.

Which Utah peak is the original Paramount mountain logo thought to be modeled on?

Ben Lomond, the peak above Ogden, Utah, is the likely model because the distributor who sketched the logo in 1914 had started out running theatres in Ogden.

Which composer wrote the new Paramount fanfare for the logo introduced in December 2011?

Michael Giacchino composed the fanfare for the 100th-anniversary logo that debuted in December 2011; the new logo added a surrounding mountain range and a sun in the background.

Which 1990 Paramount film starred Patrick Swayze, Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg?

Ghost (1990), directed by Jerry Zucker, starred Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore and won Whoopi Goldberg the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Which 1927 Paramount film won the very first Academy Award for Best Picture?

Wings (1927), William Wellman's First World War flying drama starring Clara Bow, took the first Best Picture award in 1929; Gary Cooper's brief role helped launch his career.

At which Academy Awards ceremony did Paramount's The Godfather win Best Picture?

The 45th Academy Awards, held in March 1973, gave The Godfather Best Picture, Best Actor for Marlon Brando (who refused it) and Best Adapted Screenplay for Puzo and Coppola.

At what age did the founder of Famous Players, Paramount's original parent, die in 1976?

Paramount's founder, born in January 1873, died in June 1976 at 103; he had stepped down as chairman in 1964 to become chairman emeritus.

Which early feature did Paramount's founder produce in 1913, one of America's first feature-length films?

The Prisoner of Zenda (1913), starring stage actor James K. Hackett and directed by Edwin S. Porter, was Famous Players' first American-made feature.

Which seafood restaurant chain grew out of a Paramount licensing deal for a Best Picture winner?

Bubba Gump Shrimp Company opened its first restaurant in Monterey, California, in 1996 under licence from Paramount, trading on the shrimp business dreamed up in Forrest Gump.

Which 1986 Paramount film starred Tom Cruise as a navy fighter pilot nicknamed Maverick?

Top Gun (1986), with Tom Cruise as naval aviator Maverick, was the highest-grossing film of 1986 in North America and got a Paramount sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, in 2022.

Paramount's 1920s East Coast studio in Queens, New York, took what name in 1982?

Kaufman Astoria Studios is the name the Astoria, Queens, lot took in 1982 under developer George S. Kaufman; Paramount had opened it in 1920 as its East Coast production base.

Which theme-park company bought Paramount Parks in 2006?

Cedar Fair, owner of Cedar Point in Ohio, paid about $1.24 billion for Paramount Parks in 2006, adding Kings Island, Canada's Wonderland and three other parks.

Who replaced the fired Jim Gianopulos as head of Paramount Pictures in September 2021?

Brian Robbins, the Nickelodeon president and AwesomenessTV co-founder who had launched Paramount Players in 2017, took over the studio in September 2021.

Paramount Theatres Limited opened its first British cinema in 1930 in which city?

Manchester's Paramount Theatre on Oxford Street opened in October 1930 as the chain's first British cinema; the UK Paramounts were sold to Odeon Theatres in 1939 and renamed Odeons.