The leaders of traditional, CGI, and stop-motion animation.

| Studio | Style | Famous Productions | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Pixar (Disney) | Emotionally resonant CGI, "What if" concepts | Toy Story, Inside Out, Up, Coco, The Incredibles | | Walt Disney Animation | Musical fairy tales & legacy hand-drawn | Frozen, The Lion King, Encanto, Zootopia | | Studio Ghibli (Japan) | Hand-drawn, whimsical, nature-heavy | Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle | | Illumination (Universal) | Hyper-commercial, slapstick, low-cost CGI | Despicable Me (Minions), The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Sing | | Laika | Stop-motion, dark & gothic | Coraline, Kubo and the Two Strings, Missing Link | | Sony Pictures Animation | Experimental, stylized CGI | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, The Mitchells vs. The Machines |

These "Big Five" studios dominate the global box office and streaming.

| Studio | Parent Company | Signature Style | Flagship Productions/Franchises | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Warner Bros. Pictures | Warner Bros. Discovery | Gritty, director-driven epics | Harry Potter, DC Movies (Batman, Joker), Dune, The Matrix, Barbie | | Walt Disney Studios | The Walt Disney Company | Family-friendly, high fantasy, nostalgia | Marvel (Avengers), Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Live-action remakes (Lion King) | | Universal Pictures | Comcast (NBCUniversal) | High-concept action & horror | Jurassic World, Fast & Furious, Despicable Me (Illumination), Oppenheimer | | Sony Pictures | Sony Group | Character-driven & genre films | Spider-Man (incl. Spider-Verse), Jumanji, Bad Boys, Venom | | Paramount Pictures | National Amusements | Nostalgic reboots & sci-fi | Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, Transformers, A Quiet Place, Scream |

A24 has become a cultural touchstone for "elevated horror" and indie drama. Their productions are instantly recognizable by their font and their ability to go viral on social media (TikTok and Tumblr aesthetics).

Popular Productions:

Often the underdog, Universal has recently surged with the success of Fast & Furious, Jurassic World, and the burgeoning "Dark Universe" (reimagined by the Invisible Man and Renfield). Their partnership with Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, Minions) makes them a powerhouse in family animation.

The definition of popular entertainment studios expanded dramatically after 2013. Now, a "studio" can be a cloud-based server with a greenlight committee.