The Surprising Hollywood Studio Behind the Most Best Picture Oscar Winners

It’s very strange to consider that many of the biggest movie studios today have existed since almost the dawn of cinema. Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures were both founded back in 1912 while Warner Bros. Pictures dates back to 1923. Meanwhile, the Walt Disney Studio was launched in 1923 and though it would take decades before it could start distributing its own works, its standalone distribution company has been around since 1953. These massive entities have stuck around for a wide array of reasons, including their absorption into larger corporations that ensure that even a string of costly flops won’t wipe out, say, Columbia Pictures. Given the long-lasting nature of these studios, it shouldn’t be a surprise that many of these outfits have had a massive presence at the first 95 editions of the Academy Awards. Their respective histories stretch back far before the days of Miramax, A24, or DreamWorks SKG. It’s no surprise then that the majority of the Best Picture winners at the Oscars belong to these war horses that keep on trucking. However, the studio responsible for the highest number of Best Picture winners at the Oscars may be a bit surprising to some film geeks. That honor goes not to MGM or Warner Bros. Pictures, but rather to Columbia Pictures.

​ How did Columbia Pictures claim the top spot as the Hollywood Studio responsible for the highest number of Best Picture Oscar-winning movies?