Columbia Pictures is a major American motion-picture studio. It was founded in 1920 as CBC Film Sales by Joe Brandt and the brothers Harry and Jack Cohn.
At first, CBC released low-budget pictures, including Westerns, action pictures, and serials. In 1924, the company was renamed Columbia Pictures. In the 1930’s and 1940’s, the studio produced a number of popular films by the director Frank Capra, including the romantic comedies It Happened One Night (1934) and Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), and the political melodrama Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). In addition, the popular slapstick comedy team the Three Stooges made nearly 200 short films for Columbia that were released between 1934 and 1959.
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, the studio made several Academy Award-winning films, including the World War II (1939-1945) dramas From Here to Eternity (1953) and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), the labor union drama On the Waterfront (1954), the historical dramas Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and A Man for All Seasons (1966), and the musical Oliver! (1968). In 1969, Columbia released the influential, counterculture road movie Easy Rider.
Important Columbia releases of the 1970’s included the science-fiction classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) and the family melodrama Kramer vs. Kramer (1979). The studio later released several blockbuster films, including the science-fiction comedy Ghostbusters and the family drama The Karate Kid (both 1984), and the science-fiction comedy Men in Black (1997). All three films were followed by successful sequels.
In 1982, Columbia was purchased by the Coca-Cola Company. In 1987, Columbia Pictures merged with TriStar Pictures. In 1989, Columbia TriStar was purchased by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of Japan.
