Back in 1912 a Hungarian immigrant to the United States by the name of Adolph Zukor founded what was then known as the Famous Players Film Company. Paramount is known notable for being the oldest Hollywood studio in continuous production.

Today Famous Players is known as Paramount Pictures and is one of the world's most successful movie studios and is currently the only major film studio still headquartered in Hollywood. Early successes included the ownership of a chain of movie theatres, which gave it weight when releasing its pictures. With the rise of "talkies" Paramount continued its successful strategy of emphasising stars in its pictures, signing contracts with Hollywood heavyweights like Mae West and Bing Crosby.

Paramount also found early success with animated creations like Betty Boop and Popeye the Sailor. Paramount's animated tradition came full circle in 2011 when the studio announced the formation of a new animated division. This marked the return of in house animation after the previous Cartoon Studio was shut down in 1967.

Paramount co-produced the blockbuster hit Titanic with 20th Century Fox. The film was the most expensive film ever made at the time and went on to become the highest grossing film of all time, a title it held for twelve years.

Animation would remain a strong performer throughout the 2000s with successes coming from a distribution deal with DreamWorks animation and such hits as the Shrek, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda series.

Paramount Pictures is responsible for such iconic and beloved film franchises such as The Godfather, Star Trek, Friday the 13th, Indiana Jones, Beverly Hills Cop, Mission: Impossible, Transformers and Paranormal Activity.

Paramount's Biggest Worldwide Earners:
Titanic - $1.843 billion
Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $1.123 billion
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $836.2 million

Upcoming Paramount Releases:
The Dictator - May 10, 2012
GI Joe: Retaliation - August 2, 2012
Step Up 4 - August 2, 2012
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted - September 20, 2012
Star Trek 2 - May 16, 2013

Check out the special new opening titles for Paramount's 100th Anniversary: