Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – who-aknew.com

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) is an American film, television, and distribution company founded on 17 April 1924 and headquartered in Los Angeles. Built by Marcus Loew and Louis B. Mayer through the merger of three earlier studios, it grew into the most decorated production house of the Hollywood Golden Age. Between 1927 and 1939 alone, MGM produced 28 of the 102 Best Picture nominees at the Academy Awards, more than any other studio. Its library has since accumulated 205 Academy Awards in total, including 15 Best Picture winners.

Key facts

Country: United States
Founded: 17 April 1924
Headquarters: Los Angeles
Founder: Marcus Loew; Louis B. Mayer
Type: business; film production company
Parent organisation: Amazon MGM Studios
Website: https://mgm.com/

Origins and the Golden Age

When Marcus Loew and Louis B. Mayer formally established MGM on 17 April 1924, they fused the resources of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions into a single Culver City operation. The ambition was visible from the start: the studio’s promotional slogan during the Golden Age became “More stars than there are in heaven,” a phrase that captured its practice of signing actors to long-term contracts. Among those under contract were Judy Garland, Clark Gable, Fred Astaire, Katharine Hepburn, Jean Harlow, and Gene Kelly.

For roughly three decades from 1924 to 1954, MGM dominated the American movie business. During its first decade, the studio earned 153 Academy Award nominations and 33 awards. It produced a Best Picture nominee every year for two straight decades, a run no other studio matched in the same period.

The year 1939 marked a particular peak. MGM released both Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz that year, films that continue to rank among the most celebrated in cinema history. Of the 102 Best Picture nominees across the Academy Awards ceremonies held between 1927 and 1939, 28 came from MGM.

Ownership Changes and Financial Turbulence

The decades after the Golden Age brought repeated changes of ownership. In 1986, Kirk Kerkorian sold MGM/UA to Ted Turner for $1.5 billion. Turner retained the pre-May 1986 MGM film library but sold the studio’s production and distribution assets back to Kerkorian just 74 days later, for $300 million. Kerkorian’s involvement with MGM was not a single episode: he bought and sold the studio three separate times between 1969 and 2005, ultimately selling it in 2005 to a Sony-led consortium for $5 billion.

By 2010, MGM carried more than $4 billion in outstanding debt. On November 3, 2010, MGM and approximately 160 of its affiliates filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The studio emerged from bankruptcy the same year, having raised approximately $500 million in financing to fund operations. Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum, executives from Spyglass Entertainment, were installed as co-CEOs upon the exit from bankruptcy.

Library and Franchises

MGM’s library is built around some of the most commercially durable franchises in film history. The studio holds the James Bond, Rocky, and Pink Panther series, as well as the Hannibal Lecter franchise, which came through its ownership of Orion Pictures. On the television side, the library includes productions such as The Handmaid’s Tale and Vikings.

In 2017, MGM acquired full ownership of the premium cable and streaming network Epix from its previous co-owners Viacom and Lionsgate in a deal valued at $1 billion, consolidating its distribution footprint alongside its production assets.

Current Structure

MGM now operates as part of Amazon MGM Studios, its parent organisation. The studio’s website is mgm.com.

Did you know

Ted Turner owned MGM for only 74 days in 1986 before selling the studio back to Kirk Kerkorian. Despite the brevity of his ownership, Turner kept the entire pre-May 1986 MGM film library, which he later used to launch Turner Network Television and Turner Classic Movies. (marketscreener.com)
Kirk Kerkorian bought and sold MGM three separate times between 1969 and 2005. His final sale, in 2005 to a Sony-led consortium, fetched $5 billion. (hollywoodreporter.com)

Data sources

Data updated: 2026-10-31