There's something to be said about the studios. If you're a huge studio like WB or Universal, you can afford to take chances, as you can always throw more money into advertising to fill those seats. On the other hand, if you're small, you have to be more selective. Take Destination Films, for example. This relatively small studio started off on the wrong foot with Bats (0%) and continued to put out titles like Drowning Mona (27%), Eye of the Beholder (6%), and finally Beautiful (16%). Now the studio is no more. Rest in peace, Destination.

On a happier note, the small studios had an outstanding year, critically. For studios with one to three releases in 2000, WinStar Cinema (Yi Yi) leads the pack with an average Tomatometer rating of 93%. Shooting Gallery (You Can Count on Me) is second at 92%. Screen Gems, Fox Searchlight, Paramount Classics, and Fine Line Features all follow with ratings in the 70% range. Hollywood Pictures, Icon Entertainment, and Venture Distrubution bring up the tail with 18%, 22%, and 21% respectively.

For mid-size studios with 4 to 9 releases, Sony Picture Classics (Crouching Tiger, Pollock, House of Mirth) leads the pack with an average Tomatometer rating of 69%, while Lions Gate Films, Disney Pictures, and USA Films following closely with 67%, 62%, and 62%, respectively. Destination Films (19%), MGM (27%), and Dimension Films (31%) bring up the rear.

As for the large studios with 10 or more releases, Dreamworks SKG has the highest average rating with 66%, followed by Universal Pictures with 52%. Paramount Pictures (44%), 20th Century Fox (42%), New Line Cinema (41%), and Columbia TriStar (40%) fit in the middle of the pack with Miramax (39%) and Warner Bros. (37%) trailing the rear.

See below for the breakdown of other studios.

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