Quick Answer: Searchlight Pictures, Inc., formerly known as Fox Searchlight Pictures, is an American arthouse film production and distribution company, which since 2019 has been owned by Walt Disney Studios, a division of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. Founded on April 29, 1994 as a division of 20th Century Fox, the studio focuses primarily on producing, distributing, and acquiring independent and specialty films. Searchlight is most known for distributing the films Slumdog Millionaire, 12 Years a Slave, Birdman, The Shape of Water, and Nomadland, all of which have won an Academy Award for Best Picture. The studio has grossed over $5.3 billion worldwide and amassed 51 Academy Awards, 30 Golden Globe Awards, and 56 BAFTA awards. Slumdog Millionaire is the studio's largest commercial success, with over $377 million of box office receipts, against a production budget of only $15 million.