Universal Pictures/Logo Variations

Main Logo Variations Trailer Variations

Credits

Descriptions by
Sean Beard, Matt Williams, Nicholas Aczel, Randomkid0627 and others

Captures by
Eric S., wolfie14, lukesams, logos2010, Logophile, Mr.Logo, TrickyMario7654, LogosForTheWin, Hb1290 and filmbaza.net

Arabian Nights (1942):
This logo is similar to the 1st Universal Cartoons Logo. The logo is on a blue starry night (with golden and white stars) However, the globe (which is two-dimensional) is red/brown and black and contains some stars (a la Universal Pictures "Art-Deco Globe"), and "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" around the globe is pink.

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Canyon Passage (1946):

• A rare variation of the Universal logo is put upon a black/dark blue gradient background. It features a gold globe with the words "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" around it.

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It Came from Outer Space (1953):

• The logo is in 3-D and the stars "shine".

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The Birds (1963):

• The globe appears two-dimensional and static on a white background, with either the words:UNIVERSAL PICTURES
  PRESENTS(in blue)or "A UNIVERSAL RELEASE" inside a white rectangle, both in a bold Times font.

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Marnie (1964):

• Similar to The Birds variant, only the globe is much more simply drawn, with the oceans in red and the continents in white, and the black words:U N I V E R S A L
  P R E S E N T Sin front of the globe. All this is surrounded by a red ivy rectangular border, itself surrounded by a black rectangular border.

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Torn Curtain (1966):

• The logo from The Birds is superimposed over the closing scene. Instead of "A UNIVERSAL RELEASE" and the outlined rectangle, it says "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" in a serif font.

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Skullduggery (1970):

• The globe and the Van Allen belt is reversed. Then, it fades to a spinning Franklin Globe that the camera zooms into. The globe stops at the film's setting, New Guinea.

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Pufnstuf (1970):

• Cameo appearance by the 1963 Universal logo during the song "Living Island" and a verse about the world, briefly consisting of the image of the Earth and Van Allen radiation belts, but without the "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" lettering.

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The Sting (1973):

• The 1936 "Art Deco Globe" logo is used and is seen tinted in brown.

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The Hindenburg (1975):

• A silent variant of the 1936 logo appears, leading into the old newsreel footage.

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The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (1976):

• The 1936 logo is used before going into the newsreel. The fanfare used for the logo is extended for the logo and the title card of the newsreel.

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The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977):

• We see a cheap version of the 1936 Universal logo. After the music finishes, the logo keeps spinning as a door opens in the distance. A weird looking man (played by Marty Feldman) pops up from behind the Universal logo and starts breaking off the letters and stops the globe where Africa is. After some narration is heard, the weird man crushes the globe and points down to Africa, then the opening credits play.

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The Deer Hunter (1978):

• The logo is sepia-toned.

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The Brink's Job (1978):

• Exactly the same as The Sting variant.

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Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978):

• The 1927 "Airplane Passing Globe" logo is used, but with colorful fireworks.

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The Nude Bomb (1980):

• The globe fades into a white circle on a green background, starting the opening credits sequence.

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Smokey and the Bandit II (1980):

• An animated car chase around the globe is seen. The logo also shakes violently with the sound of a car crash and a car horn "laughing" as it fades out.

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Xanadu (1980):

• A recreation of the 1927 logo opens the film: the logo is put upon a zooming space background, the globe is red and the plane is yellow. As the opening credits appear, the globe remains on screen and a succession of increasingly modern flying machines (four-engine airliner, Concorde, flying saucer) emerge from behind the Earth. The music changes in different styles of music as the objects appear.

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The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper (1981):

• The logo is zoomed out further.

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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982):

• The logo is reversed.

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Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982):

• Exactly the same as The Sting and The Brink's Job variants. Plus, there is a remix of the 1936 fanfare composed by James Horner.

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D.C. Cab (1983):

• The logo fades into a picture of its starting point.

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Psycho II (1983):

• The logo appears grayscaled.

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Jaws 3-D (1983):

• Specifically designed for 3D, the space background is still and both the globe and company name zoom in towards the screen. The "UNIVERSAL" text is in metallic gold and the Van Allen belts are missing.

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The Pirates of Penzance (1983):

• The classic 1927 Universal logo is shown in sepia tone, albeit in widescreen.

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The 'Burbs (1989):

• We see the standard Universal Globe (looks computerized though) with its MCA byline in a different font, but then the text fades-out, leaving only the globe, and then we zoom into the globe closer and closer, until we fly over Mayfield Place, as the opening credits roll.

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Mo' Better Blues (1990):

• The 75th Anniversary logo is shown, but Flavor Flav of the rap group Public Enemy spells out the letters in "UNIVERSAL" (and also says "Y'all been large for years!" and yells "Yo, Spike! Start the movie, G!").

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Cry-Baby (1990):

• The 1927 logo is used, but afterwards the in-credit text:

UNIVERSAL
AN MCA COMPANY

wipes in at the start of the opening credits.

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Cape Fear (1991):

• The logo animates as normal first, but towards the end, it is in underwater and starts to ripple.

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The Flintstones (1994):

• Variation of the 1990 Universal logo seen at the drive-in theater screen the Flintstones go to in a live-action rendition of the opening for the original show, about two minutes into the movie (no logo is seen at the start); the logo reads "UNIVERSHELL" and script is carved in bones, and the continents are shown as they look in prehistoric times, which happens to be Pangaea. The music is a re-orchestrated version of the 1960 Universal Television theme (originally "Revue Studios").

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Street Fighter (1994):

• The text and byline disappear and the globe zooms out to the movie's logo, but the text "The Ultimate Battle'' appears on the bottom of the movie's logo (seen on the International Prints from Columbia Pictures). This is only on the US release, while international prints uses the Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International logo.

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The Paper (1994):

• The logo fades into a clock.

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Major Payne (1995):

• Once the logo is complete, a "ding" can be heard like in the original Game Boy start-up screen.

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Casper (1995):

• The globe turns into the moon.

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Waterworld (1995):

• The logo plays silently, but the Universal '90-'97 globe stays visible after the text fades out, and we zoom into the globe very slowly as it fills up with water.

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Twister (1996, International releases):

• Just like the Warner Bros. variant, the still version of the logo appears from the clouds.

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Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie (1996):

• At the beginning of This Island Earth, Mike and the bots riff the old Universal International logo.

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BASEketball (1998):

• After the logo finishes its animation, the text and the glow behind the globe disappear, leaving the globe & background intact. Then the movie's opening titles appear rotating through the globe coming from the right. As the movie title appears, the globe slowly turns into a baseball. After that, the baseball fades out and the movie begins.

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Mercury Rising (1998):

• The logo is a little darker and the © info is removed.

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Small Soldiers (1998):

• Same as Mercury Rising, but it is a little brighter.

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Psycho (1998):

• The URL byline looks slightly different. Seen only on the home video release, the theatrical release uses the logo without URL.

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Patch Adams (1998):

• The logo is zoomed out further, the URL is moved further away from the globe and the copyright info fades in next to it afterwards. Widescreen DVDs have the URL and the copyright info fading in together and placed underneath the globe.

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Life (1999):

• The logo is slightly off-center.

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The Mummy (1999):

• The "UNIVERSAL" text disappears and the logo turns into the sun.

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The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000):

• Similar to The Flintstones variant, only the variation is the 1997 logo with its music, then it pans downward after it finishes.

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The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000):

• The globe freezes as it dissolves to a stylized fancy star above a cartoonish late-50s theater in Frostbite Falls, in which the movie's prologue starts. The camera pans down to the tree curtains as the opening titles takes place.

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Gladiator (2000):

• A color-change job; this time the DreamWorks and Universal logos are sepia-toned.

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Josie and the Pussycats (2001, International Releases):

• The Universal globe transforms into a tongue-stud on a screaming girl's mouth.

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Jurassic Park III (2001):

• During the studio introduction, each logo (Amblin as well) is accompanied by a water ripple effect and the sound of a heavy footstep, referencing the first movie.

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The Mummy Returns (2001):

• Like the first film, the "UNIVERSAL" text disappears, and the logo this time turns into a scorpion on top of a long stick.

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Laurent Gerra à l'Olympia ("Laurent Gerra at Olympia", 2002):

• A plane passes by the Universal logo. This variant is also known as the "Airplane Passing Globe III" and "Biplane III"----

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003):

• The Universal logo turns into a silver vehicle rim. The URL is removed as well.

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The Cat in the Hat (2003):

• The logo is redesigned in the style of the original book, taking place on a teal background with no stars, the globe is red with the continents in white with black outline, the flash is white, and "UNIVERSAL" is in a white, black-outlined Suessian font along with its URL. The globe then morphs into the ball, which is the same as the book as the text fades out. The ball & the glow then fades out.
• On international prints and TV broadcasts, after the DreamWorks logo, the globe fades in, followed by the actual variation.

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Peter Pan (2003):

• When the logo finishes, it freezes and then fades into the background, which turns into a nighttime sky.
• On international prints, the whole logo is seen after the end credits, and plays silently.

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Van Helsing (2004):

• The logo changes its color to black & white and it turns into a flame from a torch being carried by a man. Also, the URL is removed.

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Van Helsing: The London Assignment (2004):

• The 1927 logo is used, but it's a still logo, the biplane is absent, and many clouds are passing by. The logo then later fades into the moon and the movie begins. This appears after the movie's title, even though the 1997 Universal logo was shown at the beginning before the opening titles.

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Balto III: Wings of Change (2004):

• After the 1997 logo, a sped-up version of the 1927 logo is seen with the opening song starting over it.

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Land of the Dead (2005):

• The 1927 logo is used, but the airplane has a different sound, and the background has different clouds, which turn dark and stormy.

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Serenity (2005):

• In the last few seconds, the globe spins a little faster and the text moves closer to it. Also, the shining around the globe dims out and the URL fades out. The text "UNIVERSAL" then zooms in and the globe turns into a realistic Earth.

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Doom (2005):

• The globe is replaced with the planet Mars. When the text fades, we zoom into the Olduvai Research Station. Also, the logo doesn't begin until 30 seconds into the movie.

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Munich (2005):

• The logo is darker as than usual, and it's bylineless.

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Michaël Youn: Pluskapoil (2005):

• "UNIVERSAL" turns into the titular character's name "MICHAËL YOUN" and the globe turns into a 1960's made-up toy globe. Also, the shining around the globe changes its color to red.

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Curious George (2006; With the opening song starting over it) and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie (2008; With the logo's music):

• The logo is much brighter than usual.

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Miami Vice (2006):

• The logo is shaded in royal blue.

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Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006):

• The logo is recorded from a VHS and is on a TV screen.

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The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers (2006):

• Shortly after the logo is completed, the globe eventually stops rotating before the text rotates out to the left. Then the continents of Earth slowly move, reforming Pangaea while we slowly zoom through it, and fades to the volcanoes during the opening sequence.

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The Kingdom (2007):

• The logo changes its color to shadow, and brightens up to proceed into the Relativity Media logo with the same variation.

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Dead Silence (2007):

• The 1927 logo is used with the same clouds from the Land of the Dead variant. It is also in a purple color and scratched out.

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Death Race (2008):

• The logo turns black & white while it animates in reverse and turns into a car engine.

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Changeling (2008):

• The 1936 logo is used.

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Leatherheads (2008):

• Similar as the Changeling variation, except it is tinted gold.

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008):

• The Universal globe spins around and zooms into China.

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Role Models (2008):

• The logo is a little bit darker than usual.

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Beethoven's Big Break (2008):

• A dog barks to the last two notes of the theme.

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Couples Retreat (2009):

• During the zooming, it changes its color to black & white to represent the opening footage. Also, the URL is removed.

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Public Enemies (2009):

• The contrast is slightly darker. Also, the URL is removed.

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Brüno (2009):

• The logo animates as normal, but two dots (called an "umlaut") appear above the letter "U" to create the Latin letter "Ü" in the "ÜNIVERSAL" towards the end.

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Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (2009):

• The globe is replaced by a blue planet named Caprica, the animation differs slightly, and the URL is bigger. We then zoom past the logo into the opening scene.

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Land of the Lost (2009):

• The 1963 "A UNIVERSAL PICTURE" logo is used with more colour saturation than usual, and it fades to the second half of the Relativity Media logo.

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Drag Me to Hell, Inglourious Basterds (Both 2009) and Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016):

• Similar to the Land of the Lost variant, but it doesn't fade to the Relativity Media logo. On the latter, the Comcast byline fades in at the bottom.

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Wanted: Weapons of Fate (Game; 2009):

• The view comes through the room where combat takes place, then a string of flying keyboard keys fly and stop over the slowly rotating globus, showing "UNIVERSAL" on the backs of the keys.

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Smokin' Aces 2: Assassins' Ball (2010):

• The 1927 Universal "Airplane Passing Globe" logo is used.

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The Wolfman (2010):

• Theatrical Version:
  The logo is gray and the text is also glowing.
• Director's Cut:
  The 1936 Universal "Art-Deco Globe" logo is used, but this time, the logo has been remade and is now colorized: the globe is pale golden brown, the text is silver and the background is dark turquoise. Also, the outlines of the continents are added in, an element that was not in the original logo.

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Repo Men (2010):

• The logo goes static at its very last seconds.

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Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010):

• The logo is done in a retro video game style and the music is an 8-bit version of the theme (this version is actually the first track on the soundtrack album, entitled "Universal Theme"). Also, the NBC Universal byline is removed. However, according to the storyboard, it was supposed to be 16-bit with guitars.

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Despicable Me (2010):

• The 2010 logo is smaller than usual, depicting that it was shrunk by a shrink ray from the movie.

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Death Race 2 (2010):

• The logo animates in reverse. Towards the end (or beginning) the globe catches fire and the whole logo gets crushed by rocks, seguing into the movie.

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Catfish (2010):

• The logo is depicted as a Google Earth globe. We first zoom out from Universal Studios Hollywood in San Fan Fernando, California on the globe. A cursor then moves to the globe and drags it along, whereupon it continues spinning, "UNIVERSAL" fades in on the right side of the screen, moving into place, and an excerpt of the usual fanfare begins playing. Also, the byline is absent. Once the text moves into place, the logo is minimised abruptly.

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Skyline (2010):

• Exactly the same as the Curious George and The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie variants, but with the NBC Universal byline. Also, the logo was cropped in 2.35:1.

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Take Me Home Tonight (2011, International):

• The byline is replaced with the URL.

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Hop (2011) and Phil's Dance Party (2012):

• The Universal globe is shaped like an egg. On the latter, the 2012 fanfare is used. The latter is absent on a DVD compilation of shorts.

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The Little Engine That Could (2011):

• The 1990 logo is used without the MCA byline, but the little train engine appears pulling "UNIVERSAL" across the Earth. After the engine moves the text into its usual place, it uncouples from the "U". Then, it stands near it and makes a whistle.

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The Thing (2011):

• The 1990-1997 Universal logo is zoomed out further than usual and the MCA byline is removed.

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Ted (2012) and Ted 2 (2015):

• When the logo is complete, the byline disappears and the camera zooms in to Boston on the globe. The latter has the camera zooming into a church in Boston.

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The Man with the Iron Fists (2012): When the 2012 logo is complete, it's accompanied by a ripple effect with smoke and hot coals coming from the bottom.

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Oblivion (2013):

• The 2013 logo animates as usual, but it is darker. The Earth has been decimated to the point that the continents don't glow anymore and the Tet, a space station that is critical to the film's plot, floats above it. "UNIVERSAL" looks old and rusted.

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47 Ronin (2013):

• The 2013 logo plays as usual and has a grey tint. When the logo is complete, the text fade out, leaving the globe and the background intact. Then, the opening titles play as the camera zooms in to Japan on the globe.

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Minions (2015):

• A 5-minion chorus sing the fanfare, with one of the minions holding onto the last note all the way into the Illumination Entertainment logo.

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Unfriended (2015):

• The 2013 logo plays as usual, but it flickers & lags like a video chat service with bad internet connection, and the music becomes distorted.

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Crimson Peak (2015):

• Both the 2013 logo and the following Legendary logo are tinted in red.

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Krampus (2015): Both this (the 2013 logo) and the following Legendary logo are tinted in turquoise and the text is covered in snow and ice.

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The Land Before Time: Journey of the Brave (2016): The music from the 1997 logo is heard. Shortly after the byline fades in, the text fades out, the Earth's continents is set in a landscape, the glow lights up slightly brighter, the light's color changes to light purple, and more stars in the background fades in. The camera zooms to the top of the globe as the light disappears, the glow slightly reduced, and the opening titles plays over as the camera zooms through the clouds to the Great Valley.

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The Huntsman: Winter's War (2016): The 2013 logo starts as usual. As the cities light up, the gold texture starts from random parts eventually making the Earth golden with continents intact. The sun behind it becomes the golden spark. The byline fades out, while the spark continues to move as it dims out and "UNIVERSAL" rotates out as the golden globe becomes the Magic Mirror. The background slowly fades into the opening.

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The Great Wall (2017): The 2013 logo is shortened and animates faster than usual. When the byline and text disappears, the Legendary Pictures logo shows up over the globe, then it turns counterclockwise and zooms into China on the globe.

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American Made (2017): The 2012 logo starts as usual. When the sun moves out, the music slows down, then a record scratch. When it occurs, the logo flickers to the scope version of the 1963-90 Universal logo with the Comcast byline in the same style as "MCA"'s. After it forms, the VCR restoration effect flickers to the 1980's footage to proceed into the Cross Creek Pictures, Imagine Entertainment and Hercules Film Fund logos with the same variation. The closing version has the standard 2012 logo playing without music. The TV airings have the credits music playing over.

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Happy Death Day (2017):

• The 2013 logo starts as usual, but due to the film's time loop element it glows and disappears in a flash. The same thing occurs when the first few seconds play again. Then, it animates as usual.

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Pacific Rim Uprising (2018):

• The 2013 logo animates as usual in neon, and the Comcast byline fades in late.

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The House with a Clock in its Walls (2018):

• The matted version of the 1963 "A Universal Picture" is used, albeit cropped to fit the film's aspect ratio, with the Comcast byline below "P I C T U R E", complete with the reversing effect from the E.T. variant. The byline fades out as the text starts to draw forward to us. It fades to the Amblin Entertainment logo.

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Mortal Engines (2018):

• The 2013 logo starts off normally, but light purple explosions begin happening on the continents, dimming many of the lights after they come on. In the end, the text have been left with a similar appearance to that of the Oblivion variant and the lights on the globe disappear and instead by replaced by several lava rivers. Also, the film's opening dialogue begins before the Comcast byline fades in.

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Happy Death Day 2U (2019):

• The 2013 logo starts off normally, but then flashes and splits into two boxes and then three, each showing the logo in the same aspect ratio. The logo flashes back to normal before the Comcast byline fades in.

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1917 (2019):

• The 2013 logo is tinted in blue and cut to the last few seconds, along with the DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment and New Republic Pictures logos. At the end of the movie, the logo is still, tinted in blue, and isn't animated.

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Freaky (2020):

• The logo has a red hue over it.

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F9 (2021)

• The 1990 logo is used, the MCA byline is replaced with the Comcast byline, the registered trademark symbol is removed, and the 1997 fanfare is heard.

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