The studio's predecessor (and the modern-day Warner Bros Entertainment as a whole) was founded as the Warner Features Company in New Castle, Pennsylvania, by filmmaker Sam Warner and his business partners and brothers, Harry, Albert, and Jack, in 1911.[5] They produced their first film, the Peril of the Plains[6] in 1912, which Sam directed for the St. Louis Motion Picture Company. In 1915, Sam and Jack moved to California to establish their production studio,[7] while Albert and Harry on July 8, 1915, set up the New York–based Warner Brothers Distributing Corporation to release the films.[8][9][10] In 1918, during WW1, to kickstart their business, the four Warner Brothers chose to produce an adaptation of the book My Four Years in Germany by James W. Gerard to be their first full-scale picture, as they were considered by the sensitivity of both the content and the war for their very first production at the time.[11] The war film was a box office hit and helped the brothers establish themselves as a prestige studio.[12]
On April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. was officially established as their main focus was entirely on the motion picture industry.[13] In 1927, Warner Bros. Pictures revolutionized the film industry when the American-Jewish Warner brothers released their first pictures "talkie" The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson. However, founding member Sam Warner died prior to the premiere of the film.[14] When the company diversified over the years, it was eventually rebranded to its current umbrella name, but Warner Bros. Pictures continued to be used as the name of the film production arm of the company.
In November 1966, Jack gave in to advancing age and changing times, selling 32% of control of the studio and music business to Seven Arts Productions, run by Canadian investors Elliot and Kenneth Hyman, for $32million.[20] Eventually, the company, including the studio, was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts on July 14, 1967.[21]
In 1986, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Finding itself in debt, Turner kept the pre-May 1986 MGM film and television libraries and a small portion of the United Artists library (including the a.a.p. library and North American rights to the RKO Radio Pictures library) while spinning off the rest of MGM.[23]
In 1991, Turner Broadcasting System acquired animation studio Hanna-Barbera and the Ruby-Spears library from Great American Broadcasting, and years later, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Castle Rock Entertainment on December 22, 1993[26][27] and New Line Cinema on January 28, 1994.[28][29] On October 10, 1996, Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting System, thus bringing Warner Bros.'s pre-1950 library back home. In addition, Warner Bros. only owns Castle Rock Entertainment's post-1994 library.
Warner Bros. Pictures
Warner Bros. Pictures logo and wordmark used from 1993 to 2019; on-screen logo used from January 1998 with the release of Fallen until March 2022 with the release of The Nan Movie.
The division was incorporated as Warner Bros. Pictures on March 3, 2003, to diversify film subjects and expand audiences for their film releases.[30] The company became part of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, which was established in 2008, and Jeff Robinov was appointed the first president of the company.[31] In 2017, longtime New Line executive Toby Emmerich joined as president.[32] In January 2018, he was elevated to chairman.[33][34] On October 23, 2018, it was announced Lynne Frank, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, would be leaving the company to pursue new opportunities.[35] In June 2019, Warner Bros. Pictures signed an agreement with SF Studios to have their films distributed in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.[36]
Warner Bros. Pictures logo used from 2019 to 2023. The on-screen logo ran from August 2020 with the release of Tenet to August 2023 with the release of Meg 2: The Trench. The print logo remained in use on film posters from 2019 to 2024.
As with most other film distributors, Warner Bros. Pictures struggled with releasing films during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic due to restrictions on theater openings. After pushing several films planned for 2020 into 2021, WB announced in December 2020 that they would take the unusual approach of having their entire slate of 2021 films planned for both theatrical release as well as having a simultaneous one-month period of availability on the HBO Max streaming service, in a similar manner for how they were releasing Wonder Woman 1984 that month. After one month, such films would still be available in theaters and would then later be available via home media under typical release schedules.[37] The move to include streaming, dubbed "Project Popcorn", was criticized by production companies, directors, and actors as Warner Bros. Pictures had not informed anyone about the plan ahead of the announcement, as well of concerns of lower payouts due to the streaming options,[38] leading Warner Bros. Pictures to alter its compensation rates for the affected films by January 2021 to provide larger payouts to casts and crews of these films.[39]
In March 2021 Warner Bros. announced that for 2022 they will discontinue their same-day HBO Max and theatrical release model in favor of a 45-day theatrical exclusivity window.[40] This is part of an agreement the studio reached with Cineworld (who operates Regal Cinemas).[41]
Alternate version of the 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures logo without the banner, used as on-screen variant at few films. Although the late-2023 on-screen logo has been used since December 6, 2023, this logo remains in use for corporate and small-scale purposes.
On June 1, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), the company formerly known as Discovery, Inc. prior to its acquisition of WarnerMedia two months earlier, announced that Emmerich will step down as head of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group after a transition period, and that it would be divided into three separate units; Warner Bros. Pictures/New Line Cinema, DC Films, and Warner Animation Group. Former MGM executives Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy would serve as the co-chairs of Warner Bros. Pictures (and temporarily oversee the other two divisions until new executives are hired for them), while Emmerich would start his own production company and enter into a five-year distribution and funding agreement with Warner Bros. Pictures.[43][44] On June 8, COO Carolyn Blackwood announced that she was stepping down as well.[45]
Steve Spira returned as president of business affairs for Warner Bros. in June 2022, while De Luca and Abdy took over from Emmerich in July 2022. Former president Alan Horn was appointed as a consultant for WBD President David Zaslav, working with De Luca and Abdy.[46]
In August 2022, Warner Bros. Pictures entered into a multi-year deal for distributing MGM films outside the United States, including on home entertainment. The contract included joint participation of both companies for marketing, advertising, publicity, film distribution, and relationship with exhibitors for future MGM titles.[47] That same month, plans for film distribution at the studio were changed, with the studio relying more on theatrical releases than HBO Max-only releases.[48]
Walter Hamada, the president of DC Films, stepped down on October 19, 2022.[49] President of Production & Development Courtenay Valenti exited on October 28 and was replaced by Jesse Ehrman.[50][51] On June 9, 2023, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group was renamed as the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group.[52]
Gate 4, Warner Bros. Studios, looking south towards the water tower
Mergers and acquisitions have helped Warner Bros. accumulate a diverse collection of films, cartoons and television programs. As of 2022, Warner Bros. owned more than 145,000 hours of programming, including 12,500 feature films and 2,400 television programs comprising more than tens of thousands of individual episodes.[53]
Shared universes
Warner Bros. owns some shared universes. Some of them are based on books and comics, including some of the highest grossing IP's in the movie industry.
Movies based on DC Comics. DCEU was Warner Bros.'s first iteration of a shared universe. The DC Universe serves as an upcoming reboot, led by James Gunn.
Film rights sold by J. K. Rowling for 2 million $ and a net% of the profits. This shared universe became the 4th highest grossing IP in movie history. This universe includes 8 movies based on the Harry Potter books and 3 movies based on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Warner Bros owned the rights to Lego movies up until the end of 2019. More Lego movies were planned, but got cancelled after Universal Pictures bought the rights to the Lego movies. Cancelled sequels include a sequel to The Lego Batman Movie, called Lego Superfriends.[54][55]
Christopher Nolan wrote and directed several of Warner Bros.'s most profitable films in the early 21st century. Like Eastwood, Nolan has had a long creative partnership with the studio.[57]
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Founded in 1923 by four brothers, Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, the company established itself as a leader in the American film industry before diversifying into animation, television, and video games, and is one of the "Big Five" major American film studios, as well as a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).
Orion Releasing, LLC is an American film production and distribution company owned by the Amazon MGM Studios subsidiary of Amazon. In its original operating period, the company produced and released films from 1978 until 1999 and was also involved in television production and syndication throughout the 1980s until the early 1990s. It was formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and three former senior executives at United Artists. From its founding until its buyout by MGM in the late 1990s, Orion was considered one of the largest mini-major studios.
Major film studios are production and distribution companies that release a substantial number of films annually and consistently command the significant share of box office revenue in a given market. In the American and international markets, the major film studios, often known simply as the majors or the Big Five studios, are commonly regarded as the five diversified media conglomerates whose various film production and distribution subsidiaries collectively command approximately 80 to 85% of U.S. box office revenue. The term may also be applied more specifically to the primary motion picture business subsidiary of each respective conglomerate.
New Line Productions, Inc., doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film and television production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Since 2008, it has been operating as a unit of Warner Bros. Pictures.
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment through multiple platforms.
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Studios, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation division and label of Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Television Studios is an American television production and distribution studio of the Warner Bros. Television Group division of Warner Bros.. Since 2006, it is one of the two companies that serve as television production arms of The CW, alongside Paramount Global's subsidiary CBS Studios; it also serves as a television production arm of DC Comics and distribution arm of HBO, Cartoon Network and Adult Swim. Warner Bros. Television Studios has also produced shows for other networks such as Blindspot and Found on NBC, Person of Interest on CBS, The Cleaning Lady on Fox and Abbott Elementary on ABC. It has also produced series for streaming services, including The Sandman on Netflix, Ted Lasso on Apple TV+, The Peripheral on Amazon Prime Video and Mrs. Davis on Peacock.
Toby Emmerich, is an American producer, film executive, and screenwriter. He formerly served as the chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group.
Annapurna Pictures is an American independent media company founded by Megan Ellison on April 2, 2011 and based in Los Angeles, California. It is active in film, television and theatrical production, film distribution, and video game publishing.
Bron Studios is a Canadian motion picture company based in British Columbia owned by Bron Media Corporation. Bron's notable productions include Joker, Bombshell, Queen & Slim, Greyhound, Judas and the Black Messiah,The Mule, Henchmen, Roman J. Israel, Esq.,Rudderless, Welcome to Me, The Addams Family,TheWilloughbys, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (WBPA), formerly known as Warner Animation Group (WAG), is an American animation studio that serves as the animated feature film label of Warner Bros.' theatrical film production and distribution division, Warner Bros. Pictures. Established on January 7, 2013, by Jeff Robinov, the studio is the successor to the dissolved 2D traditional hand-drawn animation studio Warner Bros. Feature Animation, which shut down in 2004, and is also a sister to the regular Warner Bros. Animation studio.
DC Studios is an American film, television, and animation studio that is a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). It is dedicated to the production of films, series, and animations based on characters from DC Comics, among them is their flagship franchise, the DC Extended Universe (DCEU). James Gunn and Peter Safran assumed control of the company, on November 1, 2022. Previously, Walter Hamada was the president of DC Films from 2018 until his departure in October 2022.
Yes, Norman Productions is an American film and television production company founded on October 27, 2017 by actress and producer Kaley Cuoco. It is known for producing the television series Harley Quinn (2019–present) and The Flight Attendant (2020–2022).
Walter Hamada is an American film executive and producer. He joined New Line Cinema in 2007, where he served as an executive producer on horror films such as The Conjuring (2013), Annabelle (2014), The Conjuring 2 (2016), Lights Out (2016), and It (2017). In January 2018, he was appointed the President at Warner Bros. Pictures for DC-based film production before departing from the company in October 2022. He was hired by Paramount Pictures to oversee their horror film franchises beginning in 2023.
Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc. (WBD) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It was formed from WarnerMedia's spin-off by AT&T and merger with Discovery, Inc. on April 8, 2022.
References
↑ "Company history". Warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
↑ "Warner, Movie Magnate, Dies: Sam Warner, Former Youngstown Man, Rose from Obscurity to Leader in Field". The Youngstown Daily Vindicator. October 5, 1927.
↑ WB retained a pair of features from 1949 that they merely distributed, and all short subjects released on or after September 1, 1948; in addition to all cartoons released in August 1948
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