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Warner Bros. Pictures

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Warner Bros. Pictures
FormerlyWarner Bros. Pictures Inc. (1923–1967)
Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Inc. (1967–1970)
Warner Bros. Inc. (1970–1992)
Warner Bros. (1992-2003)
Company typeDivision
IndustryEntertainment
PredecessorWarner Features Company
FoundedApril 4, 1923; 101 years ago (1923-04-04)[1]
Founders
Headquarters4000 Warner Boulevard,,
Burbank, California
,
United States
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Toby Emmerich
(Chairman, Warner Bros. Pictures Group)
Ryan Kavanaugh
(CEO, Warner Bros. Pictures Group)
ProductsFilms
RevenueIncrease US$13.866 billion (2017)[2]
Increase US$1.761 billion (2017)[2]
OwnerWarnerMedia Studios & Networks Group
(WarnerMedia/AT&T)
Number of employees
Est. 8,000 (2014)[3]
ParentWarner Bros. Pictures Group
(Warner Bros.)
Websitewww.warnerbros.com

Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution company. Headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, it is the flagship label of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a division of AT&T's WarnerMedia. Founded in 1923 by Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Sam Warner, and Jack L. Warner, in addition to producing its own films, it handles filmmaking operations, theatrical distribution, marketing and promotion for films produced and released by other Warner Bros. labels, including Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Animation Group, New Line Cinema, DC Films, and Castle Rock Entertainment, as well as various third-party producers.

History

Further information: Warner Bros. § History

In 1927, Warner Bros. Pictures revolutionized the film industry when they released the first "talkie" The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson. Unfortunately, founding member Sam Warner died prior to the premiere of the film.[4] From 1923 to 1967, Warner Bros. was known as Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. as their main focus was entirely on the motion picture industry. 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.

Warner Bros. Pictures

The division was incorporated as Warner Bros. Pictures on March 3, 2003 to diversify film subjects and expand audiences for their film releases.[5] 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.[6] In 2017, longtime New Line executive Toby Emmerich joined as president. In January 2018, he was elevated to chairman.[7][8] On October 23, 2018 it was announced Lynne Frank, President of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, would be leaving the company to pursue new opportunities.[9] In June 2019, Warner Bros. Pictures signed an agreement with SF Studios to have their films distributed in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.[10]

Film library

Gate 4, Warner Bros. Studios, looking south towards the water tower

Acquired libraries

Mergers and acquisitions have helped Warner Bros. accumulate a diverse collection of films, cartoons and television programs. As of 2019, Warner Bros. owned more than 100,000 hours of programming, including 8,600 feature films and 5,000 television programs comprising tens of thousands of individual episodes.[11]

In the aftermath of the 1948 antitrust suit, uncertain times led Warner Bros. in 1956 to sell most of its pre-1950[12][13][14] films and cartoons to Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.). In addition, a.a.p. also obtained the Fleischer Studios and Famous Studios Popeye cartoons, originally from Paramount Pictures. Two years later, a.a.p. was sold to United Artists, which owned the company until 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired United Artists.[15][16]

In 1982, during their independent years, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Brut Productions, the film production arm of France-based then-struggling personal-care company Faberge Inc.[17]

In 1986, Turner Broadcasting System acquired Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Finding itself in debt, Turner Entertainment 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.[18]

In 1989, Warner Communications acquired Lorimar-Telepictures Corporation.[19][20] Lorimar's catalogue included the post-1973 library of Rankin/Bass Productions, and the post-1947 library of Monogram Pictures/Allied Artists Pictures Corporation.

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[21][22] and New Line Cinema on January 28, 1994.[23][24] On October 10, 1996, Time Warner acquired Turner Broadcasting System, thus bringing Warner Bros.' pre-1950 library back home. In addition, Warner Bros. only owns Castle Rock Entertainment's post-1994 library.

In 2008, Time Warner integrated New Line to Warner Bros.

In June 2016, it created the Harry Potter Global Franchise Development Team to oversee its ownership of the Harry Potter franchise worldwide (including the Wizarding World trademark).[25]

Filmography

Main articles: List of Warner Bros. films (1918–1999) and List of Warner Bros. films (2000–present)

The studio's first live-action film was My Four Years in Germany (1918), their first animated film was Gay Purr-ee (1962). Animated films produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and the Warner Animation Group are also released by Warner Bros. Pictures. The studio has released twenty-five films that have received an Academy Award for Best Picture nomination: Disraeli (1929), I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932), 42nd Street (1933), Here Comes the Navy (1934), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935), Anthony Adverse (1936), The Life of Emile Zola (1937), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Four Daughters (1938), Jezebel (1938), Dark Victory (1939), to name a few.

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films in North America[26]
Rank Title Year Domestic gross
1 The Dark Knight 2008 $535,234,033
2 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 $448,139,099
3 Wonder Woman 2017 $412,563,408
4 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2011 $381,409,310
5 American Sniper 2014 $350,126,372
6 Joker 2019 $335,451,311
7 Aquaman 2018 $335,061,807
8 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016 $330,360,194
9 It 2017 $327,481,748
10 Suicide Squad 2016 $325,100,054
11 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001 $317,871,467
12 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 1 2012 $303,201,694
13 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009 $303,003,568
14 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 2010 $302,289,278
15 Inception 2010 $296,131,568
16 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2007 $292,576,195
17 Man of Steel 2013 $292,137,260
18 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 $291,045,518
19 The Matrix Reloaded 2003 $290,201,752
20 The Hangover 2009 $285,686,992
21 Gravity 2013 $281,576,461
22 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002 $277,583,522
23 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 1 2013 $277,322,503
24 The Lego Movie 2014 $274,092,705
25 I Am Legend 2007 $262,233,983
Highest-grossing films worldwide
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 2011 $1,342,932,398
2 Aquaman 2018 $1,148,461,807
3 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 $1,084,939,099
4 Joker 2019 $1,074,251,311
5 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 1 2012 $1,021,103,568
6 The Dark Knight 2008 $1,004,934,033
7 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone 2001 $978,051,288
8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 2010 $976,431,568
9 The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 1 2013 $958,366,855
10 The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 1 2014 $956,019,788
11 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix 2007 $942,018,451
12 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 2009 $934,546,568
13 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 2005 $897,099,794
14 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets 2002 $879,225,135
15 Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice 2016 $873,634,919
16 Inception 2010 $828,322,032
17 Wonder Woman 2017 $821,847,012
18 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2016 $814,037,575
19 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban 2004 $796,907,323
20 Suicide Squad 2016 $746,846,894
21 The Matrix Reloaded 2003 $742,128,461
22 Gravity 2013 $723,192,705
23 It 2017 $700,381,748
24 Man of Steel 2013 $668,045,518
25 Justice League 2017 $657,924,295

Notes

  1. ^ co-owned by New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (the film's producers)


References

  1. ^ "Company history". Warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "2017 Annual Report" (PDF). Time Warner. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2019.
  3. ^ Patten, Dominic; Yamato, Jen. "Warner Bros Layoffs Long Planned But "Accelerated" By Failed Fox Bid". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
  4. ^ "Warner, Movie Magnate, Dies: Sam Warner, Former Youngstown Man, Rose from Obscurity to Leader in Field". The Youngstown Daily Vindicator. October 5, 1927.
  5. ^ "Business Entity Detail: Warner Bros. Pictures (search on Entity Number: C2502930)". California Business Search. California Secretary of State. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  6. ^ HALBFINGER, David (November 27, 2007). "Warner's Production Chief to Also Oversee Distribution". Archived from the original on December 19, 2019.
  7. ^ Lang, Brent; Lang, Brent (2018-01-09). "Warner Bros. Shake-Up: Toby Emmerich Named Film Chairman, Sue Kroll Out". Variety. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  8. ^ "Warner Bros. Shake-Up: Toby Emmerich Named Film Chairman, Sue Kroll Out". Variety. January 9, 2018.
  9. ^ "Warner Bros International Marketing President Lynne Frank To Exit". Deadline. October 23, 2018.
  10. ^ "Warner Bros, SF Studios Expand Distribution Deal Across Scandinavia". Variety. June 25, 2019.
  11. ^ "WarnerBros.com – Company Overview". Warner Bros. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 29, 2019.
  12. ^ Schickel & Perry 2008, p. 255
  13. ^ 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
  14. ^ "Media History Digital Library". archive.org. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  15. ^ Hoyt, Eric (2014-07-03). Hollywood Vault: Film Libraries Before Home Video. Univ of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-95857-9.
  16. ^ Cole, Robert J. (May 16, 1981). "M-G-M Is Reported Purchasing United Artists for $350 million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 8, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  17. ^ "Faberge Sells Brut's Assets". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2014.
  18. ^ "Turner Sells Fabled MGM but Keeps a Lion's Share". Los Angeles Times. 1985-12-20. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  19. ^ "Crash Landing Merv Adelson—TV mogul, multimillionaire, and friend of the famous—lived a show-business fantasy. His bankruptcy has shocked Hollywood. – November 10, 2003". cnn.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "Warner Completes Merger With Lorimar Telepictures". The Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved 2010-10-23.
  21. ^ "Turner Broadcasting Company Report". sec.gov. Securities and Exchange Commission. Archived from the original on July 10, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  22. ^ "Done deal: Turner Broadcasting System Inc. said it closed..." Chicage Tribune. Archived from the original on March 2, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
  23. ^ "New Line to Join Ted Turner Empire Today : Film: With more money, the company is likely to add a few big movies to its annual production schedule". Los Angeles Times. 1994-01-28. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  24. ^ "New Line Cinema". ethicalbusinessbureau.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-02. Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  25. ^ Barraclough, Leo (June 8, 2016). "Warner Bros. Completes Harry Potter Franchise Team With Polly Cochrane Promotion". Variety. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
  26. ^ "Box Office by Studio – Warner Bros. All Time". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2017.
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