Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros.,[a] or abbreviated as WB, or WBEI) 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).
Not to be confused with Warner Bros. Pictures or Warner Bros. Discovery.Warner Bros.
- Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. (1923–1967)
- Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969)
- Warner Bros. Inc. (1969–1992)
Warner Features Company
April 4, 1923
Worldwide
- Michael De Luca and Pamela Abdy (co-chairpersons and CEOs, Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group)
- Channing Dungey (Chairwoman, Warner Bros. Television Group)
US$12.15 billion (2020)
US$2.07 billion (2020)
est. 8,000 (2014)
- Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
- Warner Bros. Television Group
- DC Studios
- Warner Bros. Pictures Animation
- Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures
- Warner Bros. Digital Networks
- Warner Bros. Studio Facilities
The company is known for its film studio division, the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, which includes Warner Bros. Pictures, New Line Cinema, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, Castle Rock Entertainment, DC Studios, and the Warner Bros. Television Group. Bugs Bunny, a character created for the Looney Tunes series, is the company's official mascot.
History
Founding
The company's name originated from the founding Warner brothers (born Wonsal, Woron and Wonskolaser[9][10][11] before Anglicization):[12][13] Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner. Harry, Albert and Sam emigrated as young children with their Polish-Jewish[14][15][16][17] mother to the United States from Krasnosielc, Poland (then part of Congress Poland within the Russian Empire), in October 1889, a year after their father emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Baltimore, Maryland. As in many other immigrant families, the elder Wonsal children gradually acquired anglicized versions of their Yiddish-sounding names: Szmuel Wonsal became Samuel Warner (nicknamed "Sam"), Hirsz Wonsal became Harry Warner, and Aaron Wonsal (although born with a given name common in the Americas) became Albert Warner.[18] Jack, the youngest brother, was born in London, Ontario, during the family's two-year residency in Canada.
International distribution arrangements
From 1971 until the end of 1987, Warner's international distribution operations were a joint venture with Columbia Pictures. In some countries, this joint venture distributed films from other companies (such as EMI Films and Cannon Films in the UK). Warner ended the venture in 1988.
On May 4, 1987, Buena Vista Pictures Distribution signed a theatrical distribution agreement with Warner Bros. International for the release of Disney, Touchstone and Hollywood Pictures films in overseas markets, with Disney retaining full control of all distribution and marketing decisions on their product.[234] In 1992, Disney opted to end their joint venture with Warner Bros. to start autonomously distributing their films in the aforementioned markets.
On February 6, 2014, Columbia TriStar Warner Filmes de Portugal Ltda., a joint venture with Sony Pictures which distributed both companies' films in Portugal, announced that it would close its doors on March 31, 2014.[235] NOS Audiovisuais handles distribution of Warner Bros. films in Portugal since then, while the distribution duties for Sony Pictures films in the country were taken over by Big Picture Films.
Warner Bros. still handles the distribution of Sony Pictures films in Italy.
Since January 1, 2021, Warner Bros. films are distributed through Universal Pictures in Hong Kong citing WarnerMedia's closure of its Hong Kong theatrical office.[236] As of 2024, Warner Bros. currently handles theatrical distribution of Universal Pictures films in Brazil, India and the Philippines.[237][238][239]
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.[240]
The Warner Bros. Archives
The University of Southern California Warner Bros. Archives is the largest single studio collection in the world. Donated in 1977 to USC's School of Cinema-Television by Warner Communications, the WBA houses departmental records that detail Warner Bros. activities from the studio's first major feature, My Four Years in Germany (1918), to its sale to Seven Arts in 1968. It presents a complete view of the production process during the Golden Age of Hollywood. UA donated pre-1950 Warner Bros. nitrate negatives to the Library of Congress and post-1951 negatives to the UCLA Film and Television Archive. Most of the company's legal files, scripts, and production materials were donated to the Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research.