Tag Archives: Awards

Warner Bros. Pictures

Posted on by 
by JOHN HOPKINS

Warner_Bros-logo

 

-Warner Brothers Logo- Courtesy of housepr.com

Corporate Headquarters

4000 Warner Blvd. Burbank, CA 91522

Phone: (818)- 954- 6000

www.warnerbros.com

History

Founded by Albert, Sam, Harry, and Jack L. Warner on April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Entertainment is a fully integrated, broad based entertainment company that leads the industry in feature films. Warner Bros. Pictures first saw success in 1927 when the four brothers The Jazz Singer, the first synchronized-sound feature film. The company is a subsidiary of Time Warner and produces 18-22 films each year, creating little risk and maximizing productivity. Warner Bros. has released many popular films ranging from Goodfellas (1990) to classic series movies such as Star Wars (1977-2005), Harry Potter (2001-2011), and Academy Award-winning films such as American Sniper (2014), which grossed 347,300,219 domestically.

Key Executives

Kevin_Tsujihara_2014

-Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO

Dan_Fellman_195x230

-Dan Fellman, President, Domestic Distribution

Paul_Broucek_195x230

-Paul Broucek, President, Music

Chris+de+Faria+2nd+Annual+Japan+Cool+Content+SYLDNhMY1I9l

-Chris deFaria, President, Animation, Digital Production and Visual Effects

MV5BMjIwMTQzOTM5NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjE3NDg1OA@@._V1_SX640_SY720_

-Sue Kroll, President, Worldwide Marketing and International Distribution

Financials

Warner Bros. Pictures maintains worldwide distribution rights as they fully finance or co-finance their films with companies such as Village Roadshow Pictures. Currently, Warner Bros. is at the top of the list for distributors as they currently have 21.1% of the market share with their overall gross being 621.2. The top grossing movie was American Sniper which grossed 345,881,971 playing in 3.885 theaters. Warner Bros. Pictures also experienced a 7 percent rise in the last quarter. In 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures made 1.56 billion domestically in the box office, totaling a 4.73 billion globally. Both of these surpassed the billion-dollar mark for the 14th year in a row.

chart

-Courtesy of Google Finance

In Theaters

“Focus” (2015)

-“Focus” is a romantic dark comedy film written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa.

2015_Focus_film_poster

The dark comedy film starring Will Smith and Margot Robbie took the #1 rank during the opening weekend releasing in 3,323 theaters garnering a total of $18,685,137. The film has grossed a total of 53,415,316 domestically in addition to the 94,800,000 domestically. Warner Bros. Pictures and IMAX announced they would also release the re-mastered version of the movie on February 27, 2015. The film released made 13 million in the UK, 3.1 million in Russia, and 1,765,832 in the Netherlands. This came out to a total gross of around 12 million being released in the theaters of 39 markets of other territories in the same opening weekend.

“Get Hard” (2015)

MV5BMTc3OTc1NjM0M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjAyMzE1MzE@._V1_SX214_AL_

“Get Hard” starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart had a domestic gross of 72,872,676, along with 13,400,000 foreign totaling a gross amount of 86,272,676 with their budget being at 40million. In it’s opening weekend “Get Hard” took the number 2 rank behind Home (52.1 million) as the comedy grossed 33.8 million. Ferrell’s third highest opening for an action film, it was released in 3,175 theaters for the opening weekend with each theater averaging around $10,647, taking the total percent of the total gross to 46.4%. “Get Hard” premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 27th.

Recently Released 

“American Sniper” (2014)

“American Sniper” opened with a limited release on December 25, 2014 playing at four theaters in New York, Los Angeles, and Dallas, earning 850,000 during this limited release. The limited release was successful as it was nominated for numerous academy awards among many other awards including best picture, best actor, and best adapted screenplay. The movie won an academy award for best sound editing and an American Film Institute award for top 10 films of the year among many others. The movie the next weekend had an average of 169,277 at each venue, which proved to be the second-biggest weekend average for an action movie. The limited release was extremely successful for Warner Bros. Pictures because it earned $3.4 million in only three weekends. The film then took North America by storm on January 16 in 2015 as it grossed 30.5 million on its opening day at 3,555 different theaters. In addition to that, the movie also set an IMAX record as it earned a total of 10.6 million in the month of January. The film then expanded and reached out to 3,705 theaters and set the record for eighth largest second weekend gross. BoxOfficeMojo predicted “American Sniper” would be the highest grossing film in 2014 in just its second week released. The film remained at the top through its third week earning $30.66 million in gross earnings. Although the movie did extremely well, Warner Bros. Pictures suffered some controversy with many people believing it celebrated the bloodshed during the Iraqi war and turned it into a fairy tale. In light of the criticism, the movie received strong reviews including a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Upcoming

“Entourage”

A comedy film based off the HBO TV series starring Kevin Connolly, Adrian Grenier, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrara, and Jeremy Piven, will be released on June 5, 2015. Directed by Doug Ellin, Entourage follows the career of a movie star named Vincent Chase along with his group of friends from home, and their lives in Hollywood. The movie’s previous release date was June 12, 2015 but Warner Bros. moved it up a week.

“Arms & the Dudes”

Warner Bros has undergone principal photography on a new movie staring Oscar nominee Jonah Hill and Miles Teller directed by Oscar nominee Todd Phillips (Borat). The story chronicles two friends in their early 20’s living in Miami during the Iraqi war that make money by bidding on U.S Military government contracts. Phillips co-wrote the script along with Jason Smilovic and Stephen C. Chin based off of a rolling stone article. Bradley Cooper and Todd Phillips are producing the film under their company 22nd & Green Productions along with Mark Gordon under The Mark Gordon Company. This film is a promising project for Warner Bros. Pictures as many prominent people who have had recent successful films are involved in the movie, which gives it a great chance to become another success for Warner Bros. Productions.

Projections for Warner Bros. Pictures

With American Sniper being named the highest grossing film of 2014 and receiving numerous academy award nominations, Warner Bros. Pictures is looking towards an amazing upcoming year with the buzz that has already been created for this year. The upcoming year has already had stellar moves released by Warner Bros. including American Sniper, Focus, and Get Hard among many others. Warner Bros. The studio has numerous upcoming movies that will be sure to create a buzz including Entourage, Magic Mike, Tarzan, Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Tarzan, and King Arthur. Tsujihara has also come up with an expansion plan that has Warner Bros. releasing three LEGO-branded films over the next four years coming off of the $468 million worldwide box office success that was “The Lego Movie”.

Sources

[1] “Warner Brothers – House PR.” House PR. 2015 House Public Relations, 3 Mar. 2011. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.housepr.com/portfolio/warner-brothers/>.

[2]”The Water Diviner – WarnerBros.com – Movies.” The Water Diviner – WarnerBros.com – Movies. Warner Bros. Pictures, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/water-diviner?sec=in>.

[3] “Paul Broucek – WarnerBros.com – The Studio.” Paul Broucek – WarnerBros.com – The Studio. Executives- Warner Bros. Pictures, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/executives/paul-broucek>.

[4]”Time Warner.” – Investor Relations. Quarterly Summary- Time Warner, 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://ir.timewarner.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=70972&p=irol-reportsannual>.

[5]”Focus – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 14 Jan. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btI7yHxn1NU>.

[6]”Focus (2015) (2015) – Box Office Mojo.” Focus (2015) (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Focus Movie – Box Office Mojo, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=focus2015.htm>.

[7] “Get Hard – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTi-h6zNDLg>.

[8] “Get Hard (2015) – Box Office Mojo.” Get Hard (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Get Hard – Box Office Mojo, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gethard.htm>.

[9] “American Sniper – Official Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99k3u9ay1gs>.

[10]”American Sniper (2014) – Box Office Mojo.” American Sniper (2014) – Box Office Mojo. American Sniper – Box Office Mojo, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americansniper.htm>.

[11] “Entourage – Official Main Trailer [HD].” YouTube. YouTube, 15 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGSE_XPF4_g>.

[12] “Entourage (2015) – Box Office Mojo.” Entourage (2015) – Box Office Mojo. Entourage- Box Office Mojo, 4 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=entourage.htm>.

[13]”Shooting Begins on “Arms & the Dudes” From “The Hangover” Director Todd Phillips – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News.” Shooting Begins on “Arms & the Dudes” From “The Hangover” Director Todd Phillips – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News. Arms and Dudes- Warner Bros. Pictures, 14 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/news/shooting-begins-arms-dudes-hangover-director-todd-phillips>.

[14]”Warner Bros. Makes Its All-Digital Projection Debut Today With “The Perfect Storm” In Three Countries – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News.” Warner Bros. Makes Its All-Digital Projection Debut Today With “The Perfect Storm” In Three Countries – WarnerBros.com – The Studio – News. About Warner Bros. Productions, 17 Apr. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/news/warner-bros-makes-its-all-digital-projection-debut-today-%E2%80%9C-perfect-storm%E2%80%9D-three>.

[15]”Time Warner Cable – Investor Relations – Financial Reports & Filings – Annual Meeting Materials.” Time Warner Cable – Investor Relations – Financial Reports & Filings – Annual Meeting Materials. N.p., 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 17 Apr. 2015. <http://ir.timewarnercable.com/investor-relations/financial-reports-and-filings/annual-reports/default.aspx>.

NewsCorp/21st Century – Fox

Aside

 

by Lina Ortega

21st Century Fox

Image courtesy of: http://new.pentagram.com/2013/05/new-work-21st-century-fox/

 

[Image courtesy of: new.pentagram.com]

www.21cf.com

 Contact information

                                                         21st Century Fox                                                                                                         1211 Avenue of the Americas                                                                                                              44th floor                                                                 New York, NY 10036-8701

Key Executives

Rupert Murdoch

                              Rupert Murdoch: Chairman & Chief Executive Officer                               [Image courtesy of: thenation.com]

President and Chief Operating Officer

                              Chase Carrey: President and Chief Operating Officer                              [Image Courtesy of: stockspinoffs.com]

James Murdoch: Co-Chief Operating Officer

                                    James Murdoch: Co-Chief Operating Officer                                     [Image Courtesy of: mikeangryman.com]

About 21st Century Fox

What was once News Corporation since 1953 [I], is now comprised by “News Corp” and “21st Century Fox.” News Corp consists of a publishing group that includes several newspapers like Wall Street Journal, New York Post and Times of London. 21st Century Fox is a broadcasting and film company that includes the “Fox News channel”, “20th Century movie and television studios”, “Fox sports”, “FX”, “National Geographic” and “FOX broadcast network”. [II] This separation was intended to ensure that both companies were conducted under more a centered management, which makes both companies more valuable.

21st Century Fox is a global media company and was founded in June 28, 2013 [III]. It acquires market from four principal operating segments: 1- Cable network programming, which it’s mostly production and licensing content through cable, telecommunications providers, and broadcast satellite. 2- Television, which operates the company’s 28 full-power broadcast stations. 3- Film Entertainment, the operator of the company’s numerous film and television production studios. 4- Direct Broadcast Satellite Television, which provides programming to international markets. The company also holds a 39% of BSkyB, the British entertainment and communications provider. 21st Century Fox makes its revenue principally on affiliate subscriptions, broadcast  and advertising fees, content licensing and retransmission revenues to maintain the top line [IV]. Fox Broadcasting Company ended the year 2012 at number one in the key adult demographic for the eight consecutive year in America [V].

Financials

The Cable Network Programming segment surpassed $12 billion in revenue for the first time in its history, up 13% over their prior year.                                                             2014 21st Century Fox Annual Report:2014 21st Century Fox Annual Report

What’s Happening Now?

In cable programming, FX Networks has currently 25 successful shows on air [VI].

Photo courtesy of: The Christian Post

Image courtesy of: The Christian Post

American Horror Story is now on the 7th episode of its 4th season “Freak Show” and it is one of the most watched TV series of the FX Networks. The show presents an anthology of different narratives for each new season [VII]. With an 8.4 out of 10 by IMDB, the show went from 2.82 million viewers on its first season to 4.00 million viewers now [VIII].

 

In television, FOX has a great variety of very recognized shows that can range mostly in animation, comedy, and thriller.

Photo courtesy of: forbes.com

Image courtesy of: forbes.com

One of the FOX newest TV shows premiered recently on September 22, 2014 with 8.21 million viewers [IX]. Gotham explores the beginning tales of Commissioner Gordon.  While in the show he is still a detective, he has yet to meet Batman and the villains who made Gotham City so popular [X]. Gotham received two nominations in the TV divisions for the “American Society of Cinematographers 29th annual Outstanding Achievement Awards” . Additionally, the pilot was recognized in the category for a TV movie, miniseries or pilot [XI].

20th Century Fox is one of the most recognized film industries in the world. This year 2014, Fox released 13 feature films with a result of $1,539,266,539 in total gross [XII]. This includes: X-Men: Days of Future Past, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, How to Train your Dragon 2, Gone Girl and Rio 2, as in order of total ranking.

Photo courtesy of: msmagazine.com

Image courtesy of: msmagazine.com

Gone Girl was released in October 3, 2014 and it has a domestic total of $160,757,000 as of today November 30th, plus a $173,400,000 of foreign totals while the production budget was only 61 million. Currently in its 5th week, it is ranked number 8 [XIII]. Gone Girl has received many awards including  the “Hollywood Film Award” at the 2014 Hollywood Film Festival [XIV].

Penguins of Madagascar is an animated comedy distributed by 20th Century Fox and is its newest film on the market, released on November 26, 2014. This film takes the peculiar penguin characters of the previous Madagascar movies, whom must stop a villain doctor from destroying the world [XV]. As of its first weekend it is currently number two with a total gross of $36 million [XVI].

This has been one of the best years for Fox and they are not planning on backing down. On December 5, 2014 The Pyramid will be released. The Pyramid is about an archaeological team ventures to unlock the mysteries of a lost pyramid and instead find themselves hunted by an insidious creature [XVII].

As Europe’s leading entertainment company, Sky has 20 million consumers across five countries: Italy, Germany, Austria, the UK, and Ireland [XVIII].

Photo courtesy of: denofgeek.com

Image courtesy of: denofgeek.com

Penny Dreadful is a psychological thriller that brings together literature’s most terrifying classical characters, like Dr. Frankenstein and Dorian Gray [XIX]. It aired on May 11, 2014, and it won “Most Exciting New Series” at the Critics Choice Television Awards [XX]. Penny Dreadful is coming back with its new season for a 2015 debut on the channel [XXI].

In Other News

Photo courtesy of: The Independent

Image courtesy of: The Independent

Exodus: Gods and Kings has received criticism due to its lack of ethnic diversity, to which Rupert Murdoch decided to respond by tweeting the following: “Moses film attacked on Twitter for all white cast. Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are.” [XXII]. Murdoch has not received too many good responses about this issue.

Photo courtesy of: realscreen.com

Image courtesy of: realscreen.com

On October 10, 2014, 21st Century Fox and Apollo made an agreement to create a leading company multi-platform content provider each of them owning 50 percent. Now Endemol, Shine Group, and Core Media will be a sole group in over 30 markets including digital, gaming and distribution operations [XXIII].

Up until 2018, Fox has 48 movies, including many sequels as well as prequels that are yet to come [XXIV].

[I] News Corporation Limited History     From 2002. Retrieved November 27, 2014             [II] NewsCorp Divides Into Two Companies     From June 28, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2014                                                                                                                              [III] 21st Century Fox Company Details     Retrieved November 27, 2014                         [IV] 21st Century Fox Analysis     From November 24, 2014. Retrieved November 27, 2014.                                                                                                                                   [V] Fox Broadcasting Company     Retrieved November 29, 2014.                                        [VI] 21st Century Fox     Retrieved November 27, 2014.                                                       [VII] American Horror Story     Retrieved November 29, 2014                                               [VIII] American Horror Story Numbers     From October 13, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014                                                                                                                                   [IX] Monday Final Ratings     From September 23, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014     [X] Gotham TV Show     From September 22, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014           [XI] ASC Nominations for TV Cinematography     From November 19, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                                                                           [XII] 20th Century Fox Box Office Mojo     From November 23, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                                                                                             [XIII] Box Office Mojo     Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                       [XIV] Gone Girl Tops Hollywood Film Awards     From November 14, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                                                                           [XV] The Penguins of Madagascar     Retrieved December 1, 2014                                 [XVI] Penguins of Madagascar Box Office Mojo     Retrieved December 1, 2014.               [XVII] The Pyramid     Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                           [XVIII] Sky     Retrieved November 29, 2014.                                                                         [XIX] Penny Dreadful TV Series     Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                       [XX] Penny Dreadful Awards       Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                    [XXI] Penny Dreadful First Look     From November 21, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                                                                                                   [XXII] Rupert Murdoch’s Response     From November 30, 2014. Retrieved November 30, 2014.                                                                                                                                   [XXIII] 21st Century Fox and Apollo     From October 10, 2014. Retrieved November 29, 2014.                                                                                                                                   [XXIV] New Movie Releases     Retrieved November 30, 2014.