By Dahlia Neeman

 

About The Company 

Warner Brothers Pictures is a major film studio founded in 1932. Their studios are located in Burbank, California. They have many divisions including feature films, animation, DVD and Blu-ray. Some of their highest grossing films include “The Dark Knight”, “Harry Potter” and “Inception”. Each year, Warner Brothers produces and distributes 18-22 films. They either fully finance or co-finance every film they produce and distribute films that are financed and produced by others. They also keep the international distribution rights. Last year they were the only studio to gross $4.3 billion at the box office. [1]

Contact

3400 W. Riverside Drive Burbank, CA 91505
877-491-8687
www.warnerbros.com

Key Executives:

Barry M. Meyer is the Chairman of Warner Brothers. He has been working at the company for 14 years. In 2010 he received the Directors Guild of America’s Honorary Life Member Award. [2]

Kevin Tsujihara became the Chief Executive Officer of Warner Brothers in March, 2013. He previously held the position of President of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment. [3]

Recent News

On June 14th, Warner Brothers released “Man of Steel” which became the second highest grossing film of 2013 (behind “Iron Man 3”). This Superman movie broke the opening release record for the month of June grossing over $116 million [4]. The success of this film is the start of a new franchise for Warner Brothers putting it in a position to compete with Marvel in the superhero genre. Marvel currently dominates the superhero movie platform with its countless characters, but now Warner Brothers can add Superman to its list next to Batman and The Green Lantern [5].

In July, Warner Brothers announced there will be a movie featuring Batman and Superman set to be released in 2015 [6]. In this new release, Christian Bale will not play Batman; instead, the role will be played by Ben Affleck [7]. Affleck’s presence should help to draw in a female audience to a movie genre that traditionally attracts a mostly male audience. The announcement that Affleck will play Batman has received a great deal of media attention, and as a result there is a lot of hype for the film before production has even started. This should further solidify Warner Brothers presence in the superhero genre.

 

In July 2013 Warner Brothers distributed the film “The Conjuring” which became a huge success in the horror film genre. Based on a true story, the film revolves around the investigation of paranormal occurrences in a family’s New England home. This thrilling motion picture broke the record for opening weekend for a horror film, bringing in $41 million. This film was also one of the top grossing horror films Warner Brothers has released. [8]

 

 

The “Harry Potter” franchise has been one of Warner Brothers most profitable enterprises. Based on the book series by J.K. Rowling, Warner Brothers has produced eight films grossing a total of $7.7 billion. After the final film in 2011, it seemed that Warner Brothers’ most lucrative franchise had departed for good. It was a surprise on September 12 2013, when Warner Brothers announced a deal with J.K. Rowling to produce a new movie franchise based on her new book series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them [9]. If this series is successful, Warner Brothers will have a new potential money-making franchise under its belt.

  

On September 30, Warner Brothers agreed on a $450 million deal with RatPac-Dune Entertainment. RatPac-Dune Entertainment will finance 75 Warner Brothers films. Films will be from any genre, and the first film was “Gravity.” [10]

Directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the science fiction thriller “Gravity” became a huge international success for Warner Brothers. The cutting-edge special effects and enthralling storyline won this film renowned attention all over the world. The film stars two Oscar winning actors, Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, whose prominence among both male and female audiences contributed to ticket sales. Released on October 4^th, this film grossed over $55 million opening weekend at the box office, breaking the record for an opening weekend in October [11]. 3D sales made up 80% of the gross, surpassing “Avatar” which held the record for 3D sales. With 3D sales becoming less popular, the success of this film proves that audiences will still pay for 3D films if they feel that it is an integral part of the film and not just an add-on [12]. The film so far has earned $516 million worldwide [13].

Following the success of “Gravity”, on October 17 Warner Brothers announced a new deal with Jonas Cuaron, one of the writers of the film. He will be the screenwriter for the film “The Lost City.” [14]

Financials

Warner Brothers stock value in the past year has been increasing gradually, ranging from $44.71 to $70.77. It is currently at $66.28. With the success of “Gravity’s” release in October the company’s stock value increased significantly. In the beginning of October the value started out at $65 and by the end of October the value was up to $70. This is the highest value Time Warner has had all year. This year’s stock value is much better than it had been in 2012. In 2012 it fell to a low of $34.70 and only toward the end of the year began increasing up to the mid forties. This shows that this year has been very successful financially for Warner Brothers. [15]

Coming Soon…

 With the success of Warner Brother’s hits this year, Chief Financial Officer of Time Warner John Martin estimated that this year could be even more profitable than last year. Last year, Warner Brothers showed a $1.24 billion profit from its films. This year, with the help of “Gravity”, Warner Brothers has already shown a $751 million profit [16]. “The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug” will be released this December and it is anticipated that this film will be highly profitable at the box office (last year, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” grossed over $84 million opening weekend) [17]. Click here for the trailer. This box office success could result in Warner Brothers showing higher profits compared to last year. The third movie of this franchise is already in pre-production and is set to be released at the end of 2014. In addition, Warner Brothers already has a list of films planned for release through the year 2017 [18]. 

 

[1] Warner Brothers Company Overview Retrieved: 10/15/13

[2] Warner Brothers Executive Barry Meyer Retrieved: 10/15/13

[3] Warner Brothers Executive Kevin Tsujihara Retrieved: 10/15/13

[4] Screen Rant Article Retrieved: 11/18/13

[5] The Atlantic Wire Article Retrieved: 11/18/13

[6] Batman News Article Retrieved: 10/15/13

[7] Deadline Article Retrieved: 10/15/13

[8] Business Wire Article Retrieved: 10/20/13

[9] NY Daily News Article Retrieved: 9/30/13

[10] Time Warner Press Release Retrieved: 10/10/13

[11] Hollywood Reporter Article Retrieved: 10/19/13

[12] imdb.com Retrieved: 10/18/13

[13] “Gravity” Box Office Results Retrieved: 11/19/20

[14] Variety Article Retrieved: 10/18/13

[15] Warner Brothers Financials Retrieved: 11/19/20

[16] Hollywood Reporter Article Retrieved: 11/18/13

[17] “The Hobbit” Box Office Results Retrieved: 11/19/13

[18] Warner Brothers IMDB Retrieved: 11/19/13