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{{Short description|American entertainment company}}
{{Short description|Brand and corporate history article}}
{{Redirect|Warner Brothers|the characters in ''Animaniacs'' named after this company|The Warner Brothers}}
{{About|the brand and its corporate history|the modern entertainment corporation|Warner Bros. Entertainment|the now-independent music recording corporation|Warner Music Group}}
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}


{{Use American English|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Warner_Bros._Discovery_(symbol).svg|thumb|Logo used since 2023 by [[Warner Bros. Discovery]],<ref name="WBLogo">{{Cite web |last=Burgos |first=Matthew |date=May 4, 2023 |title=warner bros. logo gets a thicker, bolder, and sharper look from chermayeff & geismar & haviv |url=https://www.designboom.com/design/warner-bros-new-logo-chermayeff-geismar-haviv-05-04-2023/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504233437/https://www.designboom.com/design/warner-bros-new-logo-chermayeff-geismar-haviv-05-04-2023/ |archive-date=May 4, 2023 |access-date=May 4, 2023 |website=[[Designboom]]}}</ref> the current corporate parent of [[Warner Bros. Entertainment]], which includes the longstanding [[Warner Bros. Pictures|film]] and [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|television studios]]]]
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
[[File:Warner_Music_Group_logo_(2021).svg|thumb|The logo of [[Warner Music Group]], which has been an independent company since 2004. It was one of several companies that were [[Corporate spin-off|spun off]] by [[Time Warner]] in the mid-2000s but continued using the Warner name, but as of 2026 it is the only one to still do so.]]
{{Infobox company
'''Warner Bros.'''{{efn|Pronounced "''Warner Brothers''".<ref name="Thomson_Page_1">{{cite book |last=Thomson |first=David |author1-link=David Thomson (film critic) |title=Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio |date=2017 |publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=9780300197600 |page=1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OaYsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 |access-date=August 17, 2023}}</ref> The abbreviated form is always used in writing, except when referring to the four Warner brothers themselves.<ref name="Gomery_Page_150">{{Cite book |last1=Gomery |first1=Douglas |authorlink1=Douglas Gomery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=s0PP2Gm8xNcC&pg=PA150 |title=Movie History: A Survey |last2=Pafort-Overduin |first2=Clara |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781136835254 |edition=2nd |location=New York |page=150 |via=[[Google Books]] |access-date=March 20, 2023 |archive-date=April 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230409130025/https://books.google.com/books?id=s0PP2Gm8xNcC&pg=PA150 |url-status=live}}</ref> It is never read out loud as "Warner Bros" ([[Help:Pronunciation respelling key|<i title="English pronunciation respelling">-⁠BROHZ</i>]] or similarly); the opening voiceover of ''[[The Lego Batman Movie]]'' (2017) alludes to this common mistake.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 4, 2017 |title=The LEGO Batman Movie review: everything is awesome! |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a820489/lego-batman-movie-review-everything-is-awesome/ |access-date=2026-02-10 |website=[[Digital Spy]] |language=en}}</ref>}} is a brand name that has been used by several [[multinational corporation|multinational]] [[mass media]] and [[outline of entertainment|entertainment]] companies and corporations, mostly based in the United States, with attributions to [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], [[major film studios|a major American film studio]] founded on April 4, 1923.
| name                = Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
| logo                = Warner_Bros. (2019) logo.svg
| logo_size          = 150px
| image              = Warner studios office building burbank.jpg
| image_size          = 250px
| image_caption      = Warner Bros.' studio offices in [[Burbank, California]]
| trading_name        = Warner Bros.
| former_name        = {{Plainlist|
* Warner Brothers Classics of the Screen (1923–1925)
* Warner Brothers Productions (1925–1929)
* Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. (1929–1967)
* [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]] (1967–1970)
* Warner Bros. Inc. (1970–1993)
}}
| type                = [[Subsidiary]]
| industry            = [[Outline of entertainment|Entertainment]]
| predecessor        = Warner Features Company
| founded            = {{start date and age|1923|4|4}}
| founders            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Harry Warner]]
* [[Albert Warner]]
* [[Sam Warner]]
* [[Jack L. Warner]]
}}
| hq_location        = [[Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank|4000 Warner Blvd.]]
| hq_location_city    = [[Burbank, California]]
| hq_location_country = United States
| area_served        = Worldwide
| key_people          = [[Ann Sarnoff]]<br />(Chairwoman and CEO, WarnerMedia Studios & Networks)
| products            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Film]]s
* [[Television show|Television]]
* [[Sound recording and reproduction|Music recordings]]
* [[Video game]]s
* [[Publishing]]
}}
| revenue            = {{increase}} US$30.4 billion
| revenue_year        = 2020
| operating_income    = {{increase}} US$8.19 billion
| income_year        = 2020
| owner              = [[AT&T]]<br>{{small|([[corporate spin-off|spin-out]] of [[WarnerMedia]] into independent entity to be named [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] pending, to be merged with [[Discovery, Inc.]])}}
| num_employees      = Est. 8,000
| num_employees_year  = 2014
| parent              = [[WarnerMedia#Units|WarnerMedia Studios & Networks]]
| divisions          = {{Plainlist|
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures Group]]
* [[Warner Bros. Television|Warner Bros. Television Studios]]
* [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]]
* [[Warner Bros. Global Brands and Franchises]]
* [[Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics]]
* Warner Bros. Digital Networks
* Warner Bros. Technology
* Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures
}}
| subsid              = {{Plainlist|
* [[WaterTower Music]]
* [[Turner Entertainment]]
* [[Fandango Media]] (30%)
}}
| website            = {{URL|www.warnerbros.com}}
| footnotes          = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about-studio/company-history |title=Company history |publisher=Warnerbros.com |access-date=April 9, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016015905/http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about-studio/company-history |archive-date=October 16, 2015 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="2017 Annual Report">{{cite web|publisher=[[Time Warner]]|date=2018|url=https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_TWX_2017.pdf|title=2017 Annual Report|access-date=April 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708072358/https://www.annualreports.com/HostedData/AnnualReports/PDF/NYSE_TWX_2017.pdf|archive-date=July 8, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last1=Patten| first1=Dominic| last2=Yamato| first2=Jen| title=Warner Bros Layoffs Long Planned But "Accelerated" By Failed Fox Bid| url=https://deadline.com/2014/09/warner-bros-layoffs-kevin-tsujihara-fox-829529/| website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]| access-date=September 6, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140906032511/http://deadline.com/2014/09/warner-bros-layoffs-kevin-tsujihara-fox-829529/| archive-date=September 6, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="wac">{{cite web| url=http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbol/us/dd/podcasts/wac/WAC_new_release_podcast_20140408.mp3| title=Warner Archive Collection podcast| date=April 8, 2014| publisher=Warnerbros.com| access-date=December 17, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304023449/http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbol/us/dd/podcasts/wac/WAC_new_release_podcast_20140408.mp3| archive-date=March 4, 2016| url-status=dead}}</ref>
}}
'''Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.''' (commonly known as '''Warner Bros.'''{{efn|The abbreviated form is always used, except when referring to the four Warner brothers themselves.<ref name="Gomery_Page_150">{{cite book |last1=Gomery |first1=Douglas |last2=Pafort-Overduin |first2=Clara |title=Movie History: A Survey |date=2011 |publisher=Routledge |location=New York |isbn=9781136835254 |page=150 |edition=2nd |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Movie_History_A_Survey/s0PP2Gm8xNcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA150&printsec=frontcover}}</ref>}} and abbreviated as '''WB''') is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment [[Conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]] headquartered at the [[Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank|Warner Bros. Studios complex]] in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]], [[California]], and a subsidiary of [[AT&T]]'s [[WarnerMedia]] through its Studios & Networks division. Founded in 1923 by four brothers [[Harry Warner|Harry]], [[Albert Warner|Albert]], [[Sam Warner|Sam]], and [[Jack L. Warner|Jack Warner]], the company established itself as a leader in the American [[film]] industry before diversifying into [[animation]], [[television show|television]], and [[video games]], and is one of the [[Major film studio|"Big Five"]] major American [[film studio]]s, as well as a member of the [[Motion Picture Association]] (MPA).


The company is known for its [[film studio]] division, the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, which includes [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], [[New Line Cinema]], the [[Warner Animation Group]], [[Castle Rock Entertainment]], and [[DC Films]]. Among its other assets include the television production company [[Warner Bros. Television Studios]]; animation studios [[Warner Bros. Animation]] and [[Cartoon Network Studios]]; comic book publisher [[DC Comics]]; video game development and publishing arm [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]]; cable television channels [[Cartoon Network]], [[Adult Swim]], [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]] and [[Turner Classic Movies]]; and a 50% interest in [[terrestrial television|broadcast television]] network [[The CW]], which is co-owned with [[ViacomCBS]]. Warner Bros. also operates various divisions specializing in publishing, merchandising, music, theater; and [[Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences|theme parks]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.warnerbros.com/experiences |title=Experiences {{!}} Warner Bros. Resorts |website=warnerbros.com |language=en |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226174824/https://www.warnerbros.com/experiences |archive-date=February 26, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2017 }}</ref> [[Bugs Bunny]], a [[cartoon character]] created as part of the ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' series, appears to be the company's official mascot.
As of 2026, [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] owns the motion picture and television assets derived from the original Warner Bros. studio, while the latter's original recorded music arm, [[Warner Records]] (formerly known as Warner Bros. Records), now a flagship subsidiary of [[Warner Music Group]], has been independently owned since 2004. Several other former subsidiaries and divisions have been spun off or sold, but no longer use the Warner name.


== History ==
== Historical overview ==
=== Founding ===
[[Early history of Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.]] was founded on April 4, 1923, by the brothers [[Harry Warner|Harry]], [[Albert Warner|Albert]], [[Sam Warner|Sam]], and [[Jack L. Warner|Jack Warner]], replacing their previous company, Warner Features Company, founded in 1910.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Warner Bros. |url=https://californiamuseum.org/inductee/warner-bros/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=California Museum |language=en-US}}</ref> Jack Warner took full control of the company in 1956.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Yogerst |first=Chris |date=2023-12-22 |title=When Warner Bros. First Left the Family: Betrayal and High Drama In a Classic Hollywood Megadeal |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-brothers-sell-1956-1235768464/ |access-date=2025-12-23 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> During this time, the company began activities in animation ([[Warner Bros. Cartoons]]), television ([[Warner Bros. Television Studios]])<ref name="history">{{cite web |title=Company History |url=https://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-history |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926073602/http://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-history |archive-date=26 September 2015 |access-date=30 August 2015 |publisher=warnerbros.com}}</ref> and music publishing ([[Warner Bros. Music]]).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Warner |first1=Jack |url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=xTzOB_MbMvgC}} |title=Hollywood be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story |last2=Sperling |first2=Cass Warner |last3=Millner |first3=Cork |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |year=1998 |isbn=0-8131-0958-2 |pages=147}}</ref>
The company's name originated from the founding Warner brothers (born Wonsal, Woron and Wonskolaser<ref>https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/news/Andrzej-Krakowski-Pens-Books-on-Poles-in-Early-Hollywood</ref><ref>https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5594424/?ref_=tt_ch</ref><ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE4FZU5ZT7w</ref> before Anglicization):<ref>{{Cite AV media |people=Warner Sperling, Cass (Director) |date=2008 |url=http://www.warnersisters.com/ourstore.html |title=The Brothers Warner (DVD film documentary) |publisher=Warner Sisters, Inc. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217043304/http://www.warnersisters.com/ourstore.html |archive-date=February 17, 2016  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.newspress.com/Top/Article/article.jsp?Section=LOCAL&ID=565517034704732185&Archive=true| title=Journey of discovery: Warner documentary the result of a twenty-year effort| date=January 29, 2009| work=[[Santa Barbara News-Press]]| access-date=May 27, 2008| last=McMorris| first=Bill| url-access=subscription}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Harry Warner|Harry]], [[Albert Warner|Albert]], [[Sam Warner|Sam]], and [[Jack L. Warner|Jack]] Warner. Harry, Albert and Sam emigrated as young children with their [[History of the Jews in Poland|Polish-Jewish]]<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/vocesnovae/vol10/iss1/2/ | title=The Warner Brothers Prove Their Patriotism | date=June 28, 2018 | last=Jacobson | first=Lara | journal=Voces Novae | volume=10 | issue=1 | access-date=October 30, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191030081340/https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/vocesnovae/vol10/iss1/2/ | archive-date=October 30, 2019 | url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hixson|first=Walter L.|title=The American Experience in World War II: The United States and the road to war in Europe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CAEyh6EY9kYC&pg=PA28|year=2003|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-94029-0|page=28}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cocks|first=Geoffrey|title=The Wolf at the Door: Stanley Kubrick, History, & the Holocaust|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nJ9h50sMkOMC&pg=PA41|year=2004|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-0-8204-7115-0|page=41}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Meyer | first=Carla | title=California Hall of Fame to induct the four Warner brothers | website=California Museum | date=March 17, 2013 | url=https://www.californiamuseum.org/museum-news/california-hall-fame-induct-four-warner-brothers | access-date=October 30, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191028052512/https://www.californiamuseum.org/museum-news/california-hall-fame-induct-four-warner-brothers | archive-date=October 28, 2019 | url-status=live }}</ref> mother to the United States from [[Krasnosielc]], [[Poland]] (then part of the [[Russian Empire]] in the annexed [[Russian Partition]]) 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bialczynski.pl/2016/04/22/wielcy-polacy-warner-bros-czyli-bracia-wytwornia-zostala-zalozona-przez-braci-warner-aaron-albert-szmul-sam-i-hirsz-harry-wonsal-oraz-jack-itzhak-wonsal/|title=Wielcy Polacy – Warner Bros czyli bracia Warner: Aaron (Albert), Szmul (Sam) i Hirsz (Harry) Wonsal oraz Jack (Itzhak) Wonsal – Białczyński|date=April 22, 2016|access-date=November 16, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190921214039/https://bialczynski.pl/2016/04/22/wielcy-polacy-warner-bros-czyli-bracia-wytwornia-zostala-zalozona-przez-braci-warner-aaron-albert-szmul-sam-i-hirsz-harry-wonsal-oraz-jack-itzhak-wonsal/|archive-date=September 21, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref> Jack, the youngest brother, was born in [[London, Ontario]], during the family's two-year residency in Canada.


[[File:Warner Brothers - Albert, Jack, Harry and Sam.jpg|thumb|left|The Warner Brothers: Albert, Jack, Harry and Sam]]
[[Seven Arts Productions]] merged with Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. in 1967 to form [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1967-07-18 |title=Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Ltd., Chooses Hyman as Chairman |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1967/07/18/archives/warner-brosseven-arts-ltd-chooses-hyman-as-chairman.html |access-date=2025-11-08 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref>  [[Kinney National Company]] then purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969<ref name="history" /> as part of a buying spree that also included [[National Periodical Publications]] (predecessor to [[DC Comics]]), Television Communications Corporation (predecessor to [[Time Warner Cable]]) and [[Paperback Library]] (predecessor to [[Hachette Book Group|Warner Books]]).<ref name="kinneytvc">{{cite news |last1=Hammer |first1=Alexander R. |date=November 23, 1971 |title=Kinney-TVC Terms Shift |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/23/archives/kinneytvc-terms-shift-kinneytvc-pact-on-link-changed.html |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> After [[National Kinney Corporation|spinning off]] its non-media assets, Kinney National Company was renamed Warner Communications, which merged with [[Time Inc.]] in 1990 to form [[Time Warner]].<ref name="history" />
The three elder brothers began in the [[movie theater]] business, having acquired a [[movie projector]] with which they showed films in the mining towns of [[Pennsylvania]] and [[Ohio]]. In the beginning,<ref>{{cite book| last=Green| first=Fitzhugh| title=The Film Finds Its Tongue| location=New York| page=41| publisher=G.P. Putnam's Sons| year=1929| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NipDAAAAIAAJ&q=warner|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Sam and Albert Warner invested $150 to present ''[[Life of an American Fireman]]'' and ''[[The Great Train Robbery (1903 film)|The Great Train Robbery]]''. They opened their first theater, the [[Cascade Center|Cascade]], in [[New Castle, Pennsylvania]], in 1903. When the original building was in danger of being demolished, the modern Warner Bros. called the current building owners and arranged to save it. The owners noted people across the country had asked them to protect it for its historical significance.<ref>WQED educational film "Things that are still here", PBS [[WQED (TV)|WQED]], [[Pittsburgh]], PA</ref>


In 1904, the Warners founded the [[Pittsburgh]]-based Duquesne Amusement & Supply Company,<ref name="firstwarnertheatre.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.sru.edu/pages/12398.asp |title=Harry M. Warner film festival named one of thirty two 'premier' events in state |date=January 31, 2006 |publisher=[[Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania]] |access-date=March 5, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070817165302/http://www.sru.edu/pages/12398.asp |archive-date=August 17, 2007 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/companies/W/warnersFeaturesInc.html| title=Progressive Silent Film List| publisher=SilentEra.com| access-date=September 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924101907/http://www.silentera.com/PSFL/companies/W/warnersFeaturesInc.html| archive-date=September 24, 2015| url-status=live}}</ref> to distribute films. In 1912, Harry Warner hired an auditor named [[Paul Ashley Chase]]. By the time of [[World War I]] they had begun producing films. In 1918 they opened the [[Old Warner Brothers Studio|first Warner Brothers Studio]] on [[Sunset Boulevard]] in Hollywood. Sam and Jack produced the pictures, while Harry and Albert, along with their auditor and now controller Chase, handled finance and distribution in New York City. During World War I their first nationally syndicated film, ''My Four Years in Germany,'' based on a popular book by former ambassador [[James W. Gerard]], was released. On April 4, 1923, with help from money loaned to Harry by his banker Motley Flint,<ref name="p77">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 77}}</ref> they formally incorporated as '''Warner Bros. Pictures, Incorporated'''. (As late as the 1960s, Warner Bros. claimed 1905 as its founding date.)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://nypost.com/2010/02/10/is-fox-really-75-this-year-somewhere-the-fantastic-mr-william-fox-begs-to-differ |title=Is Fox really 75 this year? Somewhere, the fantastic Mr. (William) Fox begs to differ |work=[[New York Post]] |date=February 10, 2010 |access-date=June 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220075717/http://nypost.com/2010/02/10/is-fox-really-75-this-year-somewhere-the-fantastic-mr-william-fox-begs-to-differ/ |archive-date=December 20, 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>
In the mid-2000s, Time Warner spun off or sold several Warner-derived or branded divisions as independent companies, most notably [[Warner Music Group]] (which remains independent {{As of|2026|lc=y}})<ref name="kinneytvc"/> and Time Warner Cable (later acquired by [[Charter Communications]]),<ref name="kinneytvc"/> while Warner Books was sold to [[Hachette Livre]].<ref name="kinneytvc"/> During this time, Time Warner's film and television assets were incorporated into a new [[Warner Bros. Entertainment]] subsidiary on December 3, 2002.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kobrin |first=Janet A. |date=2007-02-26 |title=Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. The Kaplan Trust: Declaration of Janet A. Kobrin |url=https://ttabvue.uspto.gov/ttabvue/ttabvue-92043813-CAN-41.pdf#PAGE=20 |access-date=2026-01-01 |website=U.S. Patent and Trademark Office}}</ref>
[[File:Open Your Eyes (1919) - 1.jpg|upright=1.15|thumb|left|[[Lobby card]] from ''[[Open Your Eyes (1919 film)|Open Your Eyes]]'' (1919)]]
[[File:BeautDamned1922LobbyCard1.jpg|thumb|Lobby card from ''[[The Beautiful and Damned (film)|The Beautiful and Damned]]'' (1922)]]
The first important deal was the acquisition of the rights to [[Avery Hopwood]]'s 1919 Broadway play, ''[[The Gold Diggers (1919 play)|The Gold Diggers]]'', from theatrical impresario [[David Belasco]]. However, [[Rin Tin Tin]],<ref name="HBTN000">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=81}}</ref> a dog brought from France after World War I by an American soldier, established their reputation.<ref name="HBTN80">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 80}}</ref> Rin Tin Tin's third film was the feature ''[[Where the North Begins]]'', which was so successful that Jack signed the dog to star in more films for $1,000 per week.<ref name="HBTN000" /> Rin Tin Tin became the studio's top star.<ref name="HBTN000" /> Jack nicknamed him "The Mortgage Lifter"<ref name="HBTN000" /> and the success boosted [[Darryl F. Zanuck]]'s career.<ref name="HBTN82" /> Zanuck eventually became a top producer<ref name="HBTN0976666">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 101}}</ref> and between 1928 and 1933 served as Jack's right-hand man and [[executive producer]], with responsibilities including day-to-day film production.<ref name="behlmerxii">Behlmer (1985), p. xii</ref> More success came after [[Ernst Lubitsch]] was hired as head director;<ref name="HBTN82" /> [[Harry Rapf]] left the studio to join [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]].<ref name="thomas4647">Thomas46, 47</ref> Lubitsch's film ''[[The Marriage Circle]]'' was the studio's most successful film of 1924, and was on ''[[The New York Times]]'' best list for that year.<ref name="HBTN82">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=82}}</ref>


Despite the success of Rin Tin Tin and Lubitsch, Warner's remained a lesser studio.<ref name="HBTN876">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 83}}</ref> Sam and Jack decided to offer Broadway actor [[John Barrymore]] the lead role in ''[[Beau Brummel (1924 film)|Beau Brummel]]''.<ref name="HBTN876" /> The film was so successful that Harry signed Barrymore to a long-term contract;<ref name="HBTN87680">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 84}}</ref> like ''[[The Marriage Circle]]'', ''Beau Brummel'' was named one of the ten best films of the year by the ''Times''.<ref name="HBTN87680" /> By the end of 1924, Warner Bros. was arguably [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood's]] most successful independent studio,<ref name="HBTN87680" /> where it competed with "The Big Three" Studios ([[First National Pictures|First National]], [[Paramount Pictures]], and [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer]]).<ref name="+NHAR(*">{{cite news |title=Theatre Owners Open War on Hays |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=14 |date=May 12, 1925}}</ref> As a result, Harry Warner—while speaking at a convention of 1,500 independent exhibitors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin—was able to convince the filmmakers to spend $500,000 in newspaper advertising,<ref name="HBTN99998">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=86}}</ref> and Harry saw this as an opportunity to establish theaters in cities such as New York and Los Angeles.<ref name="HBTN99998" />
Time Warner, much reduced in scope at this point, was [[acquisition of Time Warner by AT&T|acquired]] by [[AT&T]] on June 15, 2018, and renamed [[WarnerMedia]].<ref name="rebrand">{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2018 |title=Time Warner is changing its name to WarnerMedia; Turner CEO to depart |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/time-warner-is-changing-its-name-to-warnermedia-turner-ceo-to-depart.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200320102836/https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/15/time-warner-is-changing-its-name-to-warnermedia-turner-ceo-to-depart.html |archive-date=March 20, 2020 |access-date=June 15, 2018 |website=[[CNBC]]}}</ref> AT&T then sold WarnerMedia to [[Discovery, Inc.]] to form [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] on April 8, 2022.<ref name="wbdlaunch">{{cite web |last=Maas |first=Jennifer |date=April 8, 2022 |title=Discovery Closes Acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia |url=https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408211723/https://variety.com/2022/tv/news/discovery-warnermedia-merger-close-warner-bros-discovery-1235200983/ |archive-date=April 8, 2022 |access-date=April 8, 2022 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |publisher=[[Penske Media Corporation]]}}</ref>


As the studio prospered, it gained backing from [[Wall Street]], and in 1924 [[Goldman Sachs]] arranged a major loan. With this new money, the Warners bought the pioneer [[Vitagraph Studios|Vitagraph Company]] which had a nationwide distribution system.<ref name="HBTN99998" /> In 1925, Warners' also experimented in radio, establishing a successful radio station, [[KFWB]], in Los Angeles.<ref name="HBTN998">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=88}}</ref>
In February 2026, Netflix announced it would not raise its offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, after the Warner Bros. board said a rival bid from [[Paramount Skydance]] was “superior,” effectively ending Netflix’s bid and clearing the way for Paramount to pursue its deal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2026-02-26 |title=Netflix declines to raise offer for Warner Bros. Discovery |url=https://www.cnbc.com/video/2026/02/26/netflix-declines-to-raise-offer-for-warner-bros-discovery.html |access-date=2026-02-28 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref>


=== 1925–1935: Sound, color, style ===
== List of entities derived from Warner Bros. ==
Warner Bros. was a pioneer of films with [[synchronization|synchronized sound]] (then known as [[Sound film|"talking pictures"]] or "talkies"). In 1925, at Sam's urging, Warner's agreed to add this feature to their productions.<ref name="HBTN95">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=95}}</ref> By February 1926, the studio reported a net loss of $333,413.<ref name="Freedland27">{{cite book| last=Freedland| first=Michael| title=The Warner Brothers| publisher=St. Martin's Press| page=27| isbn=978-0-312-85620-5| date=December 1983| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jFceAAAAMAAJ&q=1926+loss|url-access=subscription }}</ref>
The following entities have used the Warner name and have been derived from or affiliated with the original Warner Bros. Pictures studio.


[[File:First-nighters posing for the camera outside the Warners' Theater before the premiere of "Don Juan" with John Barrymore, - NARA - 535750.jpg|thumb|left|Movie-goers awaiting ''Don Juan'' opening at Warners' Theatre]]
The film studio:
After a long period denying Sam's request for sound, Harry agreed to change, as long as the studio's use of synchronized sound was for background music purposes only.<ref name="HBTN95" /> The Warners signed a contract with the sound engineer company [[Western Electric]] and established [[Vitaphone]].<ref name="HBTN96">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 96}}</ref> In 1926, Vitaphone began making films with music and effects tracks, most notably, in the feature ''[[Don Juan (1926 film)|Don Juan]]'' starring [[John Barrymore]]. The film was silent, but it featured a large number of Vitaphone shorts at the beginning. To hype ''Don Juan''{{'}}s release, Harry acquired the large Piccadilly Theater in [[Manhattan]], [[New York City]], and renamed it Warners' Theatre.<ref name="thomas56">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 56}}</ref>


''Don Juan'' premiered at the Warners' Theatre in New York on August 6, 1926.<ref name="thomas56" /> Throughout the early history of film distribution, theater owners hired orchestras to attend film showings, where they provided [[soundtrack]]s. Through Vitaphone, Warner Bros. produced eight shorts (which were played at the beginning of every showing of ''Don Juan'' across the country) in 1926. Many film production companies questioned the necessity.<ref name="thomas57">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 57}}</ref> ''Don Juan'' did not recoup its production cost<ref name="HBTN113">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=103}}</ref> and Lubitsch left for MGM.<ref name="HBTN876" /> By April 1927, the Big Five studios (First National, Paramount, MGM, [[Universal Pictures|Universal]], and Producers Distributing) had ruined Warner's,<ref name="thomas59">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=59}}</ref> and Western Electric renewed Warner's Vitaphone contract with terms that allowed other film companies to test sound.<ref name="thomas59" />
* [[Early history of Warner Bros. Pictures]] (1923–1967)
* [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]] (1967–1969)
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures]] (1969–present)


As a result of their financial problems, Warner Bros. took the next step and released ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' starring [[Al Jolson]]. This movie, which includes little sound dialogue, but did feature sound segments of Jolson singing, was a sensation. It signaled the beginning of the era of "talking pictures" and the twilight of the [[Silent film|silent]] era. However, Sam died the night before the opening, preventing the brothers from attending the premiere. Jack became sole head of production.<ref name="Warner180-181">Warner and Jennings (1964), pp.180–181</ref> Sam's death also had a great effect on Jack's emotional state,<ref name="jewishmag.com">{{cite web| url=http://www.jewishmag.com/75mag/hollywood/hollywood.htm| title=Jews in Hollywood| publisher=Jewishmag.com| access-date=December 30, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107115340/http://www.jewishmag.com/75mag/hollywood/hollywood.htm| archive-date=January 7, 2008| url-status=dead}}</ref> as Sam was arguably Jack's inspiration and favorite brother.<ref name="thomas62">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 62}}</ref> In the years to come, Jack kept the studio under tight control.<ref name="jewishmag.com" /> Firing employees was common.<ref name="thomas100101">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp= 100–101}}</ref> Among those whom Jack fired were Rin Tin Tin (in 1929) and [[Douglas Fairbanks Jr.]] (in 1933), the latter having served as First National's top star since the brothers acquired the studio in 1928.<ref name="thomas100101" />
Animation studios:


Thanks to the success of ''The Jazz Singer'', the studio was cash-rich. Jolson's next film for the company, ''[[The Singing Fool]]'' was also a success.<ref name="HBTN114109">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=141}}</ref> With the success of these [[List of early Warner Bros. sound and talking features|first talkies]] (''The Jazz Singer'', ''[[Lights of New York (1928 film)|Lights of New York]]'', ''[[The Singing Fool]]'' and ''[[The Terror (1928 film)|The Terror]]''), Warner Bros. became a top studio and the brothers were now able to move out from the [[Poverty Row]] section of Hollywood, and acquire a [[Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank|much larger studio lot]] in [[Burbank, California|Burbank]].<ref name="p142">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| pp= 142–145}}</ref> They expanded by acquiring the Stanley Corporation, a major theater chain.<ref name="HBTN1146">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 144}}</ref> This gave them a share in rival [[First National Pictures]], of which Stanley owned one-third.<ref name="thomas65">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 65}}</ref> In a bidding war with [[William Fox (producer)|William Fox]], Warner Bros. bought more First National shares on September 13, 1928;<ref name="HBTN11476">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 147}}</ref> Jack also appointed Zanuck as the manager of First National Pictures.<ref name="HBTN11476" />
* [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]] (1929–1963)
[[File:Warner Bros 1920.jpg|thumb|Warner Bros.–First National Studios, Burbank, c. 1928]]
* [[Warner Bros. Animation]] (1980–present)
In 1928, Warner Bros. released ''[[Lights of New York (1928 film)|Lights of New York]]'', the first all-talking feature. Due to its success, the movie industry converted entirely to sound almost overnight. By the end of 1929, all the major studios were exclusively making sound films. In 1929, First National Pictures released their first film with Warner Bros., ''[[Noah's Ark (1928 film)|Noah's Ark]]''.<ref name="HBTN114189">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=151}}</ref> Despite its expensive budget, ''Noah's Ark'' was profitable.<ref name="HBTN114551">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=150}}</ref> In 1929, Warner Bros. released ''[[On with the Show! (1929 film)|On with the Show!]]'', the first all-color all-talking feature. This was followed by ''[[Gold Diggers of Broadway]]'' which would play in theaters until 1939. The success of these pictures caused a color revolution. Warner Bros. color films from 1929 to 1931 included ''[[The Show of Shows]]'' (1929), ''[[Sally (1929 film)|Sally]]'' (1929), ''[[Bright Lights (1930 film)|Bright Lights]]'' (1930), ''[[Golden Dawn (film)|Golden Dawn]]'' (1930), ''[[Hold Everything (1930 film)|Hold Everything]]'' (1930), ''[[Song of the Flame]]'' (1930), ''[[Song of the West]]'' (1930), ''[[The Life of the Party (1930 film)|The Life of the Party]]'' (1930), ''[[Sweet Kitty Bellairs]]'' (1930), ''[[Under a Texas Moon]]'' (1930), ''[[Bride of the Regiment]]'' (1930), ''[[Viennese Nights]]'' (1931), ''[[Woman Hungry (film)|Woman Hungry]]'' (1931), ''[[Kiss Me Again (1931 film)|Kiss Me Again]]'' (1931), ''[[50 Million Frenchmen (film)|50 Million Frenchmen]]'' (1931) and ''[[Manhattan Parade]]'' (1932). In addition to these, scores of features were released with [[Technicolor]] sequences, as well as numerous [[Technicolor Specials (Warner Bros. series)|Technicolor Specials short subjects]]. The majority of these color films were musicals.
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures Animation]] (2013–present)
Television studio:


In 1929, Warner Bros. bought the St. Louis-based theater chain [[Skouras Brothers Enterprises]]. Following this takeover, [[Spyros Skouras]], the driving force of the chain, became general manager of the Warner Brothers Theater Circuit in America. He worked successfully in that post for two years and turned its losses into profits. Harry produced an adaptation of a [[Cole Porter]] musical titled ''Fifty Million Frenchmen''.<ref name="sperling148">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=148}}</ref> Through First National, the studio's profit increased substantially.<ref name="thomasfour">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=4}}</ref> After the success of the studio's 1929 First National film ''[[Noah's Ark (1928 film)|Noah's Ark]]'', Harry agreed to make [[Michael Curtiz]] a major director at the Burbank studio.<ref name="thomas127">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 127}}</ref> Mort Blumenstock, a First National screenwriter, became a top writer at the brothers' New York headquarters.<ref name="thomas208">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 208}}</ref> In the third quarter, Warner Bros. gained complete control of First National, when Harry purchased the company's remaining one-third share from Fox.<ref name="HBTN11476" /> The [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] agreed to allow the purchase if First National was maintained as a separate company.<ref name="thomas67">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=67}}</ref> When the [[Great Depression]] hit, Warner asked for and got permission to merge the two studios. Soon afterward Warner Bros. moved to the First National lot in Burbank. Though the companies merged, the Justice Department required Warner to release a few films each year under the First National name until 1938. For thirty years, certain Warner productions were identified (mainly for tax purposes) as 'A Warner Bros.–First National Picture.'
* [[Warner Bros. Television Studios]] (1955–present)


In the latter part of 1929, Jack Warner hired [[George Arliss]] to star in ''[[Disraeli (1929 film)|Disraeli]]'',<ref name="thomas77">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 77}}</ref> which was a success.<ref name="thomas77" /> Arliss won an [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] and went on to star in nine more movies for the studio.<ref name="thomas77" /> In 1930, Harry acquired more theaters in [[Atlantic City, New Jersey|Atlantic City]], despite the beginning of the Great Depression.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,739489,00.html |title=Warner Week |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=June 9, 1930 |work=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114103945/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,739489,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In July 1930, the studio's banker, Motley Flint, was murdered by a disgruntled investor in another company.<ref name="thomas72">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=72}}</ref>
Corporate parents:


Harry acquired a string of music publishers (including [[M. Witmark & Sons]], [[Jerome H. Remick|Remick Music Corp.]], and [[T. B. Harms & Francis, Day & Hunter, Inc.|T.B. Harms, Inc.]]) to form Warner Bros. Music. In April 1930, Warner Bros. acquired [[Brunswick Records]]. Harry obtained radio companies, foreign sound patents and a [[Lithography|lithograph]] company.<ref name="HBTN11476" /> After establishing Warner Bros. Music, Harry appointed his son, Lewis, to manage the company.<ref name="thomas66">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=66}}</ref>
* [[WarnerMedia]], previously known as Warner Communications, Time Warner, Time Warner Entertainment and AOL Time Warner (1972–2022)
* [[Warner Bros. Discovery]] (2022–present)
* [[Warner Bros. Entertainment]] (subsidiary corporation, 2002–present)


By 1931, the studio began to feel the effects of the Great Depression, reportedly losing $8 million, and an additional $14 million the following year.<ref name="sperling160">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=160}}</ref> In 1931, Warner Bros. Music head Lewis Warner died from an infected [[wisdom tooth]].<ref name="thomas72" /> Around that time, Zanuck hired screenwriter [[Wilson Mizner]],<ref name="thomas89-92">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=89–92}}</ref> who had little respect for authority and found it difficult to work with Jack,<ref name="thomas89-92" /> but became an asset.<ref name="thomas89-92" /> As time passed, Warner became more tolerant of Mizner and helped invest in Mizner's [[Brown Derby]] restaurant.<ref name="thomas89-92" /> Mizner died of a heart attack on April 3, 1933.<ref name="thomas93">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 93}}</ref>
Subsidiaries that were spun off:


By 1932, musicals were declining in popularity, and the studio was forced to cut musical numbers from many productions and advertise them as straight comedies. The public had begun to associate musicals with color, and thus studios began to abandon its use.{{citation needed|date=September 2017}} Warner Bros. had a contract with Technicolor to produce two more pictures in that process. As a result, the first horror films in color were produced and released by the studio: ''[[Doctor X (film)|Doctor X]]'' (1932) and ''[[Mystery of the Wax Museum]]'' (1933). In the latter part of 1931, Harry Warner rented the [[Teddington Studios]] in London, England.<ref name="thomas110">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 110}}</ref> The studio focused on making "[[Cinematograph Films Act 1927|quota quickies]]" for the domestic British market<ref name="Warren">{{cite book| first=Patricia| last=Warren| title=British Film Studios: An Illustrated History| location=London| publisher=B.T. Batsford| year=1995| page=161| isbn=978-0-7134-7559-3| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w6kaAQAAIAAJ&q=media+quickies|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and [[Irving Asher]] was appointed as the studio's head producer.<ref name="Warren" /> In 1934, Harry officially purchased the Teddington Studios.<ref name="thomas110" />
* [[Warner Music Group]]
 
** [[Warner Records]], previously known as Warner Bros. Records
In February 1933, Warner Bros. produced ''[[42nd Street (film)|42nd Street]]'', a very successful musical under the direction of Lloyd Bacon. Warner assigned Bacon to "more expensive productions including ''[[Footlight Parade]],'' ''[[Wonder Bar]],'' ''[[Broadway Gondolier]]''" (which he also starred in), and ''Gold Diggers''<ref>{{cite book |last=Meyer |first=William R. |title=Warner Brothers Directors: The Hard-Boiled, the Comic, and the Weepers |location=New York |publisher=Arlington House |year=1978 |pages=19–20 |isbn=978-0-87000-397-4}}</ref><ref name="HBTN190">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p= 190}}</ref> that saved the company from bankruptcy.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=85}}</ref> In the wake of ''42nd Street''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s success, the studio produced profitable musicals.<ref name="HBTN19459087">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 194}}</ref> These starred [[Ruby Keeler]] and [[Dick Powell]] and were mostly directed by [[Busby Berkeley]].<ref name="HBTN19459044">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=192}}</ref> In 1935, the revival was affected by Berkeley's arrest for killing three people while driving drunk.<ref name="thomas86">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=86}}</ref> By the end of the year, people again tired of Warner Bros. musicals,<ref name="HBTN19459087" /> and the studio&nbsp;— after the huge profits made by 1935 film ''[[Captain Blood (1935 film)|Captain Blood]]''&nbsp;— shifted its focus to [[Errol Flynn]] [[Swashbuckler film|swashbucklers]].<ref name="HBTN195612">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=195}}</ref>
** [[Warner Chappell Music]]
 
* [[Time Warner Cable]]
=== 1930–1935: Pre-code realistic period ===
* [[TW Telecom|Time Warner Telecom]]
With the collapse of the market for musicals, Warner Bros., under Zanuck, turned to more socially realistic storylines. Because of its many films about gangsters,<ref>{{cite book| quote=Doherty discusses the contemporary controversy around the gangster genre| first=Thomas Patrick| last=Doherty| title=Pre-code Hollywood: Sex, Immorality, and Insurrection in American Cinema| location=New York City| publisher=Columbia University Press|date=August 15, 1999| pages=149–157| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tyZx10XsSbIC&q=scarface| isbn=978-0-231-11095-2}}</ref> Warner Bros. soon became known as a "gangster studio".<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/08/24/mob.movies/index.html |title=The mobster and the movies |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=August 24, 2004 |publisher=CNN |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080321145715/http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/books/08/24/mob.movies/index.html |archive-date=March 21, 2008 |url-status=live }}</ref> The studio's first gangster film, ''[[Little Caesar (film)|Little Caesar]]'', was a great box office success<ref name="HBTN1987">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=184}}</ref> and [[Edward G. Robinson]] starred in many of the subsequent Warner gangster films.<ref name="thomas77-79">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp= 77–79}}</ref> The studio's next effort, ''[[The Public Enemy]]'',<ref name="HBTN987">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=185}}</ref> made [[James Cagney]] arguably the studio's new top star,<ref name="thomas81">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=81}}</ref> and Warner Bros. made more gangster films.<ref name="HBTN987" />
* [[Hachette Book Group|Warner Books]]
[[File:James Cagney and Joan Blondell in Footlight Parade trailer.jpg|alt=Cagney with his arm around actress Joan Blondell, who has her eyes closed.|thumb|left|upright=1.1|[[James Cagney]] and [[Joan Blondell]] in ''[[Footlight Parade]]'' (1933)]]
{{quote box|width=30em|bgcolor=cornsilk|align=right|quote=“Movie for movie, Warners was the most reliable source of entertainment through the thirties and forties, even though it was clearly the most budget-conscious of them all.”<br /><br /> — Film historian [[Andrew Sarris]] in ''“You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet.”: The American Talking Film History & Memory, 1927–1949''.<ref>Sarris, 1998. p. 26</ref>}}
 
Another gangster film the studio produced was the critically acclaimed ''[[I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang]]'', based on a true story and starring [[Paul Muni]],<ref name="thomas83">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=83}}</ref> joining Cagney and Robinson as one of the studio's top gangster stars<ref name="HBTN867677">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=186}}</ref> after appearing in the successful film,<ref name="HBTN987" /> which convinced audiences to question the American legal system.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744829,00.html |title=Fugitive |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=December 26, 1932 |work=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114074634/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744829,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> By January 1933, the film's protagonist Robert Elliot Burns—still imprisoned in New Jersey—and other [[chain gang]] prisoners nationwide appealed and were released.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847110,00.html |title=Fugitive Free |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=January 2, 1933 |work=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114112539/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847110,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In January 1933, Georgia chain gang warden J. Harold Hardy—who was also made into a character in the film—sued the studio for displaying "vicious, untrue and false attacks" against him in the film.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744920,00.html |title=Milestones, Jan. 16, 1933 |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=January 16, 1933 |work=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114103950/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,744920,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> After appearing in the Warner's film ''[[The Man Who Played God (1932 film)|The Man Who Played God]]'', [[Bette Davis]] became a top star.<ref name="thomas81-82">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=82–83}}</ref>
 
In 1933, relief for the studio came after [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] became president and began the [[New Deal]].<ref name="HBTN161">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=161}}</ref> This economic rebound allowed Warner Bros. to again become profitable.<ref name="HBTN161" /> The same year, Zanuck quit. Harry Warner's relationship with Zanuck had become strained after Harry strongly opposed allowing Zanuck's film ''[[Baby Face (film)|Baby Face]]'' to step outside [[Motion Picture Production Code|Hays Code]] boundaries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745754-2,00.html |title=Musicomedies of the Week |date=July 3, 1933 |work=Time |page=2 |access-date=June 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114103955/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,745754-2,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The studio reduced his salary as a result of losses from the Great Depression,<ref name="p180">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|pp=182, 183}}</ref> and Harry refused to restore it as the company recovered.<ref name="TIMEHAR">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847255,00.html |title=New Deal in Hollywood |date=May 1, 1933 |work=Time |page=2 |access-date=June 28, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114084127/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847255,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Zanuck<ref name="behlmer12">Behlmer (1985), p.12</ref> established his own company. Harry thereafter raised salaries for studio employees.<ref name="TIMEHAR" />
 
In 1933, Warner was able to link up with newspaper tycoon [[William Randolph Hearst]]'s Cosmopolitan Films.<ref name="thomas96">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=96}}</ref> Hearst had previously worked with MGM,<ref name="Thomas 1990 95">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 95}}</ref> but ended the association after a dispute with head producer [[Irving Thalberg]] over the treatment of Hearst's longstanding mistress, actress [[Marion Davies]], who was struggling for box office success.<ref name="thomas9596">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=95–96}}</ref> Through his partnership with Hearst, Warner signed Davies to a studio contract.<ref name="thomas96" /> Hearst's company and Davies' films, however, did not increase the studio's profits.<ref name="Thomas 1990 95" />
 
In 1934, the studio lost over $2.5&nbsp;million,<ref name="GRTWBiokj" /> of which $500,000 was the result of a 1934 fire at the Burbank studio, destroying 20 years' worth of early Vitagraph, Warner Bros. and First National films.<ref name="GRTWBiokj">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|pp=209–211}}</ref> The following year, Hearst's film adaption of [[William Shakespeare]]'s ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935 film)|A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' (1935) failed at the [[box office]] and the studio's net loss increased.<ref>{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=99}}</ref> During this time, Harry and six other movie studio figures were indicted for conspiracy to violate the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]],<ref name="GRTWBiokj" /> through an attempt to gain a monopoly over St Louis movie theaters.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787960,00.html |title=St. Louis Suit |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=January 21, 1935 |work=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114104041/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,787960,00.html |archive-date=January 14, 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 1935, Harry was put on trial;<ref name="GRTWBiokj" /> after a mistrial, Harry sold the company's movie theaters and the case was never reopened.<ref name="GRTWBiokj" /> 1935 also saw the studio make a net profit of $674,158.00.<ref name="GRTWBiokj" />
[[File:Warner Brother Studios from The Petrified Forest film trailer.jpg|thumb|The studio as depicted in the [[Trailer (promotion)|trailer]] for ''[[The Petrified Forest]]'' (1936)]]
 
By 1936, contracts of musical and silent stars were not renewed, instead being replaced by tough-talking, working-class types who better fit these pictures. As a result, [[Dorothy Mackaill]], [[Dolores del Río]], [[Bebe Daniels]], [[Frank Fay (American actor)|Frank Fay]], [[Winnie Lightner]], [[Bernice Claire]], Alexander Gray, [[Alice White]], and [[Jack Mulhall]] that had characterized the urban, modern, and sophisticated attitude of the 1920s gave way to [[James Cagney]], [[Joan Blondell]], [[Edward G. Robinson]], [[Warren William]] and [[Barbara Stanwyck]], who would be more acceptable to the common man. The studio was one of the most prolific producers of [[Pre-Code Hollywood|Pre-Code]] pictures and had a lot of trouble with the censors once they started clamping down on what they considered indecency (around 1934).<ref name="HBTN181">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| pp=188–189}}</ref> As a result, Warner Bros. turned to historical pictures from around 1935 to avoid confrontations with the Breen office. In 1936, following the success of ''[[The Petrified Forest]]'', Jack signed [[Humphrey Bogart]] to a studio contract.<ref name="thomas109">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=109}}</ref> Warner, however, did not think Bogart was star material,<ref name="thomas109110">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=109, 110}}</ref> and cast Bogart in infrequent roles as a villain opposite either James Cagney or Edward Robinson over the next five years.<ref name="thomas109" />
 
After [[Hal B. Wallis]] succeeded Zanuck in 1933,<ref name="thomas88">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=88}}</ref> and the Hays Code began to be enforced in 1935, the studio was forced to abandon this realistic approach in order to produce more moralistic, idealized pictures. The studio's historical dramas, [[melodrama]]s (or "women's pictures"), swashbucklers, and adaptations of best-sellers, with stars like [[Bette Davis]], [[Olivia de Havilland]], [[Paul Muni]], and [[Errol Flynn]], avoided the censors. In 1936, Bette Davis, by now arguably the studio's top star,<ref name="HBT%^$HYNA66">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|pp=219–221}}</ref> was unhappy with her roles. She traveled to England and tried to break her contract.<ref name="HBT%^$HYNA66" /> Davis lost the lawsuit and returned to America.<ref name="^$HYNA66">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=221}}</ref> Although many of the studio's employees had problems with Jack Warner, they considered Albert and Harry fair.<ref name="thomas115">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=115}}</ref>
 
=== Code era ===
In the 1930s many actors and actresses who had characterized the realistic pre-Code era, but who were not suited to the new trend into moral and idealized pictures, disappeared. Warner Bros. remained a top studio in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]], but this changed after 1935 as other studios, notably MGM, quickly overshadowed the prestige and glamor that previously characterized Warner Bros. However, in the late 1930s, Bette Davis became the studio's top draw and was even dubbed as "The Fifth Warner Brother." {{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
[[File:Humphrey Bogart in The Petrified Forest film trailer.jpg|left|thumb|[[Humphrey Bogart]] in ''[[The Petrified Forest]]'' (1936)]]
In 1935, Cagney sued Jack Warner for breach of contract.<ref name="thomas104-106">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=104, 106}}</ref> Cagney claimed Warner had forced him to star in more films than his contract required.<ref name="thomas104-106" /> Cagney eventually dropped his lawsuit after a cash settlement.<ref name="thomas105">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=105}}</ref> Nevertheless, Cagney left the studio to establish an independent film company with his brother Bill.<ref name="thomas106">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 106}}</ref> The Cagneys released their films though [[Grand National Films Inc.|Grand National Films]], however they were not able to get good financing<ref name="thomas106" /> and ran out of money after their third film.<ref name="thomas106" /> Cagney then agreed to return to Warner Bros., after Jack agreed to a contract guaranteeing Cagney would be treated to his own terms.<ref name="thomas106" /> After the success of ''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]'' at the box office, Cagney again questioned if the studio would meet his salary demand<ref name="Thomas144z">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=144}}</ref> and again quit to form his own film production and distribution company with Bill.<ref name="Thomas144z" />
 
Another employee with whom Warner had troubles was studio producer [[Bryan Foy]].<ref name="thomas116">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=116}}</ref> In 1936, Wallis hired Foy as a producer for the studio's low budget [[B movies (Hollywood Golden Age)|B movies]] leading to his nickname "the keeper of the B's".<ref name="thomas115" /> Foy was able to garnish arguably more profits than any other B-film producer at the time.<ref name="thomas115" /> During Foy's time at the studio, however, Warner fired him seven different times.<ref name="thomas116" />
 
During 1936, ''[[The Story of Louis Pasteur]]'' proved a box office success<ref name="thomas114">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=114}}</ref> and star Paul Muni won the Oscar for Best Actor in March 1937.<ref name="thomas114" /> The studio's 1937 film ''[[The Life of Emile Zola]]'' gave the studio the first of its seven [[Best Picture Oscar]]s.<ref name="thomas114" />
 
In 1937, the studio hired Midwestern radio announcer [[Ronald Reagan]], who would eventually become the [[President of the United States]]. Although Reagan was initially a B-film actor, Warner Bros. was impressed by his performance in the final scene of ''[[Knute Rockne, All American]]'', and agreed to pair him with Flynn in ''[[Santa Fe Trail (film)|Santa Fe Trail]]'' (1940). Reagan then returned to B-films.<ref name="thomas117">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=117}}</ref> After his performance in the studio's 1942 ''[[Kings Row]]'', Warner decided to make Reagan a top star and signed him to a new contract, tripling his salary.<ref name="thomas117118">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=117&nbsp;118}}</ref>
 
In 1936, Harry's daughter Doris read a copy of Margaret Mitchell's ''[[Gone with the Wind (novel)|Gone with the Wind]]'' and was interested in making a film adaptation.<ref name="sperling220">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=235}}</ref> Doris offered Mitchell $50,000 for screen rights. Jack vetoed the deal, realizing it would be an expensive production.<ref name="sperling220" />
 
Major [[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]] star [[George Raft]] also eventually proved to be a problem for Jack.<ref name="thomas123125">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=123&nbsp;125}}</ref> Warner had signed him in 1939, finally bringing the third top 1930s gangster actor into the Warners fold, knowing that he could carry any gangster picture when either Robinson or Cagney were on suspension.<ref name="thomas123125" /> Raft had difficulty working with Bogart and refused to co-star with him.<ref name="thomas124">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=124}}</ref> Eventually, Warner agreed to release Raft from his contract in 1943.<ref name="thomas125">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=125}}</ref> After Raft had turned the role down, the studio gave Bogart the role of "Mad Dog" Roy Earle in the 1941 film ''[[High Sierra (film)|High Sierra]]'',<ref name="thomas125" /> which helped establish him as a top star.<ref name="thomas125126">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=125–126}}</ref> Following ''High Sierra'' and after Raft had once again turned the part down, Bogart was given the leading role in [[John Huston]]'s successful [[The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)|1941 remake]] of the studio's 1931 pre-Code film, ''[[The Maltese Falcon (1931 film)|The Maltese Falcon]]'',<ref name="thomas126127">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=126–127}}</ref> based upon the [[Dashiell Hammett]] novel.
 
=== Warner's cartoons ===
{{Main|Warner Bros. Cartoons|Warner Bros. Animation}}
Warner's [[cartoon]] unit had its roots in the independent [[Harman and Ising]] studio. From 1930 to 1933, [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]] alumni Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising produced musical cartoons for [[Leon Schlesinger]], who sold them to Warner. Harman and Ising introduced their character [[Bosko]] in the first ''[[Looney Tunes]]'' cartoon, ''[[Sinkin' in the Bathtub]]'', and created a sister series, ''[[Merrie Melodies]]'', in 1931.<ref name="HBTN987980">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 187}}</ref>
 
Harman and Ising broke away from Schlesinger in 1933 due to a contractual dispute, taking Bosko with them to MGM. As a result, Schlesinger started his own studio, [[Warner Bros. Cartoons|Leon Schlesinger Productions]], which continued with ''Merrie Melodies'' while starting production on ''Looney Tunes'' starring [[Buddy (Looney Tunes)|Buddy]], a Bosko clone. By the end of World War II, a new Schlesinger production team, including directors [[Friz Freleng]] (started in 1934), [[Tex Avery]] (started in 1935), [[Frank Tashlin]] (started in 1936), [[Bob Clampett]] (started in 1937), [[Chuck Jones]] (started in 1938), and [[Robert McKimson]] (started in 1946), was formed. Schlesinger's staff developed a fast-paced, irreverent style that made their cartoons globally popular.
 
In 1935, Avery directed [[Porky Pig]] cartoons that established the character as the studio's first animated star.<ref name="TermiteTerrace">Barrier, Michael (1999). pp.329–333</ref> In addition to Porky, [[Daffy Duck]] (who debuted in 1937's ''[[Porky's Duck Hunt]]''), [[Elmer Fudd]] (''[[Elmer's Candid Camera]]'', 1940), [[Bugs Bunny]] (''[[A Wild Hare]]'', 1940), and [[Tweety]] (''[[A Tale of Two Kitties]]'', 1942) would achieve star power.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milechai.com/product2/children_books/porky-pig-and-the-small-dog.html |title=Porky Pig and the Small Dog |website=Aharon's Jewish Books and Judaica – Mile Chai City |access-date=July 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714093724/http://www.milechai.com/product2/children_books/porky-pig-and-the-small-dog.html |archive-date=July 14, 2011 }}</ref> By 1942, the Schlesinger studio had surpassed Walt Disney Studios as the most successful producer of animated shorts.<ref>"[http://www.animationusa.com/resources/aboutwb.html Warner Bros. Studio biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090524120920/http://www.animationusa.com/resources/aboutwb.html |date=May 24, 2009 }}". ''AnimationUSA.com''. Retrieved June 17, 2007.</ref>
 
Warner Bros. bought Schlesinger's cartoon unit in 1944 and renamed it [[Warner Bros. Cartoons]]. However, senior management treated the unit with indifference, beginning with the installation as senior producer of [[Edward Selzer]], whom the creative staff considered an interfering incompetent. Jack Warner had little regard for the company's short film product and reputedly was so ignorant about the animation division of the studio that he was mistakenly convinced that the unit produced cartoons of [[Mickey Mouse]], the flagship character of [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|Walt Disney Productions]].<ref name="thomas212" /> He sold off the unit's pre-August 1948 library for $3,000 each, which proved a shortsighted transaction in light of its eventual value.<ref name="thomas212">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp= 211–12}}</ref>
 
Warner Bros. Cartoons continued, with intermittent interruptions, until 1969 when it was dissolved as the parent company ceased film shorts entirely. Characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, [[Tweety]], [[Sylvester the Cat|Sylvester]], and [[Porky Pig]] became central to the company's image in subsequent decades. Bugs in particular remains a mascot to Warner Bros., its various divisions and [[Six Flags]] (which Time Warner once owned). The success of the compilation film ''[[The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie]]'' in 1979, featuring the archived film of these characters, prompted Warner Bros. to organize [[Warner Bros. Animation]] as a new production division to restart production of original material.
 
=== World War II ===
According to Warner's autobiography, prior to US entry in [[World War II]], Philip Kauffman, Warner Bros. German sales head, was murdered by the [[Nazism|Nazis]] in Berlin in 1936.<ref>{{cite book| page=37| last1=McLaughlin| first1=Robert L.| last2=Parry| first2=Sally E.| title=We'll Always Have the Movies: American Cinema in World War II| date=March 3, 2006| publisher=University Press of Kentucky| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_FhXmwiyHqAC&q=confessions+of+nazi+spy| isbn=0-8131-7137-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| page=17| last=Birdwell| first=Michael E.| title=Celluloid Soldiers: The Warner Bros. Campaign Against Nazism| date=December 1, 2000| publisher=NYU Press| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hYAVCgAAQBAJ&q=kauffman| isbn=978-0-8147-9871-3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last=Youngkin| first=Stephen D.| title=The Lost One: A Life of Peter Lorre| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YZyhz28GVoIC&q=kauffman| year=2005| publisher=University Press of Kentucky| isbn=978-0-8131-2360-8}}</ref> Harry produced the successful anti-German film ''[[The Life of Emile Zola]]'' (1937).<ref name="GRTWBiok5j1y)">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=225}}</ref> After that, Harry supervised the production of more anti-German films, including ''[[Confessions of a Nazi Spy]]'' (1939),<ref name="GRTWBiokj1y233">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=233}}</ref> ''[[The Sea Hawk (1940 film)|The Sea Hawk]]'' (1940), which made [[Philip II of Spain|King Philip II]] an equivalent of [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]],<ref name="GRTWBiokj1y247">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=247}}</ref> ''[[Sergeant York (film)|Sergeant York]]'',<ref name="GRTWBiokj1y2rt">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=246}}</ref> and ''You're In The Army Now'' (1941).<ref name="GRTWBiokj1y2rt" /> Harry then decided to focus on producing war films.<ref name="GRTWBiokj1y">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 240}}</ref> Warners' cut its film production in half during the war, eliminating its B Pictures unit in 1941. Bryan Foy joined Twentieth Century Fox.<ref>{{cite book| page=178| last=Schatz| first=Thomas| title=Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dwf5SUcfousC&q=bryan+foy| date=November 23, 1999| publisher=University of California Press| isbn=9780520221307| access-date=September 29, 2017}}</ref>
[[File:Bette Davis in Now Voyager trailer.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|[[Bette Davis]] in ''Now, Voyager'' (1942)]]
During the war era, the studio made ''[[Casablanca (film)|Casablanca]]'', ''[[Now, Voyager]]'', ''[[Yankee Doodle Dandy]]'' (all 1942), ''[[This Is the Army]]'', and ''[[Mission to Moscow]]'' (both 1943);<ref name="pages247">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|pp=247–255}}</ref> the last of these films became controversial a few years afterwards. At the premieres of ''Yankee Doodle Dandy'' (in Los Angeles, New York, and London), audiences purchased $15.6&nbsp;million in [[war bond]]s for the governments of England and the United States. By the middle of 1943, however, audiences had tired of war films, but Warner continued to produce them, losing money. In honor of the studio's contributions to the cause, the Navy named a [[Liberty ship]] after the brothers' father, Benjamin Warner. Harry christened the ship. By the time the war ended, $20&nbsp;million in war bonds were purchased through the studio, the [[American Red Cross|Red Cross]] collected 5,200 pints of [[blood plasma]] from studio employees<ref name="pages247" /> and 763 of the studio's employees served in the armed forces, including Harry Warner's son-in-law [[Milton Sperling]] and Jack's son Jack Warner Jr.<ref name="GRTWBiokj1y" /> Following a dispute over ownership of ''Casablanca''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Oscar for Best Picture, Wallis resigned. After ''Casablanca'' made Bogart a top star, Bogart's relationship with Jack deteriorated.<ref name="Thomas144z" />
 
In 1943, [[Olivia de Havilland]] (whom Warner frequently loaned to other studios) sued Warner for breach of contract.<ref name="Thomas145">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=145}}</ref> De Havilland had refused to portray famed abolitionist [[Elizabeth Blackwell]] in an upcoming film for Columbia Pictures.<ref name="Thomas145" /> Warner responded by sending 150 telegrams to different film production companies, warning them not to hire her for any role.<ref name="Thomas145" /> Afterwards, de Havilland discovered [[De Havilland Law|employment contracts in California could only last seven years]]; de Havilland had been under contract with the studio since 1935.<ref name="Thomas98">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=98}}</ref> The court ruled in de Havilland's favor and she left the studio in favor of RKO Radio Pictures, and, eventually, Paramount.<ref name="Thomas145" /> Through de Havilland's victory, many of the studio's longtime actors were now freed from their contracts, and Harry decided to terminate the studio's suspension policy.<ref name="Thomas145" /><ref name="Thomas148">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=148}}</ref>
 
The same year, Jack signed newly released MGM actress [[Joan Crawford]], a former top star who found her career fading.<ref name="Thomas150">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=150}}</ref> Crawford's first role with the studio was 1944's ''[[Hollywood Canteen (film)|Hollywood Canteen]]''.<ref name="Thomas151">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=151}}</ref> Her first starring role at the studio, in the title role as ''[[Mildred Pierce (film)|Mildred Pierce]]'' (1945), revived her career<ref name="Thomas151" /> and earned her an Oscar for Best Actress.<ref name="Thomas152">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=152}}</ref>
 
=== After World War II: changing hands ===
In the post-war years, Warner Bros. prospered greatly and continued to create new stars, including [[Lauren Bacall]] and [[Doris Day]].<ref name="LUI_(">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| pp=258–279}}</ref> By 1946, company payroll reached $600,000 a week<ref name="LUI_(" /> and net profit topped $19.4&nbsp;million.
Jack Warner continued to refuse to meet [[Screen Actors Guild]] salary demands.<ref name="thomas163">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=163}}</ref> In September 1946, employees engaged in a month-long strike.<ref name="thomas163" /> In retaliation, Warner—during his 1947 testimony before [[United States Congress|Congress]] about ''Mission to Moscow''—accused multiple employees of ties to Communists.<ref name="thomas164">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=164}}</ref> By the end of 1947, the studio reached a record net profit of $22&nbsp;million.<ref name="GRTWBiodry2prt)">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=279}}</ref>
 
On January 5, 1948, Warner offered the first color [[newsreel]], covering the [[Rose Parade|Tournament of Roses Parade]] and the [[Rose Bowl Game]]. In 1948, Bette Davis, still their top actress and now hostile to Jack, was a big problem for Harry after she and others left the studio after completing the film ''[[Beyond the Forest]]''.<ref name="thomas175176">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=175, 176}}</ref>
 
Warner was a party to the ''[[United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.]]'' antitrust case of the 1940s. This action, brought by the Justice Department and the [[Federal Trade Commission]], claimed the five integrated studio-theater chain combinations restrained competition. The [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] heard the case in 1948, and ruled for the government. As a result, Warner and four other major studios were forced to separate production from the exhibition. In 1949, the studio's net profit was only $10&nbsp;million.<ref name="GRTWBiodry2prt)" />
 
Warner Bros. had two semi-independent production companies that released films through the studio.{{citation needed|date=July 2012}} One of these was [[Milton Sperling|Sperling]]'s [[United States Pictures]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/112308/Milton-Sperling/biography| title=Milton Sperling biography| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306230517/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/112308/Milton-Sperling/biography| archive-date=March 6, 2016| work=[[The New York Times]]| author=Hal Erickson| date=2016| df=mdy-all}}</ref>
 
[[File:Vivien Leigh in Streetcar Named Desire trailer 2.jpg|left|thumb|[[Vivien Leigh]] as [[Blanche DuBois]] in [[A Streetcar Named Desire (1951 film)|''A Streetcar Named Desire'' (1951)]]]]
In the early 1950s, the threat of television emerged. In 1953, Jack decided to copy<ref name="268lk" /> [[United Artists]] successful 3D film ''[[Bwana Devil]]'', releasing his own 3D films beginning with ''[[House of Wax (1953 film)|House of Wax]]''.<ref name="p287">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=287}}</ref> However, 3D films soon lost their appeal among moviegoers.<ref name="thomas191">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 191}}</ref>
 
3D almost caused the demise of the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. Having completed a 3D Bugs Bunny cartoon, ''[[Lumber Jack-Rabbit]]'', Jack Warner ordered the animation unit to be closed, erroneously believing that all cartoons hence would be produced in the 3D process. Several months later, Warner relented and reopened the cartoon studio. Warner Bros. had enough of a backlog of cartoons and a healthy reissue program so that there was no noticeable interruption in the release schedule.
 
In 1952, Warner Bros. made their first film (''[[Carson City (film)|Carson City]]'') in "Warnercolor", the studio's name for [[Eastmancolor]].
 
After the downfall of 3D films, Harry Warner decided to use [[CinemaScope]] in future Warner Bros. films.<ref name="W2878">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| pp=287–288}}</ref> One of the studio's first CinemaScope films, ''[[The High and the Mighty (film)|The High and the Mighty]]'' (owned by [[John Wayne]]'s company, [[Batjac Productions]]), enabled the studio to show a profit.<ref name="W288">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=288}}</ref>
 
Early in 1953, Warner's theater holdings were spun off as Stanley Warner Theaters; Stanley Warner's non-theater holdings were sold to Simon Fabian Enterprises,<ref name="Purch56">{{cite news |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808529,00.html |title=Boston to Hollywood |access-date=July 9, 2008 |date=May 21, 1956 |work=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214112021/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808529,00.html |archive-date=December 14, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and its theaters merged with [[RKO Pictures|RKO]] Theatres to become RKO-Stanley Warner Theatres.<ref>{{cite book|title=The American Film Industry|last=Balio|first=Tino|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=eT_6IcZM-fAC |page=567}} |year=1985 |page=567 |isbn=978-0-299-09874-2 |publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press}}</ref>
 
By 1956, the studio was losing money,<ref name="HBTN82009787">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=303}}</ref> declining from 1953's net profit of $2.9&nbsp;million<ref name="thomas190">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=190}}</ref> and the next two years of between $2 and $4&nbsp;million.<ref name="thomas225">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=225}}</ref> On February 13, 1956, Jack Warner sold the rights to all of the studio's pre-1950 films to [[Associated Artists Productions]] (which merged with [[United Artists Television]] in 1958, and was subsequently acquired by [[Turner Broadcasting System]] in early 1986 as part of a failed takeover of [[Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer|MGM/UA]] by [[Ted Turner]]).<ref name="ymrt">{{harvnb|Schickel|Perry|2008|p=255}}</ref><ref name="aap exceptions">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</ref><ref name="archive.org">{{cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/mediahistory&tab=collection?and%5B%5D=subject%3A%22Motion%20pictures%20--%20Catalogues%22 |title=Media History Digital Library |work=archive.org |access-date=September 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325121444/https://archive.org/details/mediahistory%26tab%3Dcollection?and%5B%5D=subject%3A%22Motion%20pictures%20--%20Catalogues%22 |archive-date=March 25, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref>
 
In May 1956, the brothers announced they were putting Warner Bros. on the market.<ref name="Purch88">{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808529,00.html| title=Boston to Hollywood| date=May 21, 1956| work=Time| page=2| access-date=June 20, 2008| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081214112021/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,808529,00.html| archive-date=December 14, 2008| url-status=dead}}</ref> Jack secretly organized a syndicate—headed by Boston banker Serge Semenenko<ref name="HBTN82009787" />– to purchase 90% of the stock.<ref name="HBTN82009787" /> After the three brothers sold, Jack—through his under-the-table deal—joined Semenenko's syndicate<ref name="HBTN308">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p= 308}}</ref> and bought back all his stock.<ref name="HBTN308" /> Shortly after the deal was completed in July,<ref name="thomas226">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=226}}</ref> Jack—now the company's largest stockholder—appointed himself its new president.<ref name="HBTN=A89787">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=306}}</ref><ref name="thomas226" /> Shortly after the deal closed, Jack announced the company and its subsidiaries would be "directed more vigorously to the acquisition of the most important story properties, talents, and to the production of the finest motion pictures possible."<ref name="vindy-07-12-56">{{cite news| title=2 Warners Sell Most of Stock in Film Firm: Harry and Albert Dispose of Shares to Banker; Jack to Be President| agency=[[United Press International|The United Press]] | work=[[The Vindicator|Youngstown Vindicator]]
| date=July 12, 1956| page=22}}</ref>
 
=== Warner Bros. Television and Warner Bros. Records ===
By 1949, with the success of television threatening the film industry more and more, Harry Warner decided to emphasize television production.<ref name="268lk">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998|p=286}}</ref> However, the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) would not permit it.<ref name="268lk" /> After an unsuccessful attempt to convince other movie studio bosses to switch, Harry abandoned his television efforts.<ref name="p287" />
 
Jack had problems with [[Milton Berle]]'s unsuccessful film ''[[Always Leave Them Laughing]]'' during the peak of Berle's television popularity. Warner felt that Berle was not strong enough to carry a film and that people would not pay to see the man they could see on television for free. However, Jack was pressured into using Berle, who replaced [[Danny Kaye]].<ref>[https://issuu.com/boxoffice/docs/boxoffice_061149-1/10 Issuu.com]{{dead link|date=February 2011}}</ref> Berle's outrageous behavior on the set and the film's massive failure led to Jack banning television sets from film sets.<ref>p.144 Hope, Bob & Shavelson, Mel ''Don't Shoot, It's Only Me'' 1991 Jove Books</ref>
[[File:James Garner Bret Maverick Jack Kelly Bart Maverick.JPG|right|thumb|upright=0.75|[[James Garner]] and [[Jack Kelly (actor)|Jack Kelly]] in ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' (1957)]]
On March 21, 1955, the studio was finally able to engage in television through the successful [[Warner Bros. Television]] unit run by [[William T. Orr]], Jack Warner's son-in-law. Warner Bros. Television provided [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] with a weekly show, ''[[Warner Bros. Presents]].'' The show featured rotating shows based on three film successes, ''[[Kings Row#Television series|Kings Row]]'', ''[[Casablanca (film)#Sequels and other versions|Casablanca]]'' and ''[[Cheyenne (1947 film)|Cheyenne]]'', followed by a promotion for a new film.<ref name="bbddpp">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1955/1955-03-21-BC.pdf | title=Warner Bros. Enters Tv Field With Pact for ABC-TV Shows | date=March 21, 1955 | page=112 | magazine=Broadcast Magazine}}</ref><ref name="thomas192">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=192}}</ref> It was not a success.<ref name="thomas193">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=193}}</ref> The studio's next effort was to make a weekly series out of ''Cheyenne''.<ref name="thomas194">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=194}}</ref> ''[[Cheyenne (TV series)|Cheyenne]]'' was television's first hour-long [[Western (genre)|Western]]. Two episodes were placed together for feature film release outside the United States. In the tradition of its B movies, the studio followed up with a series of rapidly produced popular [[Western (genre)|Westerns]], such as writer/producer [[Roy Huggins]]' critically lauded ''[[Maverick (TV series)|Maverick]]'' as well as ''[[Sugarfoot]]'', ''[[Bronco (TV series)|Bronco]]'', ''[[Lawman (TV series)|Lawman]]'', ''[[The Alaskans]]'' and ''[[Colt .45 (TV series)|Colt .45]]''.<ref name="thomas194" /> The success of these series helped to make up for losses in the film business.<ref name="thomas194" /> As a result, Jack Warner decided to emphasize television production.<ref name="thomas195">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 195}}</ref> Warner's produced a series of popular [[Private investigator|private detective]] shows beginning with ''[[77 Sunset Strip]]'' (1958–1964) followed by ''[[Hawaiian Eye]]'' (1959–1963), ''[[Bourbon Street Beat]]'' (1960) and ''[[Surfside 6]]'' (1960–1962).
 
Within a few years, the studio provoked hostility among their TV stars such as [[Clint Walker]] and [[James Garner]], who sued over a contract dispute and won.<ref name="thomas196-198">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=196–8}}</ref> [[Edd Byrnes]] was not so lucky and bought himself out of his contract. Jack was angered by their perceived ingratitude. Television actors evidently showed more independence than film actors, deepening his contempt for the new medium.<ref name="thomas199">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=199}}</ref> Many of Warner's television stars appeared in the casts of Warner's cinema releases. In 1963, a court decision forced Warner Bros. to end contracts with their television stars and to cease engaging them for specific series or film roles. That year, [[Jack Webb]], best known for originating the role of [[Joe Friday|Sgt. Joe Friday]] in the [[Dragnet (franchise)|''Dragnet'' franchise]], became the head of the studio's TV division.<ref>{{cite book| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CuTDAwAAQBAJ&q=1963+jack+webb+warner+brothers&pg=PA157| title=George Burns Television Productions: The Series and Pilots, 1950–1981| last=Irvin| first=Richard| date=May 12, 2014| publisher=McFarland| isbn=978-1-4766-1621-6| language=en}}</ref>
 
[[File:Dean Martin Frank Sinatra Dean Martin Show 1958.JPG|left|thumb|160px|upright=0.45|[[Dean Martin]] and [[Frank Sinatra]] appear in a number of Warner Bros. films produced in the early 1960s. Both singers also recorded for Reprise Records, which the studio purchased in 1963.]]
In 1958, the studio launched [[Warner Bros. Records]]. Initially, the label released recordings made by their television stars—whether they could sing or not—and records based on television soundtracks. Warner Bros. was already the owner of extensive music-publishing holdings, whose tunes had appeared in countless cartoons (arranged by [[Carl Stalling]]) and television shows (arranged by [[Max Steiner]]).<ref>{{IMDb name|70|Max Steiner}}</ref> In 2004, Time Warner sold the [[Warner Music Group]], along with Warner Bros. Records, to a private equity group led by [[Edgar Bronfman Jr.]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://money.cnn.com/2003/11/24/news/companies/warner_music/index.htm |work=CNN Money |title=Warner Music to be sold for $2.6B |access-date=March 17, 2020 |date=November 24, 2003}}</ref> In 2019, the since-separated Warner Bros. record division was rechristened Warner Records, as WMG held a short-term license to use the Warner Bros. name and trademarks; as such, the label currently reissues the pre-2019 Warner Bros. back catalog.
 
In 1963, Warner agreed to a "rescue takeover" of [[Frank Sinatra]]'s [[Reprise Records]].<ref name="thomas255">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=255}}</ref> The deal gave Sinatra US$1.5&nbsp;million and part ownership of Warner Bros. Records, making Reprise a sub-label.<ref name="thomas255" /> Most significantly the deal brought Reprise manager [[Mo Ostin|Morris "Mo" Ostin]] into the company. In 1964, upon seeing the profits record companies made from Warner film music, Warner decided to claim ownership of the studio's film soundtracks.<ref name="thomas265">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=264–265}}</ref> In its first eighteen months, Warner Bros. Records lost around $2&nbsp;million.<ref name="thomas2645">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=265}}</ref>
 
===New owners===
Warner Bros. rebounded in the late 1950s, specializing in adaptations of popular plays like ''[[The Bad Seed (1956 film)|The Bad Seed]]'' (1956), ''[[No Time for Sergeants (1958 film)|No Time for Sergeants]]'' (1958), and ''[[Gypsy (1962 film)|Gypsy]]'' (1962).
 
While he slowly recovered from a car crash that occurred while vacationing in France in 1958, Jack returned to the studio and made sure his name was featured in studio press releases. From 1961 to 1963, the studio's annual net profit was a little over $7&nbsp;million.<ref name="H:325">{{harvnb|Warner|Sperling|Millner|1998| p=325}}</ref> Warner paid an unprecedented $5.5&nbsp;million for the film rights to the Broadway musical ''[[My Fair Lady]]'' in February 1962. The previous owner, [[CBS]] director [[William S. Paley]], set terms including half the distributor's gross profits "plus ownership of the negative at the end of the contract."<ref name="thomas259">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=259}}</ref> In 1963, the studio's net profit dropped to $3.7&nbsp;million.<ref name="H:325" /> By the mid-1960s, motion picture production was in decline, as the industry was in the midst of a painful transition from the [[Classical Hollywood cinema|Golden Age of Hollywood]] to the era now known as [[New Hollywood]]. Few studio films were made in favor of co-productions (for which Warner provided facilities, money and distribution), and pickups of independent pictures.
 
With the success of the studio's 1964 film of Broadway play ''[[My Fair Lady]]'',<ref name="thomas2645" /> as well as its soundtrack,<ref name="thomas2645" /> Warner Bros. Records became a profitable subsidiary. The 1966 film ''[[Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (film)|Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?]]'' was a huge success.<ref name="thomas278">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=278}}</ref>
 
In November 1966, Jack gave in to advancing age and changing times,<ref name="thomas280">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=280}}</ref> selling control of the studio and music business to [[Seven Arts Productions]], run by Canadian investors Elliot and Kenneth Hyman, for $32&nbsp;million.<ref name="thomas279">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p= 279}}</ref> The company, including the studio, was renamed [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts]]. Warner remained president until the summer of 1967, when ''[[Camelot (film)|Camelot]]'' failed at the box office and Warner gave up his position to his longtime publicity director, Ben Kalmenson;<ref name="thomas279280">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|pp=279–280}}</ref> Warner remained on board as an independent producer and vice-president.<ref name="thomas279" /> With the 1967 success of ''[[Bonnie and Clyde (film)|Bonnie and Clyde]]'', Warner Bros. was again profitable.<ref name="thomas288">{{harvnb|Thomas|1990|p=288}}</ref>
 
Two years later the Hymans were tired and fed-up with Jack Warner and his actions.<ref name="thomas288" /> They accepted a cash-and-stock offer from [[Kinney National Company]] for more than $64&nbsp;million.<ref name="thomas288" /> Kinney owned a Hollywood talent agency, [[Ashley-Famous]],<ref>William Poundstone, ''Fortune's Formula''</ref> whose founder [[Ted Ashley]] led Kinney head [[Steve Ross (businessman)|Steve Ross]] to purchase Warner Bros.; Ashley-Famous was soon spun off due to antitrust laws prohibiting the simultaneous ownership of a film studio and a talent agency. Ashley became the studio head and changed the name to '''Warner Bros. Inc.''' once again.<ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iOkCAAAAMBAJ|journal = [[New York Magazine]] |last = Fleming |first = Karl |title=Who Is Ted Ashley? Just the King of Hollywood, Baby! |date = June 24, 1974 |publisher = New York Media, LLC |pages=30–35 |access-date=January 14, 2018}}</ref> Jack Warner was outraged by the Hymans' sale, and decided to move into independent production (most successfully with ''[[1776 (film)|1776]]'' at Columbia). He retired in 1973 and died from serious health complications of heart inflammation in August 1978.
 
Although movie audiences had shrunk, Warner's new management believed in the drawing power of stars, signing co-production deals with several of the biggest names of the day, including [[Paul Newman]], [[Robert Redford]], [[Barbra Streisand]], and [[Clint Eastwood]], carrying the studio successfully through the 1970s and 1980s. Its hits in the early 1970s included those starring the aforementioned actors, along with comedian [[Mel Brooks]]' ''[[Blazing Saddles]]'', [[Stanley Kubrick]]'s ''[[A Clockwork Orange (film)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', ''[[The Exorcist (film)|The Exorcist]]'', [[John Boorman]]'s ''[[Deliverance]]'', and the [[Martin Scorsese]] productions ''[[Mean Streets]]'' and ''[[Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore]]''. Warner Bros. also made major profits on films and television shows built around the characters of [[Superman]], [[Batman]] and [[Wonder Woman]] owned by Warner Bros. subsidiary [[DC Comics]]. The 1970s also saw Warner Bros. Records become one of the major record labels worldwide, and that company gained sister labels in [[Elektra Records]] and [[Atlantic Records]].
 
In late 1973, Warner Bros. announced that it had partnered with 20th Century Fox to co-produce a single film: producer [[Irwin Allen]]'s ''[[The Towering Inferno]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://awardswatch.com/predictions/best-supporting-studio-warner-bros-pictures-track-record-in-the-best-supporting-actor-category/|location=United States|title=Best Supporting Studio: Warner Bros. Pictures' Track Record in the Best Supporting Actor Category|last=Anderson|work=Awards Watch|date=September 28, 2013|first=Erik|access-date=April 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603090905/http://awardswatch.com/predictions/best-supporting-studio-warner-bros-pictures-track-record-in-the-best-supporting-actor-category/|archive-date=June 3, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Both studios found themselves owning the rights to books about burning skyscrapers: Warner was attempting to adapt [[Thomas N. Scortia]] and [[Frank M. Robinson]]'s ''[[The Glass Inferno]]'' and Fox was preparing an adaptation of [[Richard Martin Stern]]'s ''[[The Tower (novel)|The Tower]]''. Allen insisted on a meeting with the heads of both studios and announced that as Fox was already in the lead with their property it would be preferable to lump the two together as a single film, with Fox owning domestic rights and Warner Bros. handling the film's foreign distribution. The resulting partnership resulted in the second-highest-grossing film of 1974, turning profits for both studios, and influencing future co-productions between major studios. Although Allen would make further films for Warner Bros., he would not repeat the success he had with ''The Towering Inferno''.
 
Abandoning parking lots and funeral homes, the refocused Kinney renamed itself in honor of its best-known holding, [[Warner Communications]]. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Warner Communications branched out into other business, such as [[video game]] company [[Atari, Inc.]] in 1976, and later the [[Six Flags]] theme parks.
 
In 1972, in a cost-cutting move, Warner and Columbia formed a third company called The Burbank Studios (TBS).<ref name="Bingen">{{cite book| last1=Bingen| first1=Steven| author2=Marc Wanamaker| title=Warner Bros.: Hollywood's Ultimate Backlot| date=2014| publisher=Rowman & Littlefield| location=London| isbn=978-1-58979-962-2| pages=194–202| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vjGPBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA194| access-date=April 25, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160101213403/https://books.google.com/books?id=vjGPBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA194| archive-date=January 1, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref> They would share the Warner lot in Burbank.<ref name="Bingen" /> Both studios technically became production entities, giving TBS day-to-day responsibility for studio grounds and upkeep.<ref name="Bingen" /> The [[Columbia Ranch]] (about a mile north of Warner's lot) was part of the deal.<ref name="Bingen" /> The Warner–Columbia relationship was acrimonious, but the reluctance of both studios to approve or spend money on capital upgrades that might only help the other did have the unintended consequence of preserving the Warner lot's primary function as a filmmaking facility while it produced relatively little during the 1970s and 1980s.<ref name="Bingen" /> (Most films produced after 1968 were filmed on location after the failure of ''Camelot'' was partially attributed to the fact it was set in England but obviously filmed in Burbank.)<ref name="Bingen" /> With control over its own lot tied up in TBS, Warner ultimately retained a significant portion of its [[backlot]],<ref name="Bingen" /> while [[20th Century Fox|Fox]] sold its backlot to create [[Century City, Los Angeles|Century City]], [[Universal Pictures|Universal]] turned part of its backlot into [[Universal Studios Hollywood|a theme park]] and [[Universal CityWalk|shopping center]], and [[Walt Disney Studios (Burbank)|Disney replaced its backlot with office buildings]] and exiled its [[Walt Disney Animation Studios|animation department]] to an industrial park in Glendale.
 
In 1989, a solution to the situation became evident when Warner Bros. acquired [[Lorimar-Telepictures]] and gained control of the former MGM studio lot in [[Culver City, California|Culver City]], and that same year, Sony bought Columbia Pictures.<ref name="Bingen" /> Sony was flush with cash and Warner Bros. now had two studio lots.<ref name="Bingen" /> In 1990, TBS ended when Sony bought the MGM lot from Warner and moved Columbia to Culver City.<ref name="Bingen" /> However, Warner kept the Columbia Ranch, now known as the Warner Bros. Ranch.<ref name="Bingen" />
 
[[Robert A. Daly]] joined Warner Bros. on December 1, 1980, taking over from Ted Ashley. His titles were Chairman of the Board and Co-Chief Executive Officer. One year later, he was named Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer and appointed [[Terry Semel]] President and Chief Operating Officer.
 
===Time Warner subsidiary===
[[File:WarnerStudio.jpg|thumb|right|A panoramic view over today's studio premises]]
Warner Communications merged in 1989 with [[White-shoe firm|white-shoe]] publishing company [[Time Inc.]] Time claimed a higher level of prestige, while Warner Bros. provided the profits. The [[Time Warner]] merger was almost derailed when [[Paramount Communications]] (formerly [[Gulf and Western Industries|Gulf+Western]], later sold to the first incarnation of [[Viacom (1952-2006)|Viacom]]), launched a $12.2&nbsp;billion [[hostile takeover]] bid for Time Inc., forcing Time to acquire Warner with a $14.9&nbsp;billion cash/stock offer. Paramount responded with a lawsuit filed in [[Delaware]] court to break up the merger. Paramount lost and the merger proceeded.
 
In 1992, [[Warner Bros. Family Entertainment]] was established to produce various family-oriented films.
 
[[File:Warner Bros logo.svg|thumb|left|The former Warner Bros. shield logo, which was used from 1984 to 2019, extensively used in films and TV shows until 2021; currently used in syndicated shows.]]
 
In 1995, Warner and television station owner [[Tribune Media|Tribune Company]] of Chicago launched [[The WB]] Television Network, seeking a niche market in teenagers. The WB's early programming included an abundance of teenage fare, such as ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'', ''[[Smallville]]'', ''[[Dawson's Creek]]'' and ''[[One Tree Hill (TV series)|One Tree Hill]]''. Two dramas produced by [[Spelling Television]], ''[[7th Heaven (TV series)|7th Heaven]]'' and ''[[Charmed]]'', helped bring The WB into the spotlight. ''Charmed'' lasted eight seasons, becoming the longest-running drama with female leads. ''7th Heaven'' ran for eleven seasons and was the longest-running family drama and longest-running show for the network. In 2006, Warner and [[CBS Corporation]] decided to close The WB and CBS's [[UPN]] and jointly launch [[The CW]] Television Network.
 
In 1998, Time Warner sold Six Flags to Premier Parks.<ref>{{cite news| last1=Shapiro| first1=Eben| title=Premier Parks to Buy Six FlagsFrom Time Warner and Partner| url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB887059132285917500| access-date=March 3, 2017| work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]| date=February 10, 1998| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303123913/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB887059132285917500| archive-date=March 3, 2017| url-status=live}}</ref> The takeover of Time Warner in 2000 by then-high-flying [[AOL]] did not prove a good match, and following the collapse in "dot-com" stocks, the AOL element was banished from the corporate name.
 
In 1998, Warner Bros. celebrated its 75th anniversary. In 1999, Terry Semel and Robert Daly resigned as studio heads after a career with 13 Oscar-nominated films. Daly and Semel were said to have popularized the modern model of partner financing and profit sharing for film production. In mid-1999, [[Alan F. Horn]] and [[Barry Meyer]] replaced Daly and Semel as new studio heads, in which the studio had continued success in movies, television shows, cartoons, that the previous studio heads had for the studio. In late 2003, Time Warner reorganized Warner Bros.' assets under '''Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.''', in an effort to distinguish the film studio from its then-sister record label (which since became Warner Records in May 2019) and Warner Music Group.
 
In the late 1990s, Warner obtained rights to the ''[[Harry Potter]]'' novels and released feature film adaptations of the [[Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)|first]] in 2001. Subsequently, they released the [[Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)|second film]] in 2002, the [[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)|third]] in June 2004, the [[Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)|fourth]] in November 2005, the [[Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (film)|fifth]] in July 2007, and the [[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)|sixth]] in July 2009.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2008/08/14/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-moves-to-summer-2009 |title=Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince Moves to Summer 2009 |date=August 14, 2008 |publisher=Time Warner |access-date=September 29, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930083829/http://www.timewarner.com/newsroom/press-releases/2008/08/14/harry-potter-and-the-half-blood-prince-moves-to-summer-2009 |archive-date=September 30, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> The seventh (and at that time, final) book was released as two movies; [[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1|Deathly Hallows&nbsp;— Part 1]] in November 2010 and [[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2|Deathly Hallows&nbsp;— Part 2]] in July 2011.
 
From 2006, Warner Bros. operated a joint venture with [[China Film Group Corporation]] and HG to form '''Warner China Film HG''' to produce films in Hong Kong and China, including ''[[Connected (2008 film)|Connected]]'', a remake of the 2004 [[thriller film]] ''[[Cellular (film)|Cellular]]''.
 
Warner Bros. played a large part in the discontinuation of the [[HD DVD]] format. On January 4, 2008, Warner Bros. announced that they would drop support of HD DVD in favor of [[Blu-ray]] Disc.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.consolewatcher.com/warner-bros-goes-blu-ray-exclusive/ |title=Warner Bros Goes Blu Ray Exclusive |publisher=Consolewatcher.com |access-date=June 30, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081007012656/http://www.consolewatcher.com/warner-bros-goes-blu-ray-exclusive/ |archive-date=October 7, 2008 }}</ref> HD DVDs continued to be released through May 2008, but only following Blu-ray and DVD releases.
 
Warner Bros.' [[Harry Potter (film series)|''Harry Potter'' film series]] was the worldwide highest-grossing film series of all time without adjusting for inflation. Its [[Batman in film|''Batman'' film series]] was one of only two series to have two entries earn more than $1 billion worldwide. ''[[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2]]'' was Warner Bros.' highest-grossing movie ever (surpassing ''[[The Dark Knight (film)|The Dark Knight]]'').<ref>{{cite web |url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/07/box-office-harry-potter-deathly-hallow-part-2-winnie-the-pooh.html |title=Box Office: Final 'Harry Potter' film has highest-grossing domestic opening of all time [Updated] |date=July 17, 2011 |work=Los Angeles Times |language=en |access-date=January 25, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817060619/http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/entertainmentnewsbuzz/2011/07/box-office-harry-potter-deathly-hallow-part-2-winnie-the-pooh.html |archive-date=August 17, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, the Harry Potter movies have produced a net loss due to [[Hollywood accounting]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.deadline.com/2010/07/studio-shame-even-harry-potter-pic-loses-money-because-of-warner-bros-phony-baloney-accounting/| website=Deadline Hollywood| title=Studio Shame! Even Harry Potter Pic Loses Money Because Of Warner Bros' Phony Baloney Net Profit Accounting| first=Mike| last=Fleming Jr.| date=July 6, 2010| access-date=September 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140807062206/http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/studio-shame-even-harry-potter-pic-loses-money-because-of-warner-bros-phony-baloney-accounting/| archive-date=August 7, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> [[IMAX Corporation|IMAX Corp.]] signed with Warner Bros. Pictures in April 2010 to release as many as 20 giant-format films through 2013.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703648304575211961881537030.html| work=The Wall Street Journal| title=Imax, Warner Bros. Sign Pact| first=Andy| last=Georgiades| date=April 28, 2010| access-date=September 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004213907/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703648304575211961881537030.html| archive-date=October 4, 2013| url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On October 21, 2014, Warner Bros. created a short form digital unit, Blue Ribbon Content, under [[Warner Bros. Animation]] and Warner Digital Series president [[Sam Register]].<ref>{{cite news| last1=Spangler| first1=Todd| title=Warner Bros. Unveils Digital Short-Form Studio: Blue Ribbon Content| url=https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/warner-bros-unveils-digital-short-form-studio-blue-ribbon-content-1201335504/| access-date=October 22, 2014| work=Variety| date=October 21, 2014| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022041206/http://variety.com/2014/digital/news/warner-bros-unveils-digital-short-form-studio-blue-ribbon-content-1201335504/| archive-date=October 22, 2014| url-status=live}}</ref> Warner Bros. Digital Networks announced its acquisition of online video company [[Machinima, Inc.]] on November 17, 2016.<ref>{{cite news| last1=Lieberman| first1=David| title=Warner Bros Agrees To Buy Machinima| url=https://deadline.com/2016/11/warner-bros-agrees-buy-machinima-1201856472/| website=Deadline Hollywood| date=November 17, 2016| access-date=March 25, 2017| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322111344/http://deadline.com/2016/11/warner-bros-agrees-buy-machinima-1201856472/| archive-date=March 22, 2017| url-status=live}}</ref>
 
As of 2015, Warner Bros. is one of only three studios to have released a pair of billion-dollar films in the same year (along with [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures]] and [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]]); the distinction was achieved in 2012 with ''[[The Dark Knight Rises]]'' and ''[[The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey]]''.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2904&p=.htm| title='Toy Story 3' Reaches $1 Billion| work=boxofficemojo.com| access-date=September 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404003444/https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=2904&p=.htm| archive-date=April 4, 2019| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3443&p=.htm| title=Around-the-World Roundup: 'Avengers' Reaches $1 Billion Worldwide| work=boxofficemojo.com| access-date=September 2, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150905085147/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3443&p=.htm| archive-date=September 5, 2015| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://geeknation.com/universal-crosses-3-billion-at-the-worldwide-box-office/| title=Universal Crosses $3 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office| work=GeekNation| access-date=July 9, 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150711032744/http://geeknation.com/universal-crosses-3-billion-at-the-worldwide-box-office/| archive-date=July 11, 2015| url-status=dead| df=mdy-all}}</ref> As of 2016, it is the only studio to cross $1 billion at the domestic box office every year since 2000.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/american-sniper-san-andreas-push-warner-bros-past-1-billion-domestically-1201529536/| title='American Sniper,' 'San Andreas' Push Warner Bros. Past $1 Billion Domestically| first=Brent| last=Lang| date=June 26, 2015| work=Variety| access-date=December 30, 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161024153010/http://variety.com/2015/film/news/american-sniper-san-andreas-push-warner-bros-past-1-billion-domestically-1201529536/| archive-date=October 24, 2016| url-status=live}}</ref>
 
===Under AT&T; proposed merger with Discovery===
In June 2018, Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner was acquired by U.S. telecom company [[AT&T]], and renamed WarnerMedia, the former Time Inc. properties having been sold off to new owners.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/15/media/warnermedia-john-stankey-announcements/index.html|title=Time Warner's new name: WarnerMedia|last=Stelter|first=Brian|date=June 15, 2018|website=CNN Money|access-date=March 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181215081726/https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/15/media/warnermedia-john-stankey-announcements/index.html|archive-date=December 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> On October 16, 2018, WarnerMedia shut down [[DramaFever]], affecting 20 percent of Warner Bros.' digital networks staff.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/warner-media-shuts-down-dramafever-streaming-service/|title=WarnerMedia Shuts Down DramaFever Streaming Service|first=Matt|last=Lopez|date=October 16, 2018|access-date=October 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016235357/https://www.thewrap.com/warner-media-shuts-down-dramafever-streaming-service/|archive-date=October 16, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
On March 4, 2019, WarnerMedia announced a planned reorganization that would dissolve [[Turner Broadcasting System]] by moving [[Cartoon Network]], [[Adult Swim]], [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]], their respective production studios ([[Cartoon Network Studios]] and [[Williams Street]]), as well as [[Turner Classic Movies]] and [[Otter Media]], directly under Warner Bros. (Turner's remaining television services would be divided into WarnerMedia Entertainment and WarnerMedia News & Sports respectively). Aside from Otter Media, these assets will operate under a newly formed Global Kids & Young Adults division,<ref name="cnbc-reorganization">{{cite news |last1=Feiner |first1=Lauren |title=WarnerMedia reorganizes its leadership team after AT&T acquisition |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/04/warnermedia-reorganizes-its-leadership-team-after-att-acquisition.html |access-date=March 4, 2019 |work=CNBC |date=March 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190304182211/https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/04/warnermedia-reorganizes-its-leadership-team-after-att-acquisition.html |archive-date=March 4, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> renamed on April 7, 2020, to [[Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|date=April 7, 2020|title=Tom Ascheim Joins Warner Bros As President of Global Kids, Young Adults And Classics|url=https://deadline.com/2020/04/tom-ascheim-warner-bros-president-of-global-kids-young-adults-and-classics-1202902994/|access-date=April 10, 2020|website=Deadline Hollywood}}</ref> On May 31, 2019, Otter Media was transferred from Warner Bros. to WarnerMedia Entertainment.<ref name="vty0">{{cite news |last1=Spangler |first1=Todd |title=WarnerMedia Reorg Gives Otter Media's Tony Goncalves Oversight of Streaming Service Development |url=https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/warnermedia-streaming-unit-otter-media-tony-goncalves-1203230363/ |access-date=July 9, 2019 |work=Variety |date=May 31, 2019 |language=en}}</ref> [[Tom Ascheim]] resigned as president from [[Freeform (TV channel)|Freeform]] to become the president of the Global Kids, Young Adults, and Classics division on July 1, 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Low |first1=Elaine |last2=Otterson |first2=Joe |title=Freeform Boss Tom Ascheim Moves to Warner Bros. |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/tom-ascheim-to-depart-as-president-of-freeform-1234573597/ |access-date=April 24, 2020 |work=Variety |date=April 7, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
 
On November 13, 2019, Warner Bros. unveiled an updated iteration of its shield logo designed by [[Pentagram (design firm)|Pentagram]]. It maintains the same basic form, but with a streamlined appearance designed to make it better-suited for multi-platform usage and iterations. The company also commissioned a new corporate [[typeface]] that is modeled upon the historic WB lettering.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/90429745/warner-brotherss-new-logo-and-brand-are-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-entertainment|title=Warner Bros.' new brand is a glimpse at the future of entertainment|last=Smith|first=Lilly|date=November 13, 2019|website=Fast Company|language=en-US|access-date=November 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191203001425/https://www.fastcompany.com/90429745/warner-brotherss-new-logo-and-brand-are-a-glimpse-at-the-future-of-entertainment|archive-date=December 3, 2019|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=D'Alessandro |first1=Anthony |title=Warner Bros Refreshes Logo As Studio's 2023 Centennial Approaches |url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/warner-bros-refreshes-logo-as-studios-2023-centennial-approaches-1202785156/ |website=Deadline Hollywood |access-date=November 15, 2019 |language=en |date=November 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114194819/https://deadline.com/2019/11/warner-bros-refreshes-logo-as-studios-2023-centennial-approaches-1202785156/ |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |url-status=live }}</ref> The on-screen animated prototype version of the logo premiered on August 26, 2020 in theaters with Christopher Nolan's ''[[Tenet (film)|Tenet]]''<ref>https://www.wyomingnews.com/features/todo/tom-cruises-latest-daredevil-act-seeing-tenet-in-a-theater/article_6c8e5308-47f2-5ab8-8575-03d344474e9b.html</ref><ref>{{YouTube|Z0X_KP9RWEs}}</ref> and a brand new revamped version made by Devastudios, with the sky and clouds created using [[Terragen]], debuted in theaters and on [[HBO Max]] on January 14, 2021 with ''[[Locked Down (film)|Locked Down]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Prosser |first1=Keegan|title=Warner Bros. Pictures Debuts Updated, Animated Logo|url=https://www.cbr.com/warner-bros-pictures-debuts-updated-animated-logo/|access-date=February 16, 2021 |work=Comic Book Resources |date=January 18, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Piper |first1=Daniel |title=New Warner Bros logo is not what we were expecting |url=https://www.creativebloq.com/news/warner-bros-new-logo-2021 |access-date=February 16, 2021 |work=Creative Bloq |date=January 15, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.devastudios.com/work/logo/warner-bros-studio-logo/ |title=Devastudios – Warner Bros. Studio Logo |publisher=Devastudios.com |access-date=February 20, 2021}}</ref> The new fanfare, which was favored over Billy Mallery's composition, was later debuted in theaters on April 21, 2021 in Italy with ''Non Mi Uccidere'' (the television counterpart debuted before its movie counterpart on March 4, 2021 with ''[[Young Sheldon]]'' Season 4 Episode 10, entitled "Cowboy Aerobics and 473 Grease-Free Bolts").
 
Warner Bros and HBO Max announced the Warner Max film label on February 5, 2020, which would produce eight to 10 mid-budget movies per year for the streaming service starting in 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Rebecca |title=Warner Bros., HBO Max Set New Film Division for Streaming Service |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/warner-bros-hbo-max-set-new-film-division-for-streaming-service-1203494178/ |access-date=February 5, 2020 |work=Variety |date=February 5, 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
 
On May 16, 2021, it was reported that AT&T was in talks with [[Discovery, Inc.]] (which owned and operated [[Discovery+]]) for it to merge with WarnerMedia, the parent company of Warner Bros., forming a publicly-traded company called '''Warner Bros. Discovery''', that would be divided between its shareholders.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Sherman|first=Alex|date=May 16, 2021|title=AT&T in advanced talks to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery, deal expected as soon as tomorrow|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/16/att-in-advanced-talks-to-merge-warnermedia-with-discovery.html|access-date=May 16, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref> The proposed spin-off and merger was officially announced the next day, which is to be structured as a [[Reverse Morris Trust]]. AT&T shareholders will receive a 71% stake in the merged company, which is expected to be led by Discovery's current CEO [[David Zaslav]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Meredith|first=Steve Kovach,Sam|date=May 17, 2021|title=AT&T announces $43 billion deal to merge WarnerMedia with Discovery|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/17/att-to-combine-warnermedia-and-discovery-assets-to-create-a-new-standalone-company.html|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=CNBC|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|last=Hayes|first=Dade|date=May 17, 2021|title=David Zaslav And John Stankey Outline Plans For Merging Discovery And WarnerMedia, Addressing Future Of Jason Kilar, CNN, Streaming|url=https://deadline.com/2021/05/discovery-warnermedia-att-merger-streaming-david-zaslav-1234758225/|access-date=May 17, 2021|website=Deadline|language=en-US}}</ref>
 
== Company units ==
Warner Bros. Entertainment operates nine primary business segments they call "divisions": '''Motion Pictures''', '''Home Entertainment''', '''Television''', '''Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics''', '''[[Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences|Global Brands and Experiences]]''', '''Digital Networks''', '''Technology''', '''[[Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures|Live Theatre]]''' and '''Studio Facilities''', which includes the company's [[Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences#Warner resorts|theme parks]], travel-related assets, [[Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences#Warner Bros. Consumer Products|consumer products]] and publishing divisions.
 
Motion Pictures includes the company's primary business units, such as [[Warner Bros. Pictures]], [[New Line Cinema]], and [[DC Films]]. The Home Entertainment division included [[Warner Home Video]] and [[Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment]], their gaming division.
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!style="text-align:center; width:16%;" | Pictures Group
!style="text-align:center; width:15%;" | [[Warner Bros. Television Studios|Television Studios]]
!style="text-align:center; width:15%;" | [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment|Home<br/>Entertainment]]
!style="text-align:center; width:14%;" | [[Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences|Global Brands<br/>and Franchises]]
!style="text-align:center; width:16%;" | [[Warner Bros. Global Kids, Young Adults and Classics]]
!style="text-align:center; width:18%;" | Other units
|-
|
* [[Warner Bros. Pictures]]
* [[New Line Cinema]]
* [[DC Films]]
* [[Warner Animation Group]]
* [[Castle Rock Entertainment]]
* [[Spyglass Media Group]] (minority stake)
* [[Flagship Entertainment]] (49%)
|
* [[Alloy Entertainment]]
* [[Telepictures]]
* [[A Very Good Production]]
* Warner Horizon Unscripted Television
* [[Warner Bros. International Television Production|WBTVS International & Formats]]
|
* WB Games
* [[Avalanche Software]]
* [[Monolith Productions]]
* [[NetherRealm Studios]]
* [[Portkey Games]]
* [[Rocksteady Studios]]
* [[TT Games]]
|
* [[DC Entertainment]]
** DC Comics
* [[Warner Bros. Themed Entertainment]]
* [[Warner Bros. Consumer Products]]
 
|{{align|center|'''TV Channels'''}}
 
* [[Cartoon Network]]
* [[Adult Swim]]
* [[Boomerang (TV network)|Boomerang]]
* [[Turner Classic Movies]]
 
----
{{align|center|'''Production'''}}
* [[Warner Bros. Animation]]
* [[Cartoon Network Studios]]
* [[Williams Street]]
|
* Warner Bros. Digital Networks
** [[DC Universe Infinite]]
* [[Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures]]
* [[Turner Entertainment]]
* [[WaterTower Music]]
* [[Fandango Media]] (30%)
 
----
{{align|center|'''Related'''}}
* Warner Bros. Television Distribution (operated by WarnerMedia Commercial)
|}
 
==Executive management==
{{col-float}}
;Chairman of the board
*[[Robert A. Daly]] (1980–1999)
*[[Barry Meyer]] (1999–2013)
*[[Kevin Tsujihara]] (2013–2019)
*[[Ann Sarnoff]] (2019–present)
 
;Vice chairman
* [[Edward A. Romano]] (1994–2016)
 
;Presidents
*[[Terry Semel]] (1994–1999)
 
{{col-float-break}}
;Chief executive officers
*[[Robert A. Daly]] (1980–1999)
*[[Barry Meyer]] (1999–2013)
*[[Kevin Tsujihara]] (2013–2019)
*[[Ann Sarnoff]] (2019–present)
 
;Chief operating officers
*[[Terry Semel]] (1982–1994)
*[[Barry Meyer]] (1994–1999)
 
{{col-float-end}}
 
==International distribution arrangements==
{{anchor|Columbia partnership}}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 [[The Cannon Group, Inc.|Cannon Films]] in the UK). Warner ended the venture in 1988.
 
On May 4, 1987, [[Walt Disney Pictures]] signed a theatrical distribution agreement with Warner Bros. International for the release of Disney and Touchstone films in overseas markets, with Disney retaining full control of all distribution and marketing decisions on their product.<ref>{{cite news|title=Warner Bros. and Disney have a distribution pact.|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1987-05-04/business/fi-4825_1_warner-bros|access-date=January 17, 2018|work=Los Angeles Times|date=May 4, 1987|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180129120124/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-05-04/business/fi-4825_1_warner-bros|archive-date=January 29, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1992, Disney opted to end their joint venture with Warner Bros. to start [[Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures#International arrangements|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.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.dn.pt/artes/cinema/interior/columbia-tristar-warner-encerra-escritorios-em-portugal-3673331.html| title=Columbia Tristar Warner encerra escritórios em Portugal| first=Eurico| last=de Barros| work=[[Diário de Notícias]]| date=February 6, 2014| access-date=September 29, 2017| trans-title=Columbia Tristar Warner closes offices in Portugal| language=pt| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930083919/https://www.dn.pt/artes/cinema/interior/columbia-tristar-warner-encerra-escritorios-em-portugal-3673331.html| archive-date=September 30, 2017| url-status=dead}}</ref> 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]].
 
== Film library ==
[[File:Gate 4 Warner Bros. Studios.jpg|thumb|right|Gate 4, Warner Bros. Studios, looking south towards the water tower]]
{{Main list|Lists of Warner Bros. films}}
 
=== Acquired libraries ===
{{overly detailed|section|date=October 2017}}
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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WarnerBros.com – Company Overview |url=https://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-overview |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190929152113/https://www.warnerbros.com/studio/about/company-overview |archive-date=September 29, 2019 |access-date=September 29, 2019 |website=Warner Bros.}}</ref>
 
In the aftermath of the 1948 antitrust suit, uncertain times led Warner Bros. in 1956 to sell most of its pre-1950<ref name="ymrt" /><ref name="aap exceptions" /><ref name="archive.org" /> 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.<ref name="Hoyt">{{Cite book |last=Hoyt |first=Eric |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ERsvBQAAQBAJ&q=1958+a.a.p.+was+sold+to+United+Artists&pg=PA182 |title=Hollywood Vault: Film Libraries Before Home Video |date=July 3, 2014 |publisher=Univ of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-95857-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Cole">{{Cite news |last=Cole |first=Robert J. |date=May 16, 1981 |title=M-G-M Is Reported Purchasing United Artists for $350 million |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/16/world/m-g-m-is-reported-purchasing-united-artists-for-350-million.html |url-status=live |access-date=October 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160908011627/http://www.nytimes.com/1981/05/16/world/m-g-m-is-reported-purchasing-united-artists-for-350-million.html |archive-date=September 8, 2016 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
 
In 1982, during their independent years, [[Turner Broadcasting System]] acquired [[Brut Productions]], the film production arm of [[France]]-based then-struggling personal-care company [[House of Fabergé|Faberge Inc.]]<ref name="Faberge Sells Brut">{{Cite news |title=Faberge Sells Brut's Assets |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/01/business/faberge-sells-brut-s-assets.html |url-status=live |access-date=November 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701092705/http://www.nytimes.com/1982/01/01/business/faberge-sells-brut-s-assets.html |archive-date=July 1, 2017}}</ref>
 
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 Pictures|RKO Radio Pictures]] library) while spinning off the rest of MGM.<ref name="articles.latimes.com">{{Cite news |date=December 20, 1985 |title=Turner Sells Fabled MGM but Keeps a Lion's Share |work=Los Angeles Times |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-07/news/mn-9950_1_turner-broadcasting |url-status=live |access-date=February 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170801044732/http://articles.latimes.com/1986-06-07/news/mn-9950_1_turner-broadcasting |archive-date=August 1, 2017}}</ref>
 
In 1989, Warner Communications acquired [[Lorimar-Telepictures]] Corporation.<ref name="Merv">{{Cite web |title=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 |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/11/10/352823/index.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130126093323/http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2003/11/10/352823/index.htm |archive-date=January 26, 2013 |access-date=September 2, 2015 |website=cnn.com}}</ref><ref name="The Los Angeles Times">{{Cite news |title=Warner Completes Merger With Lorimar Telepictures |work=The Los Angeles Times |url=https://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-12/business/fi-413_1_lorimar-telepictures-corp |url-status=live |access-date=October 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103031254/http://articles.latimes.com/1989-01-12/business/fi-413_1_lorimar-telepictures-corp |archive-date=November 3, 2012}}</ref> Lorimar's catalogue included the post-1974 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 [[Taft Broadcasting|Great American Broadcasting]], and years later, Turner Broadcasting System acquired [[Castle Rock Entertainment]] on December 22, 1993,<ref name="Turner Broadcasting Company Report">{{Cite web |title=Turner Broadcasting Company Report |url=https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/100240/0000950144-94-000832.txt |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710093510/https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/100240/0000950144-94-000832.txt |archive-date=July 10, 2017 |access-date=November 8, 2017 |website=sec.gov |publisher=Securities and Exchange Commission}}</ref><ref name="Chicage Tribune">{{Cite news |title=Done deal: Turner Broadcasting System Inc. said it closed..... |publisher=Chicage Tribune |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-12-25/business/9312250085_1_turner-broadcasting-system-hollywood-producer-turner-spokesman |url-status=live |access-date=September 2, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302115359/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1993-12-25/business/9312250085_1_turner-broadcasting-system-hollywood-producer-turner-spokesman |archive-date=March 2, 2016}}</ref> and [[New Line Cinema]] on January 28, 1994.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web |date=January 28, 1994 |title=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. |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-28-fi-16459-story.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190325182644/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-01-28-fi-16459-story.html |archive-date=March 25, 2019 |access-date=October 30, 2019 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref name="Information on New Line Cinema">{{Cite web |title=New Line Cinema |url=http://ethicalbusinessbureau.com/NewLineCinema/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302115400/http://ethicalbusinessbureau.com/NewLineCinema/ |archive-date=March 2, 2016 |access-date=October 30, 2019 |website=ethicalbusinessbureau.com}}</ref> On October 10, 1996, [[Time Warner]] acquired Turner Broadcasting System, thus bringing Warner Bros.' pre-1950 library back home. However, 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).<ref name="Barraclough, Leo">{{Cite web |last=Barraclough, Leo |date=June 8, 2016 |title=Warner Bros. Completes Harry Potter Franchise Team With Polly Cochrane Promotion |url=https://variety.com/2016/biz/global/warner-bros-harry-potter-franchise-team-polly-cochrane-promotion-1201791229/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201120142/http://variety.com/2016/biz/global/warner-bros-harry-potter-franchise-team-polly-cochrane-promotion-1201791229/ |archive-date=December 1, 2017 |access-date=December 12, 2017 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>
 
=== Film series ===
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Title
! Release date
! Notes
|-
| ''Gold Diggers'' || 1929–1938 ||
|-
| ''[[Penrod and Sam (novel)#Film adaptations|Penrod and Sam]]'' || 1931–1938 ||
|-
| ''[[Torchy Blane]]'' || 1937–1939 ||
|-
| ''[[Four Daughters]]'' || 1938–1941 ||
|-
| ''[[Nancy Drew]]'' || 1938–2019 ||
|-
| ''[[Dirty Harry (film series)|Dirty Harry]]'' || 1971–1988 ||
|-
| ''[[Superman in film|Superman]]'' || 1978–present ||
|-
| ''[[Blade Runner]]'' || 1982–2017 ||
|-
| ''[[National Lampoon's Vacation (film series)|National Lampoon's Vacation]]'' || 1983–2015 ||
|-
| ''[[Police Academy (franchise)|Police Academy]]'' || 1984–1994 ||
|-
| ''[[Lethal Weapon (franchise)|Lethal Weapon]]'' || 1987–1998 ||
|-
| ''[[The Lost Boys (franchise)|The Lost Boys]]'' || 1987–2010 ||
|-
| ''[[Batman in film|Batman]]'' || 1989–present ||
|-
| ''[[Free Willy (franchise)|Free Willy]]'' || 1993–2010 ||
|-
| ''[[The Matrix (franchise)|The Matrix]]'' || 1999–present ||
|-
| ''[[Deep Blue Sea (film series)|Deep Blue Sea]]'' || 1999–present ||
|-
| ''[[Cats & Dogs]]'' || 2001–present ||
|-
| ''[[Wizarding World]]'' || 2001–present ||
|-
| ''[[Ocean's (film series)|Ocean's]]'' || 2001–2018 ||
|-
| ''[[Scooby-Doo in film|Scooby-Doo]]'' || 2002–present ||
|-
| ''[[A Cinderella Story (film series)|A Cinderella Story]]'' || 2004–present ||
|-
| ''[[The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (film series)|The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants]]'' || 2005–2008 ||
|-
| [[The Dark Knight Trilogy|''The Dark Knight'' trilogy]] || 2005–2012 ||
|-
| ''[[The Hangover (film series)|The Hangover]]'' || 2009–2013 ||
|-
| ''[[Sherlock Holmes (2009 film)|Sherlock Holmes]]'' || 2009–present ||
|-
| ''[[Dolphin Tale]]'' || 2011–2014 ||
|-
| [[The Conjuring Universe]] || 2013–present ||
|-
| [[DC Extended Universe]] || 2013–present ||
|-
| ''[[The Lego Movie (franchise)|The Lego Movie]]'' || 2014–2019 ||
|-
| [[MonsterVerse]] || 2014–present ||
|-
| ''[[It (2017 film)|It]]'' || 2017–2019 ||
|}
 
== 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 [[Studio system|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]].
 
== See also ==
* [[Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank]]
* [[Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood]]
* [[Warner Bros. Home Entertainment]]
* [[Warner Bros. Family Entertainment]]
* [[Warner Bros. Television Studios]]
* [[Warner Records]]
* [[List of live-action short subject series by Hollywood studios#Warner Brothers|List of Warner Bros. short subjects]]
* [[Warner Bros. Animation]]
* [[Warner Bros. Studios, Leavesden]]


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}
{{notelist}}


== References ==
== References ==
=== Footnotes ===
{{Reflist}}
{{div col |colwidth=25em}}
{{Reflist|}}
{{div col end}}
 
=== Works cited ===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Cite book|title=Inside Warner Bros. (1935–1951)|last=Behlmer|first=Rudy|year=1985|isbn=0-670-80478-9}}
* {{Cite book|title=An Empire of Their Own: How the Jews Invented Hollywood|last=Gabler|first=Neal|publisher=Crown Publishers|year=1988|isbn=0-517-56808-X|location=New York|title-link=An Empire of Their Own}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Hollywood Studios|last=Mordden|first=Ethan|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1988|isbn=0-7153-8319-1|location=New York}}
* Sarris, Andrew. 1998. “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet.” The American Talking Film History & Memory, 1927–1949. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-513426-5}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Genius of the System: Hollywood Filmmaking in the Studio Era|last=Schatz|first=Robert|publisher=Pantheon|year=1988|isbn=0-8050-4666-6|location=New York}}
* {{Cite book|title=You must remember this: The Warner Bros. Story|last1=Schickel|first1=Richard|last2=Perry|first2=George|publisher=Running Press|year=2008|isbn=978-0-7624-3418-3|location=Philadelphia|author-link=Richard Schickel|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/youmustremembert0000schi}}
* {{Cite book|title=Movie-Made America|last=Sklar|first=Robert|publisher=Vintage|year=1994|isbn=978-0-679-75549-4|location=New York}}
* {{cite book|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=SUocAQAAIAAJ}}|title=Clown Prince of Hollywood: The Antic Life and Time of Jack L. Warner|last=Thomas|first=Bob |publisher=McGraw-Hill Ryerson, Limited|year=1990|isbn=978-0-07-064259-1 }}
* {{Cite book|title=My First Hundred Years in Hollywood|last1=Warner|first1=Jack L.|last2=Jennings|first2=Dean|publisher=Random House|year=1964|asin=B0007DZSKW|lccn=65011267|oclc=1347544|author-link=Jack L. Warner}}
* {{cite book |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=xTzOB_MbMvgC}}|title=Hollywood be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story|last2=Sperling|first2=Cass Warner |last3=Millner|first3=Cork |publisher=University Press of Kentucky|year=1998|isbn=0-8131-0958-2 |author-mask= 3 |first1=Jack |last1=Warner}}
{{Refend}}
 
== Further reading ==
* {{cite book |author-link=Andrzej Krakowski |last=Krakowski |first=Andrzej |title=Pollywood: jak stworzyliśmy Hollywood (Pollywood. How we created Hollywood)|publisher=[[Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN]] |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-7432-0481-1}}
 
== External links ==
{{Commons category|Warner Bros. Entertainment}}
* {{Official website|https://www.warnerbros.com/}}
* {{IMDb company|0002663}}
* {{Cite archival metadata
|author = Finding aid author: James V. D'Arc
|title = Warner Bros. collection
|url = https://findingaid.lib.byu.edu/viewItem/MSS%202296
|repository = L. Tom Perry Special Collections
|location = Provo, Utah
|date = 2013
|access-date = May 16, 2016
}}
 
{{Warner Bros.}}
{{AT&T}}
{{Film studios}}
{{Academy Honorary Award}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Set index article}}


[[Category:Warner Bros.| ]]
[[Category:Warner Bros.|*]]
[[Category:1923 establishments in California]]
[[Category:American companies established in 1923]]
[[Category:American corporate subsidiaries]]
[[Category:American film studios]]
[[Category:Cinema of Southern California]]
[[Category:Companies based in Burbank, California]]
[[Category:Entertainment companies based in California]]
[[Category:Entertainment companies established in 1923]]
[[Category:Film distributors of the United States]]
[[Category:Film production companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Film studios]]
[[Category:Hollywood history and culture]]
[[Category:Mass media companies established in 1923]]
[[Category:Organizations awarded an Academy Honorary Award]]
[[Category:San Fernando Valley]]
[[Category:Sibling filmmakers]]
[[Category:WarnerMedia subsidiaries]]

Latest revision as of 14:13, 3 March 2026


This article is about the brand and its corporate history. For the modern entertainment corporation, see Warner Bros. Entertainment. For the now-independent music recording corporation, see Warner Music Group.
Logo used since 2023 by Warner Bros. Discovery,[1] the current corporate parent of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which includes the longstanding film and television studios
The logo of Warner Music Group, which has been an independent company since 2004. It was one of several companies that were spun off by Time Warner in the mid-2000s but continued using the Warner name, but as of 2026 it is the only one to still do so.

Warner Bros.[lower-alpha 1] is a brand name that has been used by several multinational mass media and entertainment companies and corporations, mostly based in the United States, with attributions to Warner Bros. Pictures, a major American film studio founded on April 4, 1923.

As of 2026, Warner Bros. Discovery owns the motion picture and television assets derived from the original Warner Bros. studio, while the latter's original recorded music arm, Warner Records (formerly known as Warner Bros. Records), now a flagship subsidiary of Warner Music Group, has been independently owned since 2004. Several other former subsidiaries and divisions have been spun off or sold, but no longer use the Warner name.

Historical overview[edit | edit source]

Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. was founded on April 4, 1923, by the brothers Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner, replacing their previous company, Warner Features Company, founded in 1910.[5] Jack Warner took full control of the company in 1956.[6] During this time, the company began activities in animation (Warner Bros. Cartoons), television (Warner Bros. Television Studios)[7] and music publishing (Warner Bros. Music).[8]

Seven Arts Productions merged with Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. in 1967 to form Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.[9] Kinney National Company then purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969[7] as part of a buying spree that also included National Periodical Publications (predecessor to DC Comics), Television Communications Corporation (predecessor to Time Warner Cable) and Paperback Library (predecessor to Warner Books).[10] After spinning off its non-media assets, Kinney National Company was renamed Warner Communications, which merged with Time Inc. in 1990 to form Time Warner.[7]

In the mid-2000s, Time Warner spun off or sold several Warner-derived or branded divisions as independent companies, most notably Warner Music Group (which remains independent as of 2026)[10] and Time Warner Cable (later acquired by Charter Communications),[10] while Warner Books was sold to Hachette Livre.[10] During this time, Time Warner's film and television assets were incorporated into a new Warner Bros. Entertainment subsidiary on December 3, 2002.[11]

Time Warner, much reduced in scope at this point, was acquired by AT&T on June 15, 2018, and renamed WarnerMedia.[12] AT&T then sold WarnerMedia to Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery on April 8, 2022.[13]

In February 2026, Netflix announced it would not raise its offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, after the Warner Bros. board said a rival bid from Paramount Skydance was “superior,” effectively ending Netflix’s bid and clearing the way for Paramount to pursue its deal.[14]

List of entities derived from Warner Bros.[edit | edit source]

The following entities have used the Warner name and have been derived from or affiliated with the original Warner Bros. Pictures studio.

The film studio:

Animation studios:

Television studio:

Corporate parents:

Subsidiaries that were spun off:

Notes[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Pronounced "Warner Brothers".[2] The abbreviated form is always used in writing, except when referring to the four Warner brothers themselves.[3] It is never read out loud as "Warner Bros" (-⁠BROHZ or similarly); the opening voiceover of The Lego Batman Movie (2017) alludes to this common mistake.[4]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Burgos, Matthew (May 4, 2023). "warner bros. logo gets a thicker, bolder, and sharper look from chermayeff & geismar & haviv". Designboom. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  2. ↑ Thomson, David (2017). Warner Bros: The Making of an American Movie Studio. New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 1. ISBN 9780300197600. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  3. ↑ Gomery, Douglas; Pafort-Overduin, Clara (2011). Movie History: A Survey (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. p. 150. ISBN 9781136835254. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "The LEGO Batman Movie review: everything is awesome!". Digital Spy. February 4, 2017. Retrieved 2026-02-10.
  5. ↑ "Warner Bros". California Museum. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  6. ↑ Yogerst, Chris (2023-12-22). "When Warner Bros. First Left the Family: Betrayal and High Drama In a Classic Hollywood Megadeal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 "Company History". warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  8. ↑ Warner, Jack; Sperling, Cass Warner; Millner, Cork (1998). Hollywood be Thy Name: The Warner Brothers Story. University Press of Kentucky. p. 147. ISBN 0-8131-0958-2.
  9. ↑ "Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Ltd., Chooses Hyman as Chairman". The New York Times. 1967-07-18. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Hammer, Alexander R. (November 23, 1971). "Kinney-TVC Terms Shift". The New York Times.
  11. ↑ Kobrin, Janet A. (2007-02-26). "Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. v. The Kaplan Trust: Declaration of Janet A. Kobrin" (PDF). U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved 2026-01-01.
  12. ↑ "Time Warner is changing its name to WarnerMedia; Turner CEO to depart". CNBC. June 15, 2018. Archived from the original on March 20, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  13. ↑ Maas, Jennifer (April 8, 2022). "Discovery Closes Acquisition of AT&T's WarnerMedia". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 8, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Netflix declines to raise offer for Warner Bros. Discovery". CNBC. 2026-02-26. Retrieved 2026-02-28.

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