Warner Bros. Pictures

Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and the distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, itself a flagship subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, it is one of the "Big Five" major American film studios and the third oldest film studio in the United States still in operation, after Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures.

The studio was founded on April 4, 1923, by the brothers Harry Warner, Albert Warner, Sam Warner, and Jack L. Warner. In addition to producing its own films, Warner Bros. Pictures handles filmmaking operations, theatrical distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and released by other Warner Bros. labels. These labels include Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, New Line Cinema, and Warner Bros. Clockwork, as well as various third-party producers.

Today, Warner Bros. Pictures is one of four live-action film studios within the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, alongside New Line Cinema, Castle Rock Entertainment, and Spyglass Media Group. It continues to be a major force in making and sharing movies around the world.

History

Foundation, diversification and establishment (1910–1967)

The Warner Bros. media company started in 1910 as the Warner Features Company in New Castle, Pennsylvania, founded by Sam Warner and his brothers Harry, Albert, and Jack. They made their first film, Peril of the Plains, in 1912. In 1918, during World War I, the brothers made a popular film based on a book called My Four Years in Germany.

On April 4, 1923, Warner Bros. Pictures was officially created. In 1927, they changed the film world by releasing the first movie with sound, The Jazz Singer.

Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969)

In 1966, Jack L. Warner sold part of the studio to Seven Arts Productions, and the company was renamed Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1967.

Kinney National / Warner Communications era (1969–1990)

In 1969, Kinney National Company bought Warner Bros. Kinney later bought DC Comics and other businesses. By the 1970s and 1980s, Warner Bros. made successful films with big stars and created popular characters like Superman and Batman through its subsidiary DC Comics. They also grew their music business.

As part of Time Warner/Time Warner Entertainment/AOL Time Warner/TimeWarner (1990–2018)

In 1989, Warner Communications merged with Time Inc., forming Time Warner. In 1995, they created The WB Television Network, which later became The CW. In 1996, Warner Bros. regained rights to their old films by buying Turner Broadcasting System.

Warner Bros. released the Harry Potter films starting in 2001. They also made big movies like the Batman series. In 2008, Warner Bros. announced support for Blu-ray over HD DVD.

As part of AT&T/WarnerMedia (2018–2022)

In 2018, AT&T bought Time Warner and renamed it WarnerMedia. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Warner Bros. decided to release some films in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time. This changed in 2022, when they went back to a 45-day theatrical window before films appeared on streaming.

As part of Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–present)

In 2022, WarnerMedia merged with Discovery Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery. The company made several changes, including dividing into units like Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Films. In 2023, Warner Bros. celebrated its 100th anniversary with special events and a new logo.

International arrangements

Film production

In 1995, Willi Geike was appointed as marketing director for Warner Bros. in Germany. During his time, Warner Bros. began making and distributing German films, including animated movies like The Little Polar Bear and Laura's Star, as well as live-action films such as Rabbit Without Ears and Men in the City. Willi Geike worked with many filmmakers before leaving Warner Bros. in 2021 after 38 years.

In 1997, Warner Bros. signed an agreement with children's television producer Burny Bos in the Netherlands for the distribution rights of his films, starting with The Flying Liftboy. This led to Warner Bros. distributing more films from BosBros., such as Miss Minoes and Winky's Horse. The partnership ended in 2011.

In 1998, Toshiba, Warner Bros., and Nippon Television launched a joint venture called TOWANI Corp to produce two Japanese films each year. They produced four films, but the company faced financial difficulties after the failure of Cutie Honey in 2004.

In 2025, Warner Bros. signed an agreement with Bhanushali Studios Limited and JOAT Films to create adaptations of Warner Bros. titles for the Indian market.

Film distribution

From 1971 to 1987, Warner Bros. had a joint venture with Columbia Pictures for international distribution. Warner Bros. ended this venture in 1988.

In 1987, The Walt Disney Company signed an agreement with Warner Bros. for the release of Disney and Touchstone films overseas. Disney later chose to distribute its films independently in 1992.

In 2001, Warner Bros. started a partnership with German production company X Filme Creative Pool to co-distribute films. This partnership was extended in 2004.

Before merging in 2008, Warner Bros. handled distribution of New Line Cinema films in several countries.

From 2011 to 2023, Warner Bros. distributed Sony Pictures Releasing films in Italy. Since then, Eagle Pictures took over this role.

In 2014, a joint venture between Columbia and Sony in Portugal closed, and NOS Audiovisuais began handling Warner Bros. films there.

Before Disney's merger in 2019, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox had a partnership to distribute each other's films in Southeast Asia and the Benelux.

Since 2021, Warner Bros. films have been distributed by Universal Pictures in Hong Kong, Mexico, Australia, and New Zealand. Warner Bros. distributes Universal Pictures films in Brazil, India, and the Philippines.

In 2022, Warner Bros. made a deal to distribute MGM films outside the United States. This deal ended in 2025 when Sony Pictures Releasing International took over.

As of 2025, Warner Bros. works with local companies to release films in different regions, such as Encore Films in Southeast Asia and India, and Picturehouse Entertainment in the United Kingdom.

In 2025, Warner Bros. signed a deal with Toho-Towa for Japan, which will start the following year with Wuthering Heights. Warner Bros.' local distribution arm closed at the end of 2025 but will still handle distribution for its 2026 local productions.

Film library

Main article: Lists of Warner Bros. films

Mergers and buying other companies have helped Warner Bros. gather a big collection of movies, cartoons, and TV shows. By 2022, Warner Bros. owned over 145,000 hours of shows. This includes 12,500 full-length movies and 2,400 TV shows with lots of episodes.

Acquired libraries

For a more comprehensive list, see List of assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

Warner Bros. has grown its collection by buying other companies. Over the years, this has given them many old movies and TV programs.

The Warner Bros. Archives

The University of Southern California Warner Bros. Archives is the biggest studio collection in the world. It was given to USC in 1977. The archives show how movies were made during the golden days of Hollywood. Many old films and records are kept there.

Clint Eastwood began working with Warner Bros. in 1971 and has directed some of their famous movies, like Unforgiven (1992) and Million Dollar Baby (2004).

Christopher Nolan wrote and directed several very successful films for Warner Bros. in the early 2000s. He has had a long and creative partnership with the studio.