 Logo used since 2024 | |
| New Line Cinema | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Film Television |
| Founded | June 18, 1967; 58 years ago (1967-06-18) inNew York City, United States |
| Founder | Robert Shaye |
| Defunct | February 28, 2008; 17 years ago (2008-02-28) (as a stand-alone studio) |
| Fate | Folded intoWarner Bros. Pictures, currently active as a unit of studio |
| Successor | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Headquarters | 4000 Warner Blvd,, United States |
Key people | Richard Brener (president andCCO) |
| Products | Motion pictures Television programs |
| Parent |
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| Divisions |
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| Website | www |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4] | |
New Line Productions, Inc.,[1]doing business asNew Line Cinema, is an Americanfilm andtelevision production company. In 2008, it became a subsidiary ofWarner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the"Big Five" film studioWarner Bros., which, in turn, is owned byWarner Bros. Discovery (WBD).
The studio was founded on June 18, 1967, byRobert Shaye inNew York City, and has been operating as a unit ofWarner Bros. Pictures since 2008. After becoming a film studio after being acquired byTurner Broadcasting System in 1994, Turner later merged with Time Warner Entertainment (later known asWarnerMedia from 2018 to 2022, and Warner Bros. Discovery since 2022) in 1996, and New Line was merged with Warner Bros. Pictures in 2008.[5] Prior to the integration into Warner Bros. Pictures, the headquarters were located in Los Angeles, California at 116 N Robertson Blvd. Since then, New Line Cinema operates out of offices atWarner Bros. Studios inBurbank.
New Line Cinema is currently one of the four live-action film studios within the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, the others being Warner Bros. Pictures,Castle Rock Entertainment, and a minority stake inSpyglass Media Group. The studio has been nicknamed "The House thatFreddy Built" due to the success of theNightmare on Elm Street film series.[6] However, its most successful property was afilm adaptation ofThe Lord of the Rings trilogy byJ. R. R. Tolkien with considerable commercial success and numerousAcademy Awards.
New Line Cinema was established in 1967 by the then 27-year-oldRobert Shaye as a film distribution company, supplyingforeign andart films for college campuses in the United States. Shaye operated New Line Cinema's offices out of his apartment at 14th Street and Second Avenue in New York City. One of the company's early successes was its distribution of the 1936anti-cannabis propaganda filmReefer Madness, which became a cult hit on American college campuses in the early 1970s. New Line also released many classic foreign-language films, likeStay As You Are,Immoral Tales andGet Out Your Handkerchiefs (which became the first New Line film to win anOscar).[7] The studio has also released many of the films ofJohn Waters.
In 1976, New Line Cinema secured funding to produce its first full-length feature,Stunts (1977), directed byMark L. Lester. Although not considered a critical success, the film performed well commercially on the international market and on television.[8]
In 1980, Shaye's law school classmateMichael Lynne became outside counsel and adviser to the company and renegotiated its debt.[7][9]
In 1983,Bryanston Distributing Company, the company that first distributed the originalThe Texas Chain Saw Massacre, lost the rights to that film, and the rights reverted to the original owners. New Line Cinema bought the rights and re-released the film to theatres that same year. It became very successful for the studio.[10]
New Line Cinema expanded its film production in the early 1980s, producing or co-producing films includingPolyester, directed byJohn Waters, andAlone in the Dark.Polyester was one of the first films to introduce a novelty cinema experience namedOdorama, where members of the audience were provided with a set of "scratch and sniff" cards to be scratched and sniffed at specific times during the film, which provided an additional sensory connection to the viewed image.[8] In 1983, Lynne joined the board.[7] In 1984, Dawn Altyn and Jeff Youngs joined New Line Cinema, respectively as sales manager, eastern and southern divisions of New Line Distribution, and national print controller of the studio, to distribute new projects.[11]
A Nightmare on Elm Street was produced and released by New Line Cinema in 1984. The resultingfranchise was New Line Cinema's first commercially successful series, leading the company to be nicknamed "The House that Freddy Built".[6] The film was made on a budget of $1.8 million and grossed over $57 million.[12] A year later,A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge was released, and grossed $3.3 million in its first three days of release and over $30 million at the US box office. In 1986, the company went public, and held 1,613,000 shares of common stock.[7][13]
With the success of theElm Street franchise, New Line Cinema made moves to expand their business. This included a revamping of their distribution network,[14] the sale of their films into broadcast syndication and pay-television (viaEmbassy Communications andUniversal Pay Television, respectively),[15][16] and the creation of an international distribution arm.[17]
The third film in the series,A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, was released in 1987, the studio's first national release,[18] and opened at number one, grossing $8.9 million for the weekend, a record for an independent film at the time,[19] and went on to gross almost $45 million at the US box office. A further six films have been made. The first six grossed $500 million worldwide[12] and the next three $250 million, for a total of $750 million.
In 1990, Lynne became president and chief operating officer, with Shaye as chairman and chief executive officer.[7] The same year, New Line Cinema releasedTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which became the highest-grossing independent film of all-time with a gross of $135 million in the United States and Canada, until it was surpassed byThe Blair Witch Project (1999).[20][21][22] It was followed by a sequel,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) which was the second highest-grossing[23] with a gross of $78 million in the United States and Canada.[24] A third,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III followed in 1993.
In July 1990,Carolco Pictures entered into a joint venture with New Line Cinema to start Seven Arts, a distribution company which primarily released much of Carolco's low-budget output as opposed to their high-budget films which were released byTriStar Pictures.[25] In November, New Line Cinema purchased a 52% stake in the television production companyRHI Entertainment (nowHalcyon Studios), which would later be sold toHallmark Cards in 1994.
In early 1991,Fine Line Features was set up as awholly owned subsidiary headed byIra Deutchman and released films includingJane Campion'sAn Angel at My Table andGus van Sant'sMy Own Private Idaho.[26] That May, New Line Cinema purchased the home video and foreign rights to 600 films held by Sultan Entertainment Holdings (a.k.a.Nelson Entertainment). The deal also included an 11-film distribution deal withCastle Rock Entertainment. On November 27, New Line Cinema purchased Sultan outright.[27][28]
In 1992,Michael De Luca became executive vice-president and chief executive officer of the production unit.[29]
On January 28, 1994, New Line Cinema was acquired by theTurner Broadcasting System for $500 million,[30][31] which later merged withTime Warner Entertainment in 1996. New Line Cinema was kept as its own separate entity, while fellow Turner-owned studiosHanna-Barbera Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment eventually became units ofWarner Bros.
During its time as an entity separate from Warner Bros., New Line Cinema continued to operate several divisions, including theatrical distribution, marketing and home video.
The company's fortunes took a downturn in 1996 after losses onThe Island of Dr. Moreau andThe Long Kiss Goodnight.[9] Although, in 1997,Shine received the studio's first nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Picture[7] and their second film to win an Academy Award withGeoffrey Rush's win forAcademy Award for Best Actor.[32]
New Line Cinema producedThe Lord of the Rings film trilogy which became their most successful films to date, grossing over $2.9 billion worldwide.[7] The films were nominated for 30Academy Awards, including nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Picture for each film, and won 17, with the final picture,The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) winning a (joint) record eleven, includingBest Picture,[7][33] as well as being thesecond highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release.[34]
Despite the success ofThe Lord of the Rings films,Town and Country (2001) generated a loss of $100 million and De Luca left as production head to be replaced byToby Emmerich.[9] In 2001, Shaye and Lynne became co-chairmen and co-CEO.[7]
The studio was also a partner in founding a new distribution company namedPicturehouse in 2005. Specializing inindependent film, Picturehouse was formed by Bob Berney, who left distributorNewmarket Films, New Line Cinema, who folded their Fine Line division into Picturehouse, andHBO Films, a division ofHBO and a subsidiary of Time Warner, who was interested in getting into the theatrical film business.
On February 28, 2008, Time Warner's CEO at the time,Jeffrey Bewkes, announced that New Line Cinema would be shut down as a separately operated studio. Shaye and Lynne said that they would step down with a letter to their employees. They promised, however, along with Time Warner and Jeffery Bewkes, that the company would continue to operate its financing, producing, marketing and distributing operations of its own films, but would do so as a part of Warner Bros. and be a smaller studio, releasing a smaller number of films than in past years.[2] The box office disappointment ofThe Golden Compass (2007) was largely blamed for the decision, in which New Line Cinema spent $180 million on its development, yet it only grossed $70 million in the United States market.[35] In March, Emmerich became president and chief operating officer, whilst both founders Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne had left the company.
On May 8, 2008, it was announced that Picturehouse would shut down in the fall.[36] Berney later bought the Picturehouse trademarks from Warner Bros. and relaunched the company in 2013.[37]
New Line Cinema moved from its long-time headquarters on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles in June 2014 to Warner Bros.' lot Building 76, formerly used byLegendary Entertainment, a former Warner Bros. film co-financier.[38] The last film released by New Line Cinema as a free-standing company was theWill Ferrell filmSemi-Pro.
Since 2016, New Line Cinema had been producing its own television series (New Line Television had been folded intoWarner Bros. Television in 2008).
As for the company's future,Alan Horn, the Warner Bros. president at the time of the consolidation, stated, "There's no budget number required. They'll be doing about six per year, though the number may go from four to seven; it's not going to be 10." As to content, "New Line will not just be doing genre [...] There's no mandate to make a particular kind of movie."[39]
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| Title | Release date | No. Films | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Evil Dead | 1981–present | 2 | Co-production withWarner Bros. |
| A Nightmare on Elm Street | 1984–2010 | 9 | |
| Critters | 1986–2019 | 5 | |
| House Party | 1990–present | 6 | |
| Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 1990–93 | 3 | Co-production withGolden Harvest and20th Century Fox(1991–93) |
| The Texas Chainsaw Massacre | 1990–2006 | Co-production withPlatinum Dunes andFocus Features (2003 and 2006) | |
| Friday the 13th | 1993–2009 | 4 | |
| Dumb and Dumber | 1994–2014 | 3 | Co-production withUniversal Pictures(2014) |
| The Mask | 1994–2005 | 2 | Co-production withDark Horse Entertainment |
| Friday | 1995–2002 | 3 | |
| Mortal Kombat | 1995–present | ||
| Austin Powers | 1997–2002 | ||
| Blade | 1998–2004 | Co-production withMarvel Entertainment | |
| Rush Hour | 1998–2007 | ||
| Final Destination | 2000–present | 6 | |
| The Cell | 2000–09 | 2 | |
| The Lord of the Rings | 2001–present | 4 | |
| Harold & Kumar | 2004–11 | ||
| Sex and the City | 2008–10 | 2 | co-production withWarner Bros. Pictures andHBO Films |
| Horrible Bosses | 2011–14 | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures | |
| The Hobbit | 2012–14 | 3 | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures andMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| The Conjuring Universe | 2013–present | 9 | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Rocky | 2015–18 | 2 | co-production with Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| It | 2017–19 | ||
| Shazam! | 2019–23 | 3 | Co-production withDC Studios Part of theDC Extended Universe |
| Rank | Title | Year | Worldwide gross | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King ‡ | 2003 | $1,138,267,561 | |
| 2 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 2012 | $1,017,003,568 | Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures; co-production withMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures |
| 3 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | 2013 | $958,366,855 | |
| 4 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | 2014 | $956,019,788 | |
| 5 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers ‡ | 2002 | $943,396,133 | |
| 6 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ‡ | 2001 | $888,159,092 | |
| 7 | It | 2017 | $701,796,444 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; co-production withVertigo Entertainment,Lin Pictures and KatzSmith Productions |
| 8 | The Conjuring: Last Rites | 2025 | $482,039,735 | |
| 9 | San Andreas | 2015 | $473,990,832 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; co-production withVillage Roadshow Pictures |
| 10 | It Chapter Two | 2019 | $473,093,228 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; co-production with Double Dream,Vertigo Entertainment, andRideback |
| 11 | Rampage | 2018 | $428,128,399 | |
| 12 | Sex and the City | 2008 | $418,765,321 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; co-production withHBO Films |
| 13 | Black Adam | 2023 | $393,452,111 | |
| 14 | The Golden Compass | 2007 | $372,234,864 | |
| 15 | Shazam! | 2019 | $367,799,011 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; co-production withDC Films |
| 16 | The Nun | 2018 | $366,050,119 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures; co-production withAtomic Monster andThe Safran Company |
| 17 | Journey 2: The Mysterious Island | 2011 | $335,288,576 | |
| 18 | The Mask | 1994 | $351,583,407 | |
| 19 | Rush Hour 2 | 2001 | $347,325,802 | |
| 20 | Se7en | 1995 | $328,846,069 | |
| 21 | The Conjuring 2 | 2016 | $321,788,219 | |
| 22 | The Conjuring | 2013 | $319,494,638 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures |
| 23 | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | 1999 | $313,701,294 | |
| 24 | Annabelle: Creation | 2017 | $306,515,884 | Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures |
| 25 | Austin Powers in Goldmember | 2002 | $296,939,148 |
‡ Includes theatrical reissue(s)
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