Warner Bros.
.svg?lang=en) Logo used since 2023[1] | |
 Warner Bros.' offices in Burbank, California | |
| Warner Bros. | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | April 4, 1923 (earliest predecessor) 2003 (current incorporated entity) |
| Headquarters | 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California , US |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Brands | |
| Revenue |  US$12.15 billion (2020) |
| US$2.07 billion (2020) | |
Number of employees | est. 8,000 (2014) |
| Parent |
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| Divisions |
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| Subsidiaries | |
| Footnotes / references [1][2][3][4][5] | |
The Warner Bros. name has been used by a collection of multinational mass media and entertainment entities descended from or associated with Warner Bros. Pictures, a major American film studio founded in 1923.
As of 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery owns the motion picture and television assets derived from the original Warner Bros. studio, while Warner Music Group has been independently owned since 2004. Several other entities have been spun off or sold, but no longer use the Warner name.
Historical overview
Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. was founded in 1923 by the brothers Harry, Albert, Sam, and Jack Warner.[6] Jack Warner took full control of the company in 1956.[7] During this time, the company began activities in animation (Warner Bros. Cartoons), television (Warner Bros. Television Studios),[8] and music publishing (Warner Bros. Music).[9]
Seven Arts Productions merged with Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. in 1967 to form Warner Bros.-Seven Arts.[10] Kinney National Company then purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1969[11] 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).[12][13] After spinning off its non-media assets, Kinney National Company was renamed Warner Communications, and then Time Warner.[8]
In the mid-2000s, Time Warner spun off or sold several Warner-derived or branded divisions as independent companies: Warner Music Group (which remains independent as of 2025[update])[14] and Time Warner Cable (later acquired by Charter Communications) were spun off,[15] while Warner Books was sold to Hachette Livre.[16]
Time Warner, much reduced in scope but still containing the Warner Bros. film, animation, and television units, was acquired by AT&T in 2018 and renamed WarnerMedia.[17] AT&T then sold WarnerMedia to Discovery, Inc. to form Warner Bros. Discovery in 2022.[18]
List of entities derived from Warner Bros.
The film studio:
- Early history of Warner Bros. Pictures (1923–1967)
- Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969)
- Warner Bros. Pictures (1969–present)
Animation studios:
- Warner Bros. Cartoons (1929–1963)
- Warner Bros. Animation (1980–present)
- Warner Bros. Pictures Animation (2013–present)
Television studio:
- Warner Bros. Television Studios (1955–present)
Corporate parents:
- WarnerMedia, also known as Time Warner and Warner Communications (1969–2022)
- Warner Bros. Discovery (2022–present)
Subsidiaries that were spun off:
References
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "2020 Financial and Operational Trends" (PDF). AT&T. January 27, 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
- ^ "Company history". Warner Bros. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
- ^ Patten, Dominic; Yamato, Jen. "Warner Bros Layoffs Long Planned But "Accelerated" By Failed Fox Bid". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2014.
- ^ "Warner Archive Collection podcast". Warnerbros.com. April 8, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
- ^ "Warner Bros". California Museum. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
- ^ 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.
- ^ a b "Company History". warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, Ltd., Chooses Hyman as Chairman". The New York Times. 1967-07-18. Retrieved 2025-11-08.
- ^ "Company History". warnerbros.com. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
- ^ Hammer, Alexander R. (November 23, 1971). "Kinney-TVC Terms Shift". The New York Times.
- ^ Hammer, Alexander R. (November 23, 1971). "Kinney-TVC Terms Shift". The New York Times.
- ^ Hammer, Alexander R. (November 23, 1971). "Kinney-TVC Terms Shift". The New York Times.
- ^ Hammer, Alexander R. (November 23, 1971). "Kinney-TVC Terms Shift". The New York Times.
- ^ Hammer, Alexander R. (November 23, 1971). "Kinney-TVC Terms Shift". The New York Times.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
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