New Line Productions Inc., trading as New Line Cinema, is an American film production studio and a label of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group division of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1957 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company, later becoming a film studio. It was acquired by Turner Broadcasting System in 1994; Turner later merged with Time Warner (now WarnerMedia) in 1996, and New Line was merged with Warner Bros. Pictures in 2008.[3] Currently, its films are distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
History[]
New Line Cinema was established in 1967 by the then 27-year-old Robert Shaye as a film distribution company, supplying foreign and art films for college campuses in the United States. Shaye operated New Line'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 1936 anti-cannabis propaganda film Reefer Madness, which became a cult hit on American college campuses in the early 1970s. New Line also released many classic foreign-language films, like Stay As You Are, Immoral Tales and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (which became the first New Line film to win an Oscar).[4] The studio has also released many of the films of John Waters.
In 1976, New Line secured funding to produce its first full-length feature, Stunts (1977), directed by Mark Lester. Although not considered a critical success, the film performed well commercially on the international market and on television.[5]
In 1980, Shaye's law school classmate Michael Lynne became outside counsel and adviser to the company and renegotiated its debt.[4][6]
New Line expanded its film production in the early 1980s, producing or co-producing films including Alone in the Dark and Polyester, directed by John Waters. Polyester was one of the first films to introduce a novelty cinema experience named Odorama, 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.[5] In 1983, Lynne joined the board.[4]
A Nightmare on Elm Street[]
A Nightmare on Elm Street was produced and released by New Line in 1984. The resulting franchise was New Line's first commercially successful series, leading the company to be nicknamed "The House that Freddy Built". The film was made on a budget of $1.8 million and grossed over $57 million.[7] 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.[4]
The third film in the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, was released in 1987, the studio's first national release,[8] and opened at number one, grossing $8.9 million for the weekend, a record for an independent film at the time,[9] 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[7] and the next three $250 million, for a total of $750 million.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles[]
In 1990, Lynne became president and chief operating officer, with Shaye as chairman and chief executive officer.[4] The same year, New Line released Teenage 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.[10][11] It was followed by a sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) which was the second highest-grossing[12] with a gross of $78 million in the United States and Canada.[13] A third, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III followed in 1993.
Expansion[]
In November 1990, New Line purchased a 52% stake in the television production company RHI Entertainment (now Sonar Entertainment), which would later be sold to Hallmark Cards in 1994.
In early 1991, Fine Line Features was set up as a wholly owned subsidiary headed by Ira Deutchman and released films including Jane Campion's An Angel at My Table and Gus van Sant's My Own Private Idaho.[14] Halfway through the year, Carolco Pictures, entered into a joint venture with New Line to start Seven Arts, a distribution company which primarily released much of Carolco's low-budget output.[15] In 1997, Shine received the studio's first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture[4] and their second film to win an Academy Award with Geoffrey Rush's win for Academy Award for Best Actor.[16]
In May 1991, New Line purchased the home video and foreign rights to 600 films held by Sultan Entertainment Holdings (aka Nelson Entertainment Group). The deal also included an 11-film distribution deal with Turner subsidiary Castle Rock Entertainment. On November 27, 1991, New Line purchased Sultan outright.[17][18]
In 1992, Michael De Luca became executive vice-president and chief executive officer of the production unit.[19]
Acquisition by TBS[]
On January 28, 1994, New Line Cinema was acquired by the Turner Broadcasting System,[20] which then merged with Time Warner in 1996. New Line Cinema was kept as its own separate entity, while fellow Turner-owned studios Hanna-Barbera Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment eventually became units of Warner 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 on The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Long Kiss Goodnight.[6] In 1999, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me became the company's highest-grosser (and the highest-grossing independent film).
The Lord of the Rings[]
New Line produced the The Lord of the Rings film trilogy which became their most successful films to date, grossing over $2.9 billion worldwide.[4] The films were nominated for 30 Academy Awards, including nominations for the Academy 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, including Best Picture,[4][21] as well as being the second highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release.[22]
Despite the success of The 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 by Toby Emmerich.[6] In 2001, Shaye and Lynne became co-chairmen and co-CEO.[4]
The studio was also a partner in founding a new distribution company named Picturehouse in 2005. Specializing in independent film, Picturehouse was formed by Bob Berney, who left distributor Newmarket Films, New Line, who folded their Fine Line division into Picturehouse, and HBO Films, a division of HBO and a subsidiary of Time Warner, who was interested in getting into the theatrical film business.
Merger with Warner Bros.[]
On February 28, 2008, Time Warner's CEO at the time, Jeffrey Bewkes, announced that New Line 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.[23] The box office disappointment of The Golden Compass was largely blamed for the decision, in which New Line spent $180 million on its development, yet it only grossed $70 million in the United States market.[24] In March, Emmerich became president and chief operating officer.
On May 8, 2008, it was announced that Picturehouse would shut down in the fall.[25] Berney later bought the Picturehouse trademarks from Warner Bros. and relaunched the company in 2013.[26]
In June 2008, the founder Shaye, and Michael Lynne, left the company.
New Line moved from its long-time headquarters on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles in June 2014 to Warner Bros.' lot Building 76, formerly used by Legendary Entertainment, a former Warner Bros. film co-financier.[27] The last film released by New Line Cinema as a separate company was the Will Ferrell film Semi-Pro.
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."[28]
Films[]
- Main article(s): List of New Line Cinema films
Highest-grossing films[]
| Rank | Title | Year | Domestic gross | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King* | 2003 | $377,845,905 | |
| 2 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers* | 2002 | $342,551,365 | |
| 3 | It | 2017 | $327,481,748 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, KatzSmith Productions and RatPac-Dune Entertainment |
| 4 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring* | 2001 | $315,544,750 | |
| 5 | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey | 2012 | $303,003,568 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures |
| 6 | The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug | 2013 | $258,366,855 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures |
| 7 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | 2014 | $253,161,689 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures |
| 8 | Rush Hour 2 | 2001 | $226,164,286 | |
| 9 | Austin Powers in Goldmember | 2002 | $213,307,889 | |
| 10 | Wedding Crashers | 2005 | $209,255,921 | |
| 11 | Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me | 1999 | $206,040,086 | |
| 12 | Elf | 2003 | $173,398,518 | |
| 13 | Straight Outta Compton | 2015 | $161,197,785 | Distributed by Universal Pictures; co-production with Legendary Pictures |
| 14 | San Andreas | 2015 | $155,190,832 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with Village Roadshow Pictures and RatPac-Dune Entertainment |
| 15 | Sex and the City | 2008 | $152,647,258 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with HBO Films |
| 16 | We're the Millers | 2013 | $150,394,119 | Distributed by Warner Bros. |
| 17 | Rush Hour | 1998 | $141,186,864 | |
| 18 | Rush Hour 3 | 2007 | $140,125,968 | |
| 19 | Shazam! | 2019 | $139,630,393 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-production with DC Films, The Safran Company and Seven Bucks Productions |
| 20 | The Conjuring | 2013 | $137,400,141 | Distributed by Warner Bros. |
| 21 | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles | 1990 | $135,265,915 | |
| 22 | Central Intelligence | 2016 | $127,440,871 | Distributed by Warner Bros. |
| 23 | Dumb and Dumber | 1994 | $127,175,374 | |
| 24 | Mr. Deeds | 2002 | $126,293,452 | studio credit; Distributed by Columbia Pictures |
| 25 | The Mask | 1994 | $119,938,730 |
*Includes theatrical reissue(s).
See also[]
- Fine Line Features
- New Line Home Entertainment
- New Line Television
- Picturehouse (with HBO)
References[]
- ↑ "Bloomberg - Are you a robot?". https://www.bloomberg.com/tosv2.html?vid=&uuid=abf8ed10-1ecc-11e9-aa4e-1fef71ccab45&url=L3Byb2ZpbGVzL2NvbXBhbmllcy8wNTE3NzYwRDpVUy1uZXctbGluZS1wcm9kdWN0aW9ucy1pbmM=.
- ↑ "Warner Bros. Entertainment Executives". http://www.warnermediagroup.com/company/management/executives-by-business/warner-bros-entertainment. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ↑ "History of New Line Cinema, Inc. – FundingUniverse". http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/New-Line-Cinema-Inc-company-History.html. Retrieved January 17, 2016.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Collins, Keith (August 22, 2004). "A brief history". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "New Line Cinema : About Us". Newline.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-03. https://web.archive.org/web/20120103091820/http://newline.com/aboutus.html. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Hafetz, David (August 22, 2004). "The Two Towers". Variety. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Mitchell, Chris (August 10, 1992). "Shrewd marketing fuels Freddy promotion". Variety. p. 36.
- ↑ Silverman, Michael (May 21, 1986). "New Line Adds 2 In-House Pics To Production Schedule For '87". Variety. p. 7.
- ↑ "'Elm Street 3' Sets Indie B.O. Record; National Biz Lively". Variety. March 4, 1987. p. 3.
- ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)". https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0100758/?ref_=bo_se_r_1. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ "'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles': Untold Story of the Movie "Every Studio in Hollywood" Rejected". The Hollywood Reporter. April 2, 2015. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-untold-785653. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ "In Winners Circle". Daily Variety. August 17, 1993. p. I-49.
- ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II (1991)". http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=tnmt2.htm. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
- ↑ Eller, Claudia (October 24, 1991). "Fine Line Features Enters Coprod'n Arena Via 2 Pix". Daily Variety. p. 1.
- ↑ Carolco, New Line in Distribution Agreement
- ↑ "The Line on Laurels". Variety. August 23, 2004. pp. 40–41.
- ↑ "Nightmares, Turtles And Profits". 1991-09-29. http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1991-09-29/nightmares-turtles-and-profits. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
- ↑ "COMPANY CONFORMED NAME: TURNER BROADCASTING SYSTEM INC" (TXT). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/100240/0000950144-94-000832.txt. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
- ↑ "Shifts At New Line". Variety. October 26, 1992. p. 6.
- ↑ "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". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
- ↑ "The 76th Academy Awards (2004) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120929190645/http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/legacy/ceremony/76th-winners.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ↑ "All Time Worldwide Box Office". Archived from the original on 5 June 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040605104640/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/world/.
- ↑ Billington, Alex (February 28, 2008). "It's Official – New Line Cinema is Dead!". FirstShowing.net. http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/02/28/its-official-new-line-cinema-is-dead.
- ↑ "Dial 'D' for disaster: The fall of New Line Cinema", The Independent, April 16, 2008.
- ↑ "Picturehouse, WIP to close shop", Variety, May 8, 2008.
- ↑ Fleming, Mike (January 15, 2013). "The Berneys are Back with Picturehouse, and Now They've got Metallica". Deadline Hollywood. http://www.deadline.com/2013/01/sundance-the-berneys-are-back-and-theyve-got-metallica. Retrieved 2013-01-15.
- ↑ "New Line Leaving Longtime Los Angeles HQ, Moving to Burbank", Variety, January 30, 2014. Retrieved on October 30, 2014.
- ↑ McNary, Dave. "New Line still has irons in fire", Variety, June 27, 2008.
External links[]
- New Line Cinema on IMDb
- New Line 40th Anniversary interview with Michael Lynne and Robert Shaye on Charlie Rose
- New Line Cinema — Special Projects
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