New Line Cinema

New Line Productions, Inc.
Company type	Division
Industry	Film and television production
Founded	18 June 1967; 59 years ago in New York City, United States
Founder	Robert Shaye
Fate	Merged into Warner Bros. Pictures in 2008; operates as a division within Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group
Successor	Warner Bros. Pictures (as independent studio)
Headquarters	Burbank, California, United States
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Toby Emmerich (president and COO since 2008), Robert Shaye (founder), Michael Lynne (former president and COO)
Products	Motion pictures, television programs
Owner	Warner Bros. Discovery
Parent	Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group

New Line Productions, Inc., operating under the trade name New Line Cinema, is a film and television production company based in the United States. Since 2008, it has functioned as a division within the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, which is part of Warner Bros., one of the "Big Five" major studios owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD).

Established on June 18, 1967, by Robert Shaye in New York City, New Line transitioned into a full-fledged film studio following its acquisition by Turner Broadcasting System in 1994. Turner merged with Time Warner (which later became WarnerMedia and is now known as Warner Bros. Discovery) in 1996. In 2008, New Line was consolidated into Warner Bros. Pictures. Prior to this merger, its main offices were located in Los Angeles; currently, it operates out of Warner Bros. Studios situated in Burbank, California.

Within the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, New Line Cinema is one of four live-action film production entities, alongside Warner Bros. Pictures, Castle Rock Entertainment, and a minority interest in Spyglass Media Group. The studio earned the moniker "The House that Freddy Built" due to the commercial success of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Its most profitable franchise remains the cinematic adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which garnered both substantial box office returns and numerous Academy Awards.

Origins through 1984

The inception of New Line Cinema dates back to 1967 when 27-year-old entrepreneur Robert Shaye launched it as a film distribution company specializing in foreign and art films targeted at American college audiences. Initially operating from Shaye’s apartment in New York City, the company quickly gained traction by distributing cult favorites such as Reefer Madness and acclaimed international films including Stay As You Are, Immoral Tales, and Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, the latter securing New Line its first Academy Award recognition. The company also handled distribution for several movies directed by filmmaker John Waters.

In 1976, New Line obtained financing to produce its inaugural feature film, Stunts (1977), which achieved moderate success both internationally and on television despite receiving mixed reviews from critics.

By 1980, Shaye brought on his law school colleague Michael Lynne as external legal counsel and advisor; Lynne restructured the company’s debts, thereby improving its financial stability.

In 1983, New Line regained the rights to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre after they reverted from Bryanston Distributing Company. The studio reissued this film theatrically, resulting in notable commercial success.

During the early 1980s, New Line expanded its production slate with films such as Polyester, known for introducing the innovative "Odorama" scratch-and-sniff experience to audiences, and Alone in the Dark. In 1983, Lynne joined New Line’s board of directors. The following year saw Dawn Altyn and Jeff Youngs appointed to leadership positions within distribution to support upcoming releases.

1980s: Breakthrough with A Nightmare on Elm Street

The release of A Nightmare on Elm Street in 1984 marked New Line Cinema’s first major box office triumph and earned it the nickname "The House that Freddy Built". Produced on a budget of $1.8 million, this film grossed over $57 million worldwide. Its sequel, A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985), opened with $3.3 million during its initial three days and went on to earn more than $30 million domestically. In 1986, New Line went public by issuing 1,613,000 shares.

Building upon the franchise’s momentum, New Line enhanced its operations by overhauling its distribution framework, expanding sales into broadcast syndication and pay-television markets through collaborations with Embassy Communications and Universal Pay Television, and launching an international distribution division.

The third chapter of the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), was New Line’s first nationwide release; it debuted at number one at the box office with an $8.9 million opening weekend—a record for an independent film—and eventually amassed close to $45 million domestically. The franchise went on to produce six more installments; collectively, the first six films generated $500 million globally while the following three added another $250 million worldwide, bringing total earnings to approximately $750 million.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Company Growth (1990–1994)

In 1990, Lynne assumed the roles of president and COO, while Shaye held the positions of chairman and CEO. That same year, New Line Cinema released Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which became the top-grossing independent film in the US and Canada with earnings of $135 million, a record that stood until The Blair Witch Project (1999) surpassed it. The success was followed by two sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), which ranked as the second highest-grossing movie domestically that year with $78 million, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993.

In July 1990, New Line joined forces with Carolco Pictures to establish Seven Arts, a distribution company dedicated to Carolco’s lower-budget films, while their higher-budget productions continued to be distributed by TriStar Pictures. Later that year in November, New Line acquired a controlling 52% interest in television producer RHI Entertainment, which was eventually sold to Hallmark Cards in 1994.

Early in 1991, New Line launched Fine Line Features, a fully owned subsidiary under the leadership of Ira Deutchman, releasing notable films such as Jane Campion’s An Angel at My Table and Gus van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho. By May, New Line secured home video and international rights to 600 titles from Sultan Entertainment Holdings (also known as Nelson Entertainment), including an 11-film distribution agreement with Castle Rock Entertainment. On November 27, New Line completed its acquisition of Sultan.

In 1992, Michael De Luca was promoted to executive vice-president and CEO of New Line’s production division.

Turner Acquisition and Time Warner Integration (1994–2008)

On January 28, 1994, the Turner Broadcasting System purchased New Line Cinema for $500 million. Two years later, Turner merged with Time Warner Entertainment, yet New Line continued operating as an independent entity. Meanwhile, Turner-owned studios such as Hanna-Barbera Productions and Castle Rock Entertainment were incorporated into Warner Bros..

Throughout this era, New Line managed several divisions including theatrical distribution, marketing, and home video operations.

The company encountered financial challenges in 1996 due to losses from The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Long Kiss Goodnight. Nevertheless, in 1997, the film Shine brought New Line its inaugural nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture along with its second Academy Award win through Geoffrey Rush’s Best Actor accolade.

The 2000s: Dominance with The Lord of the Rings

New Line produced the highly successful The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which amassed over $2.9 billion globally. The trilogy garnered a total of 30 Academy Awards nominations and won 17 Oscars, including a record-setting eleven for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). This installment also secured Best Picture honors and ranked as the second highest-grossing movie upon release.

Despite this achievement, the 2001 film Town and Country resulted in a $100 million deficit. This setback led to production chief De Luca’s exit and subsequent replacement by Toby Emmerich. In that same year, Shaye and Lynne were appointed as co-chairmen and co-CEOs.

By 2005, New Line co-established the distribution company Picturehouse, which concentrated on independent film. Picturehouse merged New Line’s Fine Line division with initiatives led by Bob Berney (formerly with Newmarket Films) alongside efforts from HBO Films, a theatrical distribution newcomer within Time Warner’s portfolio.

Warner Bros. period (2008–present)

On February 28, 2008, Time Warner's CEO Jeffrey Bewkes revealed that New Line Cinema would no longer function as a standalone studio. Founders Shaye and Lynne stepped down but reassured staff that New Line would persist in financing, producing, marketing, and distributing films, albeit as a smaller division within Warner Bros., with a reduced annual release slate. A significant influence on this move was the commercial underperformance of The Golden Compass (2007), which had a production budget of $180 million but generated only $70 million domestically. In March, Emmerich took over as president and COO following the exit of Shaye and Lynne.

It was announced on May 8, 2008, that Picturehouse would shut down later that year. Subsequently, Berney obtained the Picturehouse trademarks from Warner Bros. and revived the company in 2013.

In June 2014, New Line relocated its headquarters from Robertson Boulevard to Building 76 on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, previously occupied by former co-financier Legendary Entertainment. The final film released by New Line as an independent studio was Semi-Pro featuring Will Ferrell.

Since 2016, New Line has been involved in producing its own television content after its TV division was merged into Warner Bros. Television back in 2008.

Regarding production strategy, then-Warner Bros. president Alan Horn indicated that New Line would aim to release approximately six films annually—typically between four and seven—emphasizing a variety of genres without adhering to a rigid thematic focus.

Film series

Title	Release date	No. Films	Notes
Evil Dead	1981–present	2	Co-produced with Warner Bros.
A Nightmare on Elm Street	1984–2010	9	Co-produced with Warner Bros.
Critters	1986–2019	5
House Party	1990–present	6
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	1990–93	3	Co-produced with Orange Sky Golden Harvest and 20th Century Fox (1991–93)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre	1990–2006	3	Co-production alongside Platinum Dunes and Focus Features (2003 and 2006)
Friday the 13th	1993–2009	4
Dumb and Dumber	1994–2014	3	Co-produced with Universal Pictures (2014)
The Mask	1994–2005	2	Co-produced with Dark Horse Entertainment
Friday	1995–2002	3
Mortal Kombat	1995–present
Austin Powers	1997–2002
Blade	1998–2004		Co-produced with Marvel 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	4
Sex and the City	2008–10	2	Co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures and HBO Films
Horrible Bosses	2011–14	2	Co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures
The Hobbit	2012–14	3	Co-produced alongside Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
The Conjuring Universe	2013–present	9	Co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures
Rocky	2015–18	2	Co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
It	2017–19	2
Shazam!	2019–23	3	Co-produced with DC Studios Part of the DC Extended Universe

Top-grossing Movies

! Position !! Film Title !! Release Year !! Global Revenue !! Remarks |} !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 | rowspan=3 | Warner Bros. handled distribution; co-produced with Metro-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.; co-produced with Vertigo Entertainment, Lin Pictures, KatzSmith Productions |} !8 |The Conjuring: Last Rites |2025 |$482,039,735 | |} !9 |San Andreas |2015 |$473,990,832 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-produced with Village Roadshow Pictures |} !10 |It Chapter Two |2019 |$473,093,228 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-produced with Double Dream, Vertigo Entertainment, Rideback |} !11 |Rampage |2018 |$428,128,399 | |} !12 |Sex and the City |2008 |$418,765,321 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-produced with HBO 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.; co-produced with DC Films |} !16 |The Nun |2018 |$366,050,119 | Distributed by Warner Bros.; co-produced with Atomic Monster and The 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 earnings from theatrical re-releases

External links