WB Outlines Vast Content Slate

“The demand for high-quality video content is growing fast–in the United States and around the world–as new technologies have created new platforms and millions of new connected consumers,” says Kevin Tsujihara, chairman and chief executive officer, Warner Bros. “The opportunity is huge, and no studio is better positioned to take advantage of it than Warner Bros.”

Tsujihara announced a large expansion of the studio's theatrical slate that includes new movies for the LEGO brand, Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling's wizarding world and DC Entertainment, as well new animated series for Scooby-Doo and Tom and Jerry.

Warner Bros. Pictures will release three LEGO-branded films over the next four years, building on the success of this year’s

The LEGO Movie

($468 million worldwide box office), starting with

Ninjago

in 2016 and followed

The LEGO Batman Movie

in 2017.

The LEGO Movie 2

will debut in 2018.

The studio will also release three pictures, in 2016, 2018 and 2020, based on author J.K. Rowling’s original story and screenwriting debut,

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Set in an extension of the Harry Potter world, the film will feature magical creatures and characters inspired by Harry Potter’s Hogwarts textbook and its fictitious author, Newt Scamander.

In a massive expansion of the Studio’s DC Entertainment-branded content, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema will release a slate of at least 10 movies–in addition to standalone Batman and Superman films–from 2016 through 2020:

On the television front, Warner Bros. Television Group currently provides 32 shows to the five broadcast networks. Among the studio’s programs are “The Big Bang Theory,” “The Voice,” “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “Gotham,” “The Middle,” “Mom,” “Pretty Little Liars,” “The Vampire Diaries,” “The Bachelor” franchise, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” and many more.

Warner Bros. Animation is producing new series based on the studio’s iconic brands, such as the upcoming “Be Cool Scooby-Doo!” and “The Tom and Jerry Show.”

And, for the first time ever, Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Distribution has licensed the exclusive subscription-video-on-demand rights “Friends” to Netflix in the U.S. and Canada. Starting Jan. 1, 2015, Netflix members will have access to the entire 236 episode run of the series. Worldwide Television Distribution has also sold the off-network SVOD rights to “Person of Interest” to Netflix in the United States.

“At Warner Bros., we are united to not only continue to create the world’s greatest entertainment content, but to over-deliver on our financial targets,” says Tsujihara. “I’ve been with the company for over 20 years, and I can’t remember a time when I’ve felt more confident about our future. We’re committed to maintaining and enhancing the great legacy of Warner Bros., the world’s most iconic and profitable studio.”