PJsig08

It seems like they've had some of the biggest hits of the last decade or so, and have continually made millions on their franchises.

Here's just some movie franchises of theirs that I can think of:

Austin Powers
Lord of the Rings
Blade
Friday
Rush Hour

And look at the HUGE success of Dumb and Dumber and even the recent Freddy vs. Jason...just seems like they rarely "lose".

MrPeanut

Especially impressive since they seem to release fewer films than the bigger studios. They also make quality movies, not just box office rubbish. And they put out great DVDs.

But they are just a part of Warner these days.

Deftones

No. I'd say Dreamworks is probably the most successful studio. And by successful, I mean cumulative box office take along with awards. To look back at what they've put out since their inception is amazing.

MrPeanut

That motorcycle movie has really tainted my once flawless impression of Dreamworks.

The Antipodean

Disney has the top two movies of the year so far, Finding Nemo and Pirates, and frankly they've got to be considered one of the top studios of recent years.

atari2600

all i know is i realized that i love when new line's little logo starts flying on the screen before a movie (with their little jingle). why? because i have loved so many of their movies so now i have associated the two. if i see that logo, i know something good will follow

Calculon

IIRC "Town and Country," or whatever it was called, lost a lot of $ for New Line.

chanster

New Line is the top studio for people who frequent the Internet, because they release movies that appeal to that audience, simple as that.

Jackskeleton

What I find funny..

this comment:
"It seems like they've had some of the biggest hits of the last decade or so"

followed by a list of five films.. so that means every other studio has had less then 1 good film in a period of 2 years for the past decade..or so funny stuff i tells you. funny stuff.

V-ism

Actually no, Disney is winning this year with Nemo and Pirates. With Sony/Columbia in 2nd and WB in 3rd. New Line may have had a few successful hits, but they don't match the number of films many of the other studios release. In fact, New Line has never made it pass 5th place in total studio earnings yearly. My source? http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/
I would say Disney is the most successful, they are consistently near the top. And those charts count Miramax as a separate studio.

The Bus

Revenue doesn't always translate into profit.

Unless you'd rather have invested in Pearl Harbor as opposed to My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

chanster

New Line also had some bombs this year - Real Cancun, Dumb and Dumberer come to mind right off the bat. Secondly, Blade while it has been a hit, really didn't make a lot of money (i.e. a blockbuster)

AkMedic

Artisan, only because their Twin Peaks first season box set is one of the best transfers I've ever seen or heard Espically for an older tv show.

Hokeyboy

I'd have invested in PH -- $450 million worldwide, plus ancillary revenue. But then again, MBGFW had better returns, but the notion that PH wasn't a profit-maker is certainly erroneous.

As far as New Line: they've made some great movies, but by no way are they the "most successful studio", by any measuring. Like someone said, they seem to have made a lot of successful franchises that Internet fanboys spooge over, hence the perception.

DRG

They've had some great luck with their franchises, but...

Austin Powers is losing steam. They may be able to wring another movie out of it, but they can only recycle the same jokes so many times.
Lord of the Rings will be done after Return of the King, unless they try to extend the franchise in a way by doing The Hobbit.
Blade will be back, but this isn't as huge as some franchises.
The Friday movies have been mild yet consistent moneymakers. The quality has taken a serious nosedive with each installment, and if they attempt to tap this well too many times they'll be in Police Academy territory.
Rush Hour could be extended out a bit, but Jackie ain't getting any younger and Tucker's schtick may start to grate some nerves if they play it out. Also, the "we get on each other's nerves" thing won't be too realistic once they've partnered together in several flicks.

All that said, New Line is one of the savviest studios for recognizing the franchises with potential (the ones people actually want to see sequels to, unlike many of this summer's offerings) and CORRECTLY capitalizing (making sequels that don't alienate fans of the original, a la Legally Blonde 2). I think they'll find some new franchises to replace the old ones soon enough.

atari2600

blade will be back? blade 3?

is this confirmed?

i hope so!

Hokeyboy

Yes, yes, and ... um, #3 wasn't a question.

Venom

it wasn't a list of 5 movies, it was a list of 5 franchise movies:

Austin Powers 1, 2, 3
Lord of the Rings 1, 2, 3
Blade 1, 2, 3
Friday 1, 2, 3
Rush Hour 1, 2


that's 14 films. alebit 1 not released and another not made, but i think it's a safe best they they will both be succesful.

Jackskeleton

Fine, this article might be of some interest..

Shows that New Line was pretty much taking it down to the line

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/chi-...m-main-utility

"It was an expensive, make-or-break deal no other studio wanted to make, and in the weeks preceding last December's release of the first "Lord of the Rings" film, New Line's future looked uncertain. Although New Line had sold off foreign rights to "The Lord of the Rings" to minimize its investment, the studio had been stung by a number of flops and forced to lay off staff. With profits down, the studio couldn't make any movie costing more than $50 million (including "Austin Powers in Goldmember") without permission from AOL Time Warner. Before "The Fellowship of the Ring" opened, top executives at the parent company publicly ignored Peter Jackson's bold adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien tale and instead exalted Warner Bros.' less ambitious "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

A few senior New Line executives privately worried that if the first "Lord of the Rings" film fizzled, New Line would be packed up and folded into Warners. New Line didn't have to call the movers. The first "Lord of the Rings" collected more than $860 million globally, earned a leading 13 Oscar nominations and won four Academy Awards. (The second installment, "The Two Towers," opens Dec. 18.)".


Goes to show you that even with it's past success it was still digging deep to get stuff out. Friday series is dead now, Austin powers would be hard to really continue with a major profit since interest is low on it. Rush hour 3 might be an option, but considering Jackie Chan's reccent box office drawings it would a toss up. Lord of the rings concludes this christmas and Blade.. well I'm not a big blade fan so I wont comment.

atari2600

well i didnt know that!

thanks.

Original Desmond

New line also deserve kudos for releasing kick butt dvds packed with xtras. They were the first studio to really treat dvd customers well

Real Cancun surely would have cost next to nuttin

Simpson Purist

Their only mistake this year was Dumb and Dumberer.

Also, Final Destination 2 was provided some decent dough for New Line.

matome

AkMedic

Wow, you just made my day, Blade is an awsome series (thanks to Mr. Snipes and his supporting cast).

Hokeyboy

As an aside, Blade: Trinity (aka Blade 3) will be written directed by David Goyer, who was the screenwriter for the first two Blade films, Dark City, and is writing the upcoming Batman movie to be directed by Christopher Nolan. He also co-wrote the JSA comic with Geoff Johns.

Should be interesting, to say the very least. I loved the first Blade to death but only mildly enjoyed part 2 (great action, great effects, weak plot).