Warner Bros. is one of the biggest and most influential entertainment companies in the world. Founded in 1923 by the Warner brothers, it has a rich history and an extensive catalog of intellectual properties. Warner Bros. owns the rights to some of the most iconic characters and franchises in pop culture. From Batman to Harry Potter, Warner Bros. controls a vast media empire spanning film, TV, video games, comics and more.
DC Comics
One of Warner Bros.’ crown jewels is DC Comics, which it has owned since 1969. This gives Warner Bros. the film, TV and merchandising rights to the entire DC universe of characters. This includes:
Batman
Arguably DC’s most popular character, Batman has spawned a massive franchise of films, shows, games, toys and more, raking in billions for Warner Bros. Key Batman properties include:
- The Dark Knight trilogy of films directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Christian Bale
- The Batman animated series and spinoffs like Batman Beyond
- Rocksteady’s acclaimed Batman: Arkham video game trilogy
- Classic Batman films and shows like the 1960s Adam West TV series
Superman
The first superhero, Superman remains an iconic figure and lucrative franchise. Warner Bros. owns various Superman properties like:
- The Christopher Reeve Superman films of the 1970s and 80s
- The Man of Steel reboot film and sequel Batman v Superman
- Superman cartoons like Justice League Unlimited
- Classic Superman comics going back decades
Wonder Woman
Once seen as a tricky character to adapt for film, Warner Bros. has made Wonder Woman more popular than ever via properties like:
- The smash hit Wonder Woman solo film set in WWI
- Sequels like Wonder Woman 1984
- Wonder Woman’s major role in Justice League
- The 1970s Wonder Woman TV series starring Lynda Carter
Justice League
As DC’s equivalent to The Avengers, Justice League allows Warner Bros. to unite its flagship characters in one epic franchise. Justice League projects include:
- The Justice League and Justice League Unlimited animated series
- The live action Justice League Snyder cut film
- LEGO Batman/DC Superheroes games and films
- Comic book limited series and spinoffs
And many more DC characters like Aquaman, The Flash, Green Lantern, Harley Quinn, The Joker, Lex Luthor and so on. Warner Bros. has decades worth of comic book lore to draw on for its DC films, shows and games.
Harry Potter
Warner Bros. controls the lucrative licensing rights to the Harry Potter franchise after producing the films based on J.K. Rowling’s books. This includes:
Harry Potter films
There are 8 blockbuster Harry Potter films released 2001-2011 grossing over $7.7 billion. Warner Bros. owns rights to produce more Potter-related films in the future.
Wizarding World franchises
The Fantastic Beasts prequel film series expands the Wizarding World. Warner Bros. can produce other spinoffs like theme parks.
Harry Potter video games
Popular Potter games have included LEGO Harry Potter, Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery mobile game and various console game adaptations of the films.
Harry Potter consumer products
Funko Pops, action figures, costumes, prop replicas, LEGO sets, Pandora jewelry and more keep the Harry Potter merch machine going strong. It’s a billion dollar annual industry.
The Lord of the Rings
Warner Bros. acquired the LOTR rights in the 1970s and has built an enviable high fantasy empire from the books including:
The Lord of the Rings trilogy
Peter Jackson’s acclaimed films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels have grossed nearly $3 billion at the box office and won 17 Academy Awards.
The Hobbit trilogy
While less acclaimed than LOTR, a prequel trilogy based on The Hobbit novel added over $2.9 billion more in box office gross.
Video games
Warner Bros. has released hit Tolkien-based games like Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor and its sequel Shadow of War.
Amazon’s LOTR series
Warner Bros. is producing an expensive LOTR series for Amazon Prime, further mining the fantasy universe.
Classic films
Thanks to mergers and acquisitions over its 100+ year history, Warner Bros. owns rights to these all-time classic films:
| Movie | Year |
|---|---|
| Casablanca | 1942 |
| A Streetcar Named Desire | 1951 |
| Singin’ in the Rain | 1952 |
| Rebel Without a Cause | 1955 |
| Ben-Hur | 1959 |
| My Fair Lady | 1964 |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1968 |
| Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory | 1971 |
| The Exorcist | 1973 |
| A Clockwork Orange | 1971 |
And hundreds more beloved classic films across various genres that can be endlessly re-released and monetized.
Cartoon characters
Through subsidiary companies like Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Animation, the studio has rights to produce shows, films and merch featuring these cartoon characters:
- Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and other Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies creations
- Hanna-Barbera creations like The Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, Yogi Bear
- Tom & Jerry
- The Animaniacs
- New original hits like Teen Titans Go!
These animated properties provide Warner Bros. an expansive catalog of kid and family friendly content spanning decades.
Television
Beyond the aforementioned DC, Harry Potter and animation content, Warner Bros. also owns an array of other profitable TV properties including:
- The Big Bang Theory – $1+ billion during its 12 season run
- Friends – Beloved sitcom that was the definition of “Must See TV” in the 1990s and found new life on streaming
- Game of Thrones – Say what you will about the ending, still one of the biggest global TV phenomenons ever
- Westworld – The sci-fi thriller HBO series maintains a devoted audience
- The Bachelor/The Bachelorette – Inexpensive to produce but massively popular reality dating franchises
- ER – Medical drama was a keystone of NBC’s 1990s primetime lineup
- The O.C. – Teen soap opera was a surprise hit in the 2000s
Across network, cable and streaming, Warner Bros. owns lucrative programming in the comedy, drama, reality and sci-fi genres. These properties can live on for decades in syndication.
Other major franchises
Beyond the above, Warner Bros. wholly owns or co-owns the rights to other huge entertainment properties including:
- The Matrix – The groundbreaking sci-fi trilogy is being rebooted starting with The Matrix Resurrections in 2021.
- Mad Max – Warner Bros. is producing a Furiosa prequel film and more in the post-apocalyptic Aussie franchise.
- The Conjuring Universe – Horror films like The Conjuring 1 & 2 and spinoffs have grossed over $2 billion total.
- Godzilla vs Kong – Warner Bros. owns the MonsterVerse film series started by 2014’s Godzilla.
- Mortal Kombat – The ultra-violent fighting game franchise spans films, shows, games and more.
These are just a few examples of major properties owned by Warner Bros. that provide endless opportunities for sequels, prequels, spinoffs, adaptations and reboots across film, TV and other media.
Video game properties
Warner Bros. has been expanding its footprint in the video games space both through original IP and titles based on established franchises like:
- The Batman Arkham series by Rocksteady Studios
- Middle-Earth games like Shadow of Mordor
- Harry Potter console and mobile games
- LEGO games spanning DC, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and more family friendly franchises
- Mortal Kombat games
- Hit mobile game Game of Thrones Conquest
Video games offer opportunities for Warner Bros. to repackage their stories into new interactive experiences. They’ve also acquired major studios like Rocksteady to anchor their gaming productions.
Streaming and digital content
As media consumption goes digital, Warner Bros. is positioning itself to take advantage by producing original streaming content for services like:
- HBO Max – The WarnerMedia streaming service where new releases like Wonder Woman 1984 premiered during the pandemic alongside legacy HBO shows.
- The CW – Warner co-owns The CW network where DC superhero shows like Flash, Arrow and Batwoman air.
- Cartoon Network – A Warner Bros. subsidiary and popular kids cable channel.
- Crunchyroll – Warner recently bought this leading anime streaming service.
Across its business divisions, Warner is focused on streaming and mobile platforms to distribute both new and library content directly to younger digital audiences.
Conclusion
After nearly 100 years of acquisitions and growth, it’s clear Warner Bros. owns an unrivaled catalog of intellectual property spanning every major entertainment vertical from comics to cartoons, wizarding worlds to sci-fi planets. DC, Harry Potter and Looney Tunes are multi-billion dollar brands unto themselves. When you further include everything from Game of Thrones to Mortal Kombat, Warner Bros. has an almost endless supply of content to remix, reboot, merchandise and monetize for decades to come across every current and emerging media platform. While not every property is fully owned, the Time Warner/AT&T subsidiary maintains at least significant stakes if not outright control of enough beloved franchises to fuel its content pipelines and theme parks for the 21st century and beyond.