New Line Cinema

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New Line Cinema
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New Line Productions, Inc., doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production studio owned by Time Warner Communications. It was founded in 1967 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 Communications in 1996. Despite being owned by Time Warner, New Line Cinema is kept as a mostly separate entity from Warner Bros. Pictures. New Line is referred to as a mini-major, having the presence and prestige to compete directly with the major studios, including its sister, 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). 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.

In 1980, Shaye's law school classmate Michael Lynne became outside counsel and adviser to the company and renegotiated its debt.

In 1983, Bryanston Distributing Company, the company that originally distributed the original The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, lost the rights to that film, and the rights reverted back to the original owners, New Line bought the rights and re-released the film to theatres in that same year became very successful for the studio.

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. In 1983, Lynne joined the board.

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. 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.

The third film in the series, A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, was released in 1987, the studio's first national release, and opened at number one, grossing $8.9 million for the weekend, a record for an independent film at the time, 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 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. 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. It was followed by a sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) which was the second highest-grossing with a gross of $78 million in the United States and Canada. 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. 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. In 1997, Shine received the studio's first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture and their second film to win an Academy Award with Geoffrey Rush's win for Academy Award for Best Actor.

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.

In 1992, Michael De Luca became executive vice-president and chief executive officer of the production unit.

Acquisition by Turner and Time Warner
On January 28, 1994, New Line Cinema was acquired by the Turner Broadcasting System for $500 million, which later 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.

The company's fortunes took a downturn in 1996 after losses on The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Long Kiss Goodnight. 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 Lord of the Rings film trilogy which became their most successful films to date, grossing over $2.9 billion worldwide. 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, as well as being the second highest-grossing film of all time at the time of its release.

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. In 2001, Shaye and Lynne became co-chairmen and co-CEO.

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.

Increased presence and prestige
The success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy pushed New Line to an increased prestigious location. However, for the next few years, it focused specifically on low-cost films, especially comedies and sequels to profitable films in its library, to mixed results.

When New Line released the Danny Boyle-directed remake Mommie Dearest in 2008, the massive critical and financial success secured New Line's place and independence, as well as its ability to take on more massive projects. Shaye and Lynne were granted contract extensions to keep them as heads of the studio for the next 20 years or until retirement, whichever came first. Furthermore, as part of the contract, New Line was given "favored nations" status in the Time Warner empire, with a promise to keep the studio independent and prevent it from being folded into Warner Bros. Pictures.

New Line's reputation and status continued to grow, especially as it released vehicles such as the Let's Be Spies trilogy, the The Hobbit trilogy, Christopher Nolan's Jonestown, James Franco's The Disaster Artist and A Nightmare on Elm Street: Perchance to Scream.

In 2018, Shaye and Lynne were given AFI Achievement Awards for their contributions to cinema and their success with New Line Cinema.[citation needed]

Films
"Main article: List of New Line Cinema films"

Highest-grossing films
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