| File:WWE Studios logo.jpg | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Motion pictures |
| Founded | 2002 |
| Headquarters | Los Angeles, California, USA |
Key people | Michael Barnes (President) |
| Parent | WWE |
| Subsidiaries | WWE Films Development Funding (LA), LLC Marine Productions Marine 2 Productions, Inc. Eye Scream Productions Condemned Productions, Inc. Barricade Productions Inc.[1] |
| Website | WWE Studios |
WWE Studios is a Los Angeles-based subsidiary of professional wrestling promotion WWE, Inc., created in 2002 as WWF Films (until the initial change in May 2002) to develop and produce feature film properties for its wrestlers.[2]
As of 2011, WWE Studios has co-produced four films as well as independently produced six more. The Marine was the first developed solely by the company to reach the filming stage, while the first one to be theatrically released is See No Evil. Stone Cold Steve Austin is signed to star in three movies for WWE Studios.[3] Before the formation of WWE Films the WWF had produced the 1989 film No Holds Barred featuring Hulk Hogan under the Shane Distribution Company banner, a precursor to today's company.
In 2006, WWE Films chose to further expand the variety of projects that it intends to pursue by also focusing made-for-television films and direct-to-video movies as well as other media platforms. WWE Films was renamed WWE Studios on July 21, 2008 to further represent the expansion of the WWE subsidiary.
Due to WWE's adherence to the TV-PG rating, all future movies were subsequently switched from rated R to PG-13 in order to target a younger audience, though the company has since produced or co-produced several films that have surpassed the PG-13 rating, including The Condemned, See No Evil, The Marine 2, Dead Man Down, The Day, The Call and No One Lives, each rated R.[4] Former WWE Studios president Joel Simon died on June 19, 2011 after a four-year battle with cancer.[5]
WWE Studios creates a diversified mix of filmed entertainment by means of strategic production, financing, distribution and acquisition partnerships. WWE movies frequently cast well-known actors and actresses in lead roles supported by WWE Superstars, such as John Cena, Triple H and Wade Barrett. WWE Studios has produced No One Lives with Pathe Pictures, starring Luke Evans (Immortals) and WWE Superstar Brodus Clay, acquired the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival cult hit The Day, starring Shawn Ashmore (X-Men trilogy) and Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Lost). WWE Studios also has multipicture production deals set up with Lions Gate Films and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. It partnered with Academy Award winning producer Thomas Langmann (The Artist) and Kare Productions on Queens of the Ring, a French-language comedy drama which will feature WWE Superstars in cameo roles.[6]
WWE Studios has acquired Interrogation, a suspense thriller by Adam Rodin.[7] WWE Studios has also secured the rights to Bermuda, a found footage horror spec script by Bobby Lee Darby and Nathan Brookes, set in the Bermuda Triangle.[8]
WWE Studios is teaming with proucer Edward R. Pressman and Jason Blum's Blum-Hanson-Allen films to develop Cruisin' for a Brusin', an action comedy to be written and directed by Adam Bhala Lough.[9] WWE Studios and Warner Bros. will co-produce a Scooby-Doo animated feature that finds Scooby and the gang solving a mystery at Wrestlemania.[10]
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Reference | ||
| Domestic | Foreign | Worldwide | United States | |||
| See No Evil | May 19, 2006 | $15,032,800 | $3,388,168 | $18,420,968 | #6 | [16] |
| The Marine | October 13, 2006 | $18,844,784 | $3,320,824 | $22,165,608 | #6 | [17] |
| The Condemned | April 27, 2007 | $7,371,706 | $1,263,477 | $8,635,183 | #9 | [18] |
| 12 Rounds | March 27, 2009 | $12,234,694 | $5,045,632 | $17,280,326 | #7 | [19] |
| Legendary | September 10, 2010 | $200,393 | – | – | #38 | [20] |
| Knucklehead | October 22, 2010 | $1,000 | $7,927 | $8,927 | – | [21] |
| The Chaperone | February 18, 2011 | $14,400 | $29,395 | $43,795 | – | [22] |
| That's What I Am | April 29, 2011 | $6,400 | – | – | – | [23] |
| The Day | August 29, 2012 | $20,984 | – | – | #71 | [24] |
| Dead Man Down | March 8, 2013 | $10,895,295 | – | – | #4 | [25] |
| The Call | March 15, 2013 | $51,595,372 | – | – | #2 | [26] |
| No One Lives | May 10, 2013 | $74,918 | – | – | #39 | [27] |
| Film | Release Date | Video Distributor | Rental Gross | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| See No Evil | November 28, 2006 | Lions Gate Entertainment | $16.49 million | [28] |
| The Marine | January 30, 2007 | 20th Century Fox | $30.53 million | [29] |
| The Condemned | September 18, 2007 | Lions Gate Entertainment | $22.30 million | [30] |
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