The studio decided to shutter Warner Premiere early this summer, and most of its fewer-than-10 employees have already been given other jobs. But it will “continue and complete production on its remaining film and digital series project into the Fall,” the company says. Warner Premiere was created in 2006 but became superfluous as the direct-to-video market diminished. Its titles have included Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, Ace Ventura Jr. — Pet Detective, and The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning (2007). Warner says that “the evaluation of potential digital content will be folded into Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, and Warner Bros. Animation and Warner Home Video will continue to produce and release animated films, such as Scooby Doo, Tom and Jerry and DC Universe.”


one less place that could give me hope to get my directors out of jail. that’s just great.
I was shocked by the headline, but I’m glad I read the article because I like the DC animated Universe line, since home video allows the stories to be more violent than being aired on a TV network.
Thank goodness they’re still allowing the DC Animated films to be made and released via direct-to-video. I would have thrown a tantrum if they got rid of the animated DCU films.
Guess this means there is no chance of Lost Boys 4.
I think Warner Premiere’s problem was its business model.
A direct to video outlet should be a proving ground where new talent and ideas with some novelty could be tested in a low risk environment due to their modest budgets. A look at the list of Warner Premiere releases show that outside of the DC Universe animated titles just about everything else were cheap imitations of sequels, prequels, and spin-offs of bigger, and usually better movies.
The audience is a lot more sophisticated than people think, and they can smell a rip-off a mile away. Also the potential revenue stream from TV is also hindered by this, because even the most content starved cable channel isn’t going to spend good money to air a bogus pseudo-sequel. They might go for a low budget movie with a clever hook, but not a rip-off, even if it’s officially sanctioned by the studio.
The whole point of Warner Premiere was to do just that. Not for originals. It was to extend individual motion picture storylines with prequels and sequels. Hence the GET SMART spinoff, which was released on DVD around the time the picture was in theaters.
Sony has the same division, called Stage Six.
Disney has been doing it for years.
It only cratered since the DVD market has collapsed.
Good to see you back, Furious.
-RnsW
The point I was trying to make, was that I think one of the reasons the DVD market cratered was because the studios used their direct to DVD divisions to pump out tepid self-rip-offs.
The audience is more likely to spend a few bucks on a direct to DVD pic if there’s some novelty to it, but cheap imitations, not so much.
As for being back, I never really left, but thanks anyway.
Stage 6 is not the same thing. Some of those films do actually see a theatrical release. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group, of which Stage 6 is a part, picks up all the DTV titles.
Darn I was looking forward to Lost Boys 4: Lost Vegas! and Laid to Rest 3: ChromeSkull’s Hawaiian Vacation!
Why, oh why, couldn’t this have happened before A Christmas Carol 2? (For those of you blissfully unaware, the Christmas-centric sequel will hit stores in time for, um, Halloween.)
Well thanks to found footage horror all of these divisions are redundant; the studios themselves are taking over the direct-to-DVD divisions: unproven directors, no stars, schlocky concepts, low production values, except that they get 40M ad campaigns and 3,000 screen releases.
It was nice back when Hollywood movies, not just found footage horror and theme park advertisements.
Another successful division for Tsujihara to crow about. At least Premiere’s losses will be offset by those generated by the BitTorrent deal, or that Matrix MMOG.
Piracy ruined the direct-to-DVD market