The Bros Do Proper Entertainment: The 9 Warner Bros. Statistics That Prove It 

Did someone say…movie night?

Snacks on the table, TV on, lights off, and a Warner Bros.’ masterpiece.

And while you see an awesome, expensive, action-filled production on the screen, there’s plenty of action taking place off-screen. Because, let’s face it, TV entertainment has never been about making a good film—it’s about the business that comes with it.

After being around for a century, Warner Bros. has been through thick and thin. Mergers, hundreds of movies and shows, acquisitions…Warner Bros. statistics tell quite the story.

Here, we have summarized the major figures and stats you should know about one of the film industry’s Big Five.

Spoiler-Worthy Warner Bros. Discovery Statistics (Editor’s Choice)

• Globally, 92 million people subscribe to Warner Bros. Discovery’s Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) services.
• More than half of that audience (57.5%) comes from the US and Canada.
• Warner Bros. Discovery generates more revenue from its TV networks ($5.7 billion in Q2 2022) than from its Studios ($2.7 billion) and DTC services ($2.2 billion) combined.
• The company reported $3.4 billion in losses in Q2 2022, most of which are merger-related.
• After Warner Bros. Discovery’s report, the company’s stock fell 16.53% 
• Warner Bros. Discovery expects profits to reach $9.5 billion by the end of 2022.
• Only three Warner Bros. movies have generated more than $1 billion in box office revenue: Joker, Aquaman, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II.
• Warner Bros. Studios accounted for 15% of the North American box office revenue in 2021

Warner Bros. Statistics for 2022 

Warner Bros. has a large audience of movie enthusiasts and, after the merger with Discovery, there’s only one thing to say: the audience is in luck.

With such a diversified entertainment portfolio, WBD can now provide something suitable for everyone’s tastes. The hardest part will probably be to pick what to watch.

Let’s go over the latest stats and facts about the newly merged entertainment giant.

1. Discovery officially merged with AT&T’s WarnerMedia on April 8, 2022.

(Source: Variety)

The gossip around who gets what after the WBD merger is finally out, and we get to share it with you.

Ultimately, AT&T took in the most money. Discovery put $40.4 billion in cash on the table, which AT&T anticipates using to pay off debt. WarnerMedia’s parent company is still the major shareholder, representing 71% of the company’s stock (1.7 billion shares).

2. HBO Max’s new $200 million soccer deal made the merger an even smarter move on Discovery’s part.

(Source: Hollywood Reporter)

What is HBO Max doing here?

Well, easy: do you know who owns HBO?

Yep, Warner Media—well, Warner Bros. Discovery now.

Beginning in 2023, HBO Max will air 20 US Women’s and Men’s National Team matches a year for eight years.

This $200 million deal closed prior to the merger, so the new sports on HBO Max definitely played a part in why AT&T took in so much money.

Fun fact: Media rights are one of the biggest segments of the sports industry. In the US, it contributes more than $20 billion a year to the industry’s revenue.

3. Globally, 92.1 million people use at least one of Warner Bros. Discovery’s Direct-to-Consumer services.

(Source: Variety)

Approximately 24 million were discovery+ streamers before the merger, meaning the rest should be HBO subscribers, right?

Sort of.

In Q2 2022, the total number of HBO and HBO Max subscribers came to 76.8 million. Now, if you are algebra savvy, you must have noticed that HBO’s 76.8 million plus Discovery’s 24 million adds up to 100.8 million instead of the 92.1 million we mentioned above. 

The discrepancy stems from a change in the way Warner and Discovery count their subscribers after the merger. Now, WBD doesn’t count third-party distribution deals. In other words, you’d only be counted as a subscriber if you actively use an HBO or discovery+ subscription.

4. More than half of Warner Bros. Discovery’s audience comes from the US and Canada.

(Source: Statista)

The number of WBD streamers has seen a steady quarter-over-quarter increase over the past year, but it seems that it’s the international audience who’s almost exclusively boosting those numbers.

Back in Q2 2021, there were a total of 75.8 million WBD streamers. About 49.7 million of them came from the US and Canada, while the remaining 26.1 million hailed from anywhere else in the world.

Fast forward a year and Warner Bros. Discovery statistics show 53 million North American subscribers and 39.1 million international ones. In other words, WBD attracted four times more new international streamers than domestic streamers in the span of a year.

For comparison, Netflix had a total of 209 million subscribers in Q2 2021, 74 million (35.4%) of which came from the US and Canada. So, it’s fair to say that WBD still has room for growth—both domestically and internationally.

5. WBD’s market cap was $59.8 billion when it debuted.

(Source: Companies Market Cap)

Alas, the high was short-lived. By the end of April, the company’s market cap was down to just $43 billion—and it has kept on going down.

How much is Warner Bros. worth currently?

As of September 2022, WBD’s market cap is around $27 billion—less than half of its initial valuation.

To be fair, though, WarnerBros is not the only one of the Big Five to hit a slump. Walt Disney, for instance. went from $240 billion at the beginning of April to $178 billion by the end of September. Similarly, Paramount Global went from $23 billion to just $12 billion.

What Does That Mean For Warner Bros.’ Revenue?

Nothing too bad.

After all, stocks reflect worth, not revenues and profits necessarily. Of course, bigger worth and expensive shares correlate to larger revenue, but the two don’t always go hand in hand.

Either way, it’s too soon to judge the new company’s future, so let’s see what we have up until now.

6. Warner Bros. Discovery’s revenue for Q2 fell $2 billion short of Wall Street estimates.

(Source: Hollywood Reporter)

At the beginning of Q2 2022, Wall Street estimated that the newly formed merger would see $11.91 billion in quarterly revenue. However, when the end of the quarter came along, the company reported only $9.8 billion in revenue and $3.4 billion in losses.

Where did this money come from?

Well, as you know, the world of Warner Bros. Discovery goes beyond the movies, TV series, and documentaries (content) that the company produces. It also includes several TV networks (CNN, TNT, Discovery, Eurosport, TLC, etc.) and three DTC services: discovery+, HBO, and HBO max.

Yeah, when you think about it, the Warner Bros. audience is huge.

Anyway, in Q2, the biggest chunk of the company’s revenue ($4.8 billion) came from distribution—aka DTC and cable network subscriptions. Additionally, ads brought in $2.7 billion, and Studio content generated $2 billion.

7. WBD expects to close 2022 with $9.5 billion in profits.

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

And that’s the entertainment giant’s down-shifted estimate.

After Warner Brothers. Discovery’s stock took a dive, the company made some revisions to its original projections for this “transition year” and the next.

As it turns out, combining one company with another costs money—and a lot of it. Specifically, merger-related expenses reached $983 million, whereas restructuring changes amounted to an additional $1 billion.

So, yeah, after some relatively disappointing announcements, the revised projections suggest WBD’s earnings in 2023 will be a more modest $12 billion (compared to the original $14 billion the company expected).

8. Warner Bros. generated 15% of the North American box office revenue in 2021.

(Source: Statista)

Even before the merger, Warner Bros. was one of the largest media and entertainment industry contributors—especially in the US and Canada.

In terms of box office revenue, Warner Bros.’s market share has seen its ups and downs, though it hasn’t gone lower than 11% since the beginning of the century.

Arguably, the company’s best year so far was 2009, as that’s when it took a 19.8% share of the North American box office revenue ($10.6 billion).

As for the worst year to date—not just for Warner Bros., but for the film industry as a whole—that’s definitely 2020. The pandemic brought down box office revenue from $11.32 billion to just $2.1 billion.

In 2021, both the market and the company’s share seemed to be on the path to recovery. According to Warner Bros. statistics, the company took a 15% share (which represented a 3.3% YoY increase) of the $4.4 billion that the box offices in the US and Canada generated.

9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II made WB $1.3 billion.

(Source: The Richest)

As a matter of fact, you can count the entire Harry Potter series as WB’s most profitable productions. Combined, all eight Harry Potter movies generated $7.6 billion just in box office revenue. If we include the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, that gives us a grand total of $9.5 billion.

Which one of them, specifically, is number one on Warner Bros. biggest hits rankings?

The last one, of course. In fact, it was the only movie from the Harry Potter franchise to surpass $1 billion on its own.

Other blockbusters for Warner Bros. include Aquaman ($1.1 billion) and Joker ($1 billion).

Fun fact: The last movie of the Harry Potter series may be the most watched, but it’s actually the first Harry Potter book that is the most read—or, at least, the most bought. Publishers have sold 120 billion copies so far.

Wrap Up

It seems WBD can do both: entertain those before the screen and entertain the stats lovers—like ourselves—with their Warner Bros statistics.

After all, would it even be possible for a company to make such good movies and not provide stats that are worth writing about?

We don’t think so, either.

The Warner Bros. Discovery merger opened a whole new realm. From high-profit projections to low revenue expectations to drops and rises of stocks...

It certainly leaves us at Web Tribunal on the edge of our seats, eager to see what will happen next with one of our favorite entertainment providers.