| Type: | Private |
| Location: | Santa Monica, California, United States |
Bad Robot is an American film and television production company founded on May 27, 1999, and led by Katie McGrath and J.J. Abrams as Co-CEO. Under its Bad Robot Productions division, the company is responsible for the television series Alias, Lost, Fringe, Person of Interest, Revolution, and Westworld alongside the feature-length films Cloverfield, Star Trek, Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness, , , Star Wars Episodes VII and IX, 10 Cloverfield Lane, Star Trek Beyond, The Cloverfield Paradox, , and Overlord.
Bad Robot was originally based at Touchstone Television, but was moved by J.J. Abrams to Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television, after his contract with ABC expired in 2006. Bad Robot produced Lost in association with ABC Studios, formerly Touchstone Television. The two companies jointly produced Six Degrees and What About Brian. The deal was first recommended and presented in 1999 as part of a presentation deal, with J.J. Abrams being contracted to Disney.[1] In 2004, Thom Sherman joined Bad Robot Television as president of the studio.[2] The company had developed presentation pitches for ABC and The WB, none of them would eventually got to series.[3]
Abrams is Chairman and Co-Chief executive officer of Bad Robot, and Katie McGrath serves as the Company's Co-Chief executive officer. In June 2017, Bad Robot announced that Brian Weinstein would become President and Chief Operating Officer, overseeing daily operations and spearhead the company's growth strategy in its existing businesses, while developing new areas of expansion across the entire Bad Robot platform and pursuing alternative financing options.[4] In May 2015, Ben Stephenson left the BBC where he had been head of drama to helm Bad Robot Television. Lindsey Weber leads Bad Robot's feature film division.
The production logo has appeared since 2001, featuring a red rectangular headed robot running through a meadow silhouetted until it appears suddenly in front of the camera, followed by voices provided by two of Abrams's children, Henry and Gracie Abrams, saying "Bad robot!"[5] Although some fans believe that the name comes from a line in the animated film The Iron Giant, Abrams told Entertainment Weekly that it simply came to him during a writers' meeting.[5]
In February 2013, it was announced that Bad Robot would be partnering with the Valve Corporation to produce possibly a Half-Life or Portal film in the distant future.[6] In August 2015, Valve released a new beta game mode to Team Fortress 2, PASS Time, which Bad Robot worked on.[7] On July 7, 2016, the PASS Time game mode became official.[8] Bad Robot released a trailer entitled "Stranger" (otherwise known as S.), rumoured to be Abrams' next film or television project, perhaps even a Lost spin-off, but it was finally explained to be promoting S., Abrams and Doug Dorst's new novel, as a new trailer for S. was released. In February 2017, it was announced Julius Avery is attached to direct a Paramount coproduction, the World War II zombie film Overlord, from screenwriter Billy Ray.[9]
Bad Robot Productions is currently based in Santa Monica, California,[10] in a building which is incorrectly labeled on purpose as the home of the fictional "National Typewriter Company" because Abrams "likes typewriters — and misdirection."[11]
In June 2018, the company announced a spin-off venture formed with the Chinese video game publisher Tencent to launch Bad Robot Games for the development of video games on mobile, computer and consoles, with Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment as a minority investor. Bad Robot Games will develop and publish new and existing IPs including titles related to Abrams' works and other Bad Robot Production content, with Tencent holding the rights for distribution in China.
The division was originally helmed by Dave Baronoff, who previously worked on the Cloverfield franchise and was developing Spyjinx as a joint project between Bad Robot Productions and Epic Games (also partially owned by Tencent), while Tim Keenan, who helped develop Duskers, served as the creative director.[12]
In 2020, Anna Sweet was brought on as the CEO of Bad Robot Games.[13] Mike Booth also joined in December 2020, managing the company's newly created in-house development studio.[14] By February 2022, he had taken on the role of chief creative officer.[15]
In 2006, Bad Robot teamed up with Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television for a $60 million development deal [16] that lasted through 2018.[17]
In late 2018, it was announced that Bad Robot was leaving Paramount and seeking a new overall deal.[18] In January 2019, it was announced that Universal, Disney, and Warner Bros. were the top three studios battling it out for what could be a record breaking overall deal including theme parks, music labels, TV, merchandising, and streaming services as Bad Robot plans on ramping up production significantly in the coming years.[19] It was also announced that Bad Robot would be co-producing a remake of the British series The Wrong Mans for American network Showtime along with BBC Studios, but Showtime later cancelled the project.[20] [21] [22]
Bad Robot launched a subsidiary record label called Loud Robot in late 2018,[23] in partnership with Capitol Music Group.[24] Loud Robot is headed by co-general managers McKee Floyd and Nicky Berger along with Charles Scott, who currently heads Bad Robot's music division and has been the leading music supervisor for the company's films. Artists signed to the label include Cleveland-born rapper Nnena,[25] neo soul singer/songwriter UMI,[26] Nashville, Tennessee-based alternative rock artist Chaz Cardigan,[27] and London-based rhythm and blues artist DWY.[28]
On September 12, 2019, Bad Robot officially announced a new five-year overall deal with WarnerMedia. According to The Hollywood Reporter, WarnerMedia agreed to pay Bad Robot at least $250 million (plus various financial incentives) to produce feature films, television shows, video games, and digital content.[29]
On May 25, 2021, Abrams announced that a Portal film adaptation, which has been in development since 2013, was still in production and a script has been written for the film.[30] In November 2021, the company launched its podcast division with a multi-year first-look deal at Spotify.[31]
On April 25, 2022, it was announced that Bad Robot will team up with Mattel Films and Warner Bros. Pictures to produce a live-action Hot Wheels film based on the toy line of the same name.[32]
| Year | Title | Director | Co-production with | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Joy Ride | John Dahl | 20th Century Fox | $23 million | $36.6 million |
| 2008 | Cloverfield | Matt Reeves | Paramount Pictures | $25 million | $170.8 million |
| 2009 | Star Trek | J. J. Abrams | $150 million | $385.7 million | |
| 2010 | Morning Glory | Roger Michell | Paramount Pictures | $40 million | $60 million |
| 2011 | Super 8 | J. J. Abrams | Paramount Pictures Amblin Entertainment | $50 million | $260.1 million |
| Brad Bird | Paramount Pictures TC Productions Skydance Productions | $145 million | $694.7 million | ||
| 2013 | Star Trek Into Darkness | J. J. Abrams | Paramount Pictures Skydance Productions K/O Paper Products | $190 million | $467.4 million |
| 2014 | Infinitely Polar Bear | Maya Forbes | Sony Pictures Classics | $6.7 million | $2.1 million |
| 2015 | Christopher McQuarrie | Paramount Pictures Skydance Productions China Movie Channel Alibaba Pictures | $150 million | $682.7 million | |
| J. J. Abrams | Lucasfilm Ltd. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | $245 million | $2.068 billion | ||
| 2016 | 10 Cloverfield Lane | Dan Trachtenberg | Paramount Pictures | $15 million | $110.2 million |
| Star Trek Beyond | Justin Lin | Paramount Pictures Skydance Media Alibaba Pictures Huahua Media Sneaky Shark Productions Perfect Storm Entertainment | $185 million | $343.5 million | |
| 2018 | The Cloverfield Paradox | Julius Onah | Netflix Paramount Pictures | $45 million | N/A |
| Christopher McQuarrie | Paramount Pictures TC Productions Skydance Media Alibaba Pictures | $178 million | $791 million | ||
| Overlord | Julius Avery | Paramount Pictures | $38 million | $41.7 million | |
| 2019 | J. J. Abrams | Lucasfilm Ltd. Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures | $275 million | $1.074 billion | |
| 2022 | Lou | Anna Foerster | Netflix | $36 million | N/A |
| 2024 | The Blue Angels | Paul Crowder | Amazon MGM Studios Zipper Bros. Films Sutter Road Picture Company Diamond Docs Barnstorm Productions IMAX Entertainment Dolphin Films | N/A | $2.098 million |
| Nanette Burstein | HBO Documentary Films Zipper Bros Gerber Pictures Sutter Road Picture Company House of Taylor | N/A |
| Year | Title | Director | Co-production with | Budget | Gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Flowervale Street | David Robert Mitchell | Warner Bros. Pictures Jackson Pictures | N/A | N/A |
| TBA | Star Trek 4 | TBA | Paramount Pictures Skydance Media | ||
| Hot Wheels[33] [34] | TBA | Warner Bros. Pictures Mattel Films | |||
| Billy Summers[35] | TBA | Warner Bros. Pictures Appian Way Productions | |||
| Oh, the Places You'll Go![36] | Jon M. Chu | Warner Bros. Pictures Animation Dr. Seuss Enterprises | |||
| The Pinkerton[37] | Jason Bateman | Warner Bros. Pictures | |||
| Untitled J.J. Abrams film | J.J. Abrams | Warner Bros. Pictures | |||
| Portal | TBA | Warner Bros. Pictures Valve Corporation | |||
| Your Name[38] [39] | Carlos López Estrada | Paramount Pictures | |||
| Untitled Cloverfield film | Babak Anvari | ||||
| Untitled Elseworlds Superman film[40] | TBA | Warner Bros. Pictures DC Studios | |||
| Francis Lawrence | Warner Bros. Pictures DC Studios Di Bonaventura Pictures The Donners' Company Weed Road Pictures |
| Year | Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Co-production with | Notes | Network | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–06 | Alias | J. J. Abrams | Touchstone Television | |||
| 2004–10 | Lost | Jeffrey Lieber J. J. Abrams Damon Lindelof | ||||
| 2006–07 | What About Brian | Dana Stevens | Sachs/Judah Productions Touchstone Television | |||
| Six Degrees | Raven Metzner Stuart Zicherman | Nosebleed Productions Touchstone Television | ||||
| 2008–13 | Fringe | J. J. Abrams Alex Kurtzman Roberto Orci | Warner Bros. Television | Fox | ||
| 2009 | Anatomy of Hope | Pilot | ||||
| 2010 | Undercovers | J. J. Abrams Josh Reims | Warner Bros. Television Good Butter Productions | NBC | ||
| 2011–16 | Person of Interest | Jonathan Nolan | Kilter Films Warner Bros. Television | CBS | ||
| 2012 | Alcatraz | Elizabeth Sarnoff Steven Lilien Bryan Wynbrandt | Warner Bros. Television | Fox | ||
| Shelter | Pilot[41] | The CW | ||||
| 2012–14 | Revolution | Eric Kripke Jon Favreau | Kripke Enterprises Warner Bros. Television | NBC | ||
| 2013–14 | Almost Human | J. H. Wyman | Frequency Films Warner Bros. Television | Fox | ||
| 2014 | Believe | Alfonso Cuarón Mark Friedman | Esperanto Filmoj Warner Bros. Television | NBC | ||
| 2015 | Dead People | Pilot[42] | The CW | |||
| 2016 | 11.22.63 | Bridget Carpenter | Carpenter B. Warner Bros. Television | Hulu | ||
| Moon Shot | Web series | |||||
| Roadies | Cameron Crowe | Vinyl Films Warner Bros. Television Showtime Networks | Showtime | |||
| 2016–22 | Westworld | Jonathan Nolan Lisa Joy | HBO Entertainment Kilter Films Jerry Weintraub Productions Warner Bros. Television | HBO | ||
| 2018–19 | Castle Rock | Sam Shaw | Old Curiosity Shop Darkbloom Productions Warner Bros. Television | Hulu | ||
| 2020 | Little Voice | Jessie Nelson | Dear Hope Productions Warner Bros. Television Studios | Apple TV+ | ||
| Lovecraft Country | Misha Green | Afemme Monkeypaw Productions Warner Bros. Television Studios | HBO | |||
| Glen Zipper Steven Leckart | Zipper Bros Films Sutter Road Picture Company | Docuseries | Netflix | |||
| 2021 | Lisey's Story | Stephen King | 40/60 Productions Warner Bros. Television Studios | Apple TV+ | ||
| UFO | Glen Zipper | Zipper Bros Films Sutter Road Picture Company | Docuseries | Showtime | ||
| 2024–present | Presumed Innocent | David E. Kelley | David E. Kelley Productions Old Curiosity Shop Productions Nine Stories Productions Warner Bros. Television Studios | Apple TV+ | ||
| 2024 | Charlie Hustle & the Matter of Pete Rose | Mark Monroe | Live Star Entertainment HBO Entertainment | Docuseries | HBO | |
| 2024–present | Bruce Timm | 6th & Idaho Motion Picture Company DC Entertainment Warner Bros. Animation Amazon MGM Studios | [43] | Amazon Prime Video[44] |
| Year | Title | Creator(s) / Developer(s) | Co-production with | Notes | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | Duster | J. J. Abrams LaToya Morgan | TinkerToy Productions Warner Bros. Television Studios | [45] | Max |
| Speed Racer | Warner Bros. Television Studios | [46] | Apple TV+ | ||
| Untamed | Trip the Light Productions Warner Bros. Television Studios | [47] | TBA |
| Year | Title | Co-production with | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | KRE-O Star Trek | Paramount Pictures Skydance Productions CBS Consumer Products Hasbro | |
| 2022 | The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse | Apple Studios BBC NoneMore Productions |
| Year | Title | Platform | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Action Movie FX | iOS | |
| 2022 | Weird West | PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC | |
| 2022 | Moonbreaker | PC | |
| 2023 | Silent Hill: Ascension | iOS, Android |