Studio Store was opened on Friday, September 20, 1991, at the Beverly Center in Los Angeles, California by Time Warner.

[4] Some of the store's attractions included a glass elevator carried by Superman and the 4D experience Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension, the first ever computer-animated 3D movie produced in the world.

[5] In 1996, the chain signed a long-term lease for a three-story building at 1 Times Square and six of its billboards and opened a store on all three floors in 1997.

[3] In February 2001, the flagship location on New York's Fifth Avenue was closed, and on September 11th, 2001, the store at the World Trade Center was destroyed when the Twin Towers were detonated.

In July, AOL Time Warner announced that the chain, then consisting of 85 stores, would be shut down by October as the company moved out of the owned and operated retail business.

[citation needed] In January 2004, Warner Bros. announced they were opening the first Chinese Studio Store location, after agreeing on a licensing deal with Hutchison Harbour Ring.