Paramount Films have announced their intent to head for 12-15 theatrical releases in 2024, as the group remains bullish on the wider theatrical recovery. With Top Gun: Maverick continuing to farm money for the studio, now the biggest film in Paramount Picutre’s history, it’s good news overall. Entertainment lawyer Brandon Blake, of Blake & Wang P.A, takes a closer look.
Announcement Made
The announcement was made at the Bank of America Securities 2022 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference last week by CEO Brian Robbins. Surprisingly, despite their vast stable of platforms- including a streaming service, linear channels, free TV, and the movie studio- he still maintains that theatrical releases have the biggest impact on the success of their titles. Especially with the 45-day release period that’s now become an industry standard post-pandemic.
This does, of course, align with wider findings from the tight pandemic and post-pandemic period, where films with a solid theatrical release continue to outshine those that have been released on day-and-date models concurrent with streaming platforms.
Not Just One Genre
While Top Gun: Maverick has been a runaway success for the studio, still in theaters 15 weeks after its release, it’s not the be-all and end-all of Paramount’s massive rebound. Sonicthe Hedgehog 2, The Lost City, and Jackass Forever all delivering compelling performances for the studio this year. It’s also a very diverse slate of demographics to be represented, too.
Paramount currently plans on 8 theatrical releases for 2022, and 10-12 for the 2023 period, rising to the projected 12-15 for 2024. Of course, there’s still some challenges in those lofty ideals- available talent, smooth shooting, and the absence of any further setbacks- but Robbins also suggests that talent are showing increasing interest in theatrical release projects over purely streaming, with the broader marketing campaigns available to theatrical releases keeping interest high.
Film and Television 