It seems the newly merged Skydance-Paramount company is ready to hit the ground running. With news breaking that they are in talks with Legendary Entertainment for a new multi-film global theatrical distribution deal, we have Blake & Wang P.A. best entertainment attorney, Brandon Blake, to share the news.
Terms Still to Come
Reportedly, the deal has been in the works since spring this year, but terms are still being hashed out. It is expected that the end deal will be a transactional window with Legendary, with co-financing up for discussion, depending on available projects. We already know that Paramount is looking to ramp up its annual feature output, targeting 15 new releases a year at present, and set to expand to 20 films down the line.
New Exclusive Legendary Theatrical Deal
Legendary does not, at present, have exclusive theatrical deals with any major studio. That said, however, they do have their Monsterverse and Dune franchises, which are currently parked with Warner Bros. They also had a share of the success of A Minecraft Movie earlier this year. At $955M, it is the second-highest-grossing film this year, behind the Disney live-action Lilo & Stitch.
Legendary did have a deal in place with Sony, which expired last December, but their projects with Warner Bros. have definitely been more successful for them than the Sony partnership. However, similarly to the Sony deal, the proposed Paramount partnership will cover global distribution, but excluding China, where Legendary East already handles all marketing and distribution.
Will this be the start of a new, beautiful thing for Paramount? It certainly should be a feather in the studio’s cap, with Legendary offering a dedicated fan base and appealing slate to help bolster their return to the theatrical circuit. This will definitely be a deal to watch.
Film and Television 