It’s kind of big news today, folks. Sony Pictures has apparently signed a deal to exclusively distribute and market Legendary Pictures titles globally. (Well, minus in China. Legendary East will still be handling that specific market.)
The news came this afternoon, and does NOT include major franchises like “Godzilla” and “Dune.”
“It’s a rare opportunity to partner in this mutually beneficial way with true pros, who are completely aligned in our theatrical commitment and vision for this business,” Presidents of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch said. “The creative brilliance and power of Legendary is huge and we look forward to bringing their work to theaters across the world.”
Some outlets are pointing out the lack of true streaming platform for Sony (unlike Paramount+ for Paramount Pictures, Peacock for Universal Pictures, and HBO Max for Warner Bros. Pictures). But, several Sony Television titles have found their way exclusively to AppleTV+ (like “For All Mankind“), as well as ongoing titles appearing on Netflix (like “Enola Holmes“).
“Sony’s commitment to theatrical distribution aligns with our vision of how to best derive the most value for Legendary’s movies,” Legendary CEO Joshua Grode said. “The incredible slate of movies that Mary Parent has amassed are built for the theatrical experience and we are excited about our partnership with Sony for this next phase of Legendary’s growth … We are also grateful to Warner Bros. Pictures who has been a valuable partner to Legendary over many years, and we look forward to continuing our work with the talented executives at Warner/Discovery.”
We’re kind of…excited…to see what Sony and Legendary can do together.
“Legendary is, well, legendary and we are excited and fortunate to add Josh and Mary’s strong slate to our ongoing commitment to big movies on the big screen,” Sony Pictures Motion Group CEO Chairman Tom Rothman said.
We’ll let you know what we hear about this and other news.
