Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group and Legendary Entertainment have made a new multi-year worldwide film distribution partnership. The deal replaces the former pact which Legendary had with Warner Bros, however, both studios will continue to remain in business on select existing titles, read the upcoming Dune: Part Two which is shooting for a Nov. 3, 2023 release, as well as the Monster-verse movies. We told you back in August that Legendary was looking to move off its Warner arrangement.
Under the new Sony deal, the Culver City, CA studio will market and release Legendary’s new upcoming theatrical motion picture titles around the world sans China where Legendary East will handle all marketing and distribution on its movies.
Sony Pictures and Legendary are aligned in their ongoing commitment to theatrical distribution as a driver for other “downstream” windows and the theatrical window’s long-term value for films.
Sony will also handle home entertainment and TV distribution for the Legendary titles it distributes. Legendary retains the option to produce and distribute feature film content for the wide range of streaming platforms existing both today and for future incarnations.
“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,” said Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch, Presidents of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group. “The creative brilliance and power of Legendary is huge and we look forward to bringing their work to theaters across the world.”
“As we continue to grow our content offerings, we are excited to forge this relationship with Tony, Tom, Sanford, Josh and the rest of the exceptional Sony team. Sony’s commitment to theatrical distribution aligns with our vision of how to best derive the most value for Legendary’s movies. 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.” said Legendary CEO Joshua Grode.
“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,” said Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.
Continued Grode, “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.”
Legendary’s Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong together amassed close to $872M during the pandemic as theaters were coming back, and those titles designated by parent company WarnerMedia to go day and date on their streaming service HBO Max. Dune won six Oscars. Other notable pics from Legendary include Pokemon Detective Pikachu which made over $433M pre-pandemic, as well as the Enola Holmes franchise on Netflix.
Legendary had been situated at Warners for some years, producing the blockbuster Christopher Nolan Dark Knight films. Legendary went to Universal in 2014 for a five-year deal. In 2018, Legendary switched Detective Pikachu over to Warner Bros. Detective Pikachu was one of six pictures that Warner Bros co-financed and release in a non-exclusive pact with Legendary.