According to the new Sony deal, the Culver City, CA studio will promote and distribute Legendary's upcoming theatrical motion pictures around the world, except for China.
Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group and Legendary Entertainment have signed a new multi-year worldwide film distribution partnership under which Sony Pictures will market and distribute Legendary’s new upcoming theatrical motion picture titles.
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, including the upcoming Dune: Part Two which is shooting for a November 3, 2023 release, as well as the Monster-verse movies.
As part of the pact, Sony Pictures will market and distribute new Legendary theatrical releases worldwide excluding China, where Legendary East will handle all marketing and distribution activities. Sony Pictures will also handle home entertainment and TV distribution for the titles it releases. Legendary retains the option to produce and distribute feature film content for streaming platforms.
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.
In a statement, Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch, presidents of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, said: “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. The creative brilliance and power of Legendary is huge and we look forward to bringing their work to theatres across the world.”
Legendary CEO Joshua Grode added: “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.”
Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, stated: “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.”
Grode continued: “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 film group has had a successful run of films both theatrical and streaming including the Academy Award-winning adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal bestseller Dune, Godzilla vs. Kong, Detective Pikachu, Enola Holmes and Enola Holmes 2 currently performing as one of the top films on Netflix.
