Legendary Entertainment has found a new partner in Sony Pictures after ending most of its prior engagements with Warner Bros. Discovery. The move comes after the oft-chaotic merger that has seen Warner Bros. Discovery go through a tumultuous restructuring and several controversies.
Legendary Pictures has had a longstanding relationship with Warner Bros., working on Christopher Nolan’s Batman films during an eight-year stint before moving over to Universal between 2014 and 2018, after which Legendary and Warner Bros continued the working relationship in an extensive good-faith partnership with few reported issues. However, it was reported earlier in the year that Legendary was looking to part ways with Warner Bros Discovery partly due to the contention regarding Warner Bros. Discovery’s divisive Project Popcorn move, which saw the company release many of their slated 2021 projects simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max, the company’s streaming service. This included multiple projects from Legendary, and the relationship between the two soured as talks of finding a new partnership began.
Legendary and Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group announced a multi-year worldwide film distribution partnership, which will see Sony Pictures market and distribute Legendary's new upcoming theatrical films, beating out Paramount for the opportunity. Speaking on the new deal, Legendary CEO Joshua Grode said, “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.” His comments on theatrical distribution confirm that the much-maligned Project Popcorn is to blame for the split, despite Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav expressing a similar theatrical focus earlier in the year.
The new deal is a major loss for Warner Bros. Discovery and is a strong reminder of the rest of the industry’s opinion on their HBO Max gambit, a move that Steven Spielberg recently spoke out against as well. Tom Rothman, Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, shared that, “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.” Because select existing Legendary projects are exempt from the new deal, Gourde also insisted that the company was “...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.”
This is only the latest in a slew of issues that have plagued Warner Bros. Discovery since the merger that kicked off a wide range of cost-cutting measures and restructuring, the most egregious of which was the cancellation of the Batgirl film, which had already entered post-production and reportedly tested well in special early screenings. This move seemed to call into question the future of the DCEU and Warner Bros. Discovery as a whole, leading to even more unease. Whether or not Legendary will have an amicable relationship with Sony that is as lucrative as the Warner Bros. deal remains to be seen.
Source: Legendary