Really important news has arrived for the American film industry —and, therefore, for the international scene—, and it is that Legendary Entertainmentthe study behind the MonsterVerse that started with the 2014 ‘Godzilla’ and titles like ‘Pacific Rim’ or ‘Pokémon: Detective Pikachu’ has severed relations with Warner Bros. to establish an international distribution agreement with Sony Pictures which will last for several years.
a new home
Until now and for the past several years, Legendary’s main channel of distribution has been through Warner Bros., but The disagreements between the two companies have been increasing since 2014, when the production company closed a five-year agreement with Universal. However, the great conflict took place at the end of 2020, in the midst of the pandemic chaos.
By then, Legendary threatened to take legal action against the distributor due to the decision to release all feature films scheduled for 2021 release simultaneously in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming platform, including ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ and ‘Dune’. A problem that did not go away thanks to the negotiations of terms and the good performance of both titles at the box office.
Maybe Sony’s point of view in the eternal struggle between the big screen and the domestic market has been instrumental in his association with Legendary. Without going any further, both companies have underlined their “continued commitment to theatrical distribution as a driver for other later windows and to the long-term value of the theatrical window for films”.
Thus, Legendary East will be in charge of marketing and distribution in Chinese territory, while Sony Pictures, in addition to international film distribution, will also carry the “home entertainment” and television divisions. In addition, Legendary will continue to be eligible to produce and distribute feature films on streaming platformsas it has already done with tapes like ‘Enola Holmes’, released on Netflix.
‘Dune: Part Two’, currently in production, It will be released under the Warner Bros.as well as other films in development to be specified. From then on, Legendary movies will find their new home at Sony.
Via | Deadline