Legendary Entertainment and Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group have launched a multiyear worldwide film distribution partnership pursuant to which Sony Pictures will market and distribute Legendary’s new upcoming theatrical film titles, the companies said Monday.
Legendary and Sony Pictures 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.
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.
Legendary will also continue to remain in business with Warner Bros. Pictures on select existing titles including the upcoming “Dune: Part Two” currently in production and slated for release on Nov. 3, 2023.
“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,” Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch, presidents of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “The creative brilliance and power of Legendary is huge and we look forward to bringing their work to theaters across the world.”
“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,” added Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group.
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. 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.