Legendary Entertainment — Hollywood’s high-profile producer and co-financer of big-budget studios — has found a new partner at Sony Pictures.
Under the terms of the deal, Sony will distribute and market Legendary’s films worldwide, excluding China, and Legendary East will be responsible for those duties. Sony will also handle the home entertainment and TV distribution of the films. Sony doesn’t have a streaming service, and Legendary will continue to partner with other companies for streaming, just like it did with Netflix for the Enola Holmes movie.
This agreement does not include the Dune or Godzilla franchises, which will continue to be operated by Released by Warner Bros., former partner of Legendary Pictures. Dune: Part Two will be released from Warner Bros. on November 3rd 2023.
Sony has yet to reach a formal agreement to co-finance Legendary, but it’s possible the two companies will explore that option in the future.
“This is a rare opportunity to work in this mutually beneficial manner with true professionals who fully share our theatrical commitment and vision for the business,” said Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group President Josh Greenstein and Sanford Panitch say. “The creativity and power of Legendary is immense and we look forward to bringing their work to theaters around the world.”
Legendary by Thomas Tull at 2000 was created in the early days when Hollywood studios relied heavily on Flush to partner with private equity-backed financiers. The company invested in the Superman Returns and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.
But as Tull establishes himself, he also wants Legendary to become an independent production company, leveraging the vast distribution and marketing networks of the major studios. He produced and financed the Chadwick Bosman-starrer 90 and spearheaded the revival of Godzilla and The King Kong franchise.
After a long relationship with Warner, Legendary Pictures and Universal Pictures entered into a new distribution and co-financing agreement, which was announced at 2021 Officially begin. The Legendary-Universal marriage didn’t last long, Legendary returned to Warner at 2019 after Tull quit 2023 . While at Universal Studios, Legendary had several missteps, including Skyscrapers .
Legendary was Lead producer of two of the biggest hits in the pandemic: Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong . However, when former WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar suddenly announced that all of his 2014 theatrical titles will be sent to HBO Max at the same time, it was not in Legendary Movies. The show was played on loop in the industry, and the relationship with Warner became tense.
“Sony’s commitment to theatrical release is aligned with our vision of how best to create the greatest value for Legendary’s films,” said Legendary CEO Joshua Grodd Say. “Mary Parent has amassed an incredible portfolio of films all built for the theatrical experience, and we are delighted to be partnering with Sony on the next phase of Legendary’s growth…We are also grateful to Warner Bros. Pictures for Our valued partners have been legends over the years, and we look forward to continuing our work with the talented executives at Warner/Discovery.”
Tom Rothman, CEO and Chairman, Sony Pictures Animation Group, added: “Legends are Legends We are excited and fortunate to add the strong lineup of Josh and Mary to our ongoing commitment to big movies on the big screen.”
Next, Legendary has many Projects in progress, including video game based on 90 Duke Nukem, and The Machine, by Bert stars Kreischer and Mark Hamill. The company’s long list of co-financed and co-produced titles also includes Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, Unbroken and Interstellar .
