Paramount Pictures

index

Source: www.paramountguilds.com (1)

5555 Melrose Ave.,Ste. 121 Hollywood, CA 90038
Phone: (323)956-5000
Website: www.paramount.com

Overview

Paramount Pictures is a feature film production and distribution company.

Executives

brad_grey

Brad Grey – Chief Executive Officer Grey is responsible for all aspects of feature film development.  (2)

RobMooreCP2_130x130

Rob Moore – Vice Chairman: Worldwide Marketing, Distribution, Home Entertainment, Digital, Interactive, Television, Licensing, and Business Affairs Divisions. (4)

FH-AFI_130

Frederick Huntsberry – Chief Operating Officer: Worldwide Strategic Planning and Operations. (3)

 

Marc Evans Portrait
Marc Evans – President of Motion Pictures Production (5)
amy_powell_headshot

Amy Powell – President of Paramount Television : Financing and Developing Television Content for Broadcast, Premium Cable, Cable and Online Audience. (6)

The Rise to Film Prominence

More than a century ago, in 1912, Adolph Zukor, Jesse L. Lasky and Cecil B. DeMill founded Paramount. (7) Paramount contributed to the Golden Age of Cinema in the 1950s with movies like A Place in the Sun in 1951 and The Ten Commandments in 1956. (8) The company birthed The Godfather series in the 1970s to further their prominence in Hollywood. (9) Paramount continued to churn out money-making films through the 1980s and 1990s including Top Gun, but also produced films which enjoyed critical-acclaim at the turn of the century, such as No Country for Old Men. (10) Paramount shattered industry records in 2011 by releasing “six consecutive movies grossing more than $100 million dollars at the domestic box office”. (11) Whether it be comedy, drama, action or suspense, Paramount has been highly regarded as a top player in the industry, but lately struggles to stay ahead of its competitors.

2015 Q3 and Beyond : Recent Financials

Paramount has finished another successful third quarter with a total gross of 585.5 Billion. As of November 22nd, Paramount holding 6.2% of the market share. However, the company’s revenues have declined from 19.2% of the market share in 2011. (12)

Paramount has stayed busy ending the summer season moving into the fall. Terminator: Genisys opened in July and closed in September. The movie grossed $440 million worldwide on a production budget of $155 million. The DVD was released on Blu-ray November 10th, 2015. (13)

Mission: Impossible – Rouge Nation was another summer smash-hit, which grossed a huge $682 million worldwide, and is available on Blu-ray December 15th. (14)

Yet, Paramount remains successful not only courtesy of summer blockbusters, but also thanks to cheaper film series. Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension opening just in time for Halloween delivers timely scares to its established fan base. With a production budget of only $10 million and a $77 million worldwide gross, the movie proved to be mildly successful venture. (15)

On Halloween, Paramount released yet another timely, and audience specific movie. Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, is a wacky but funny horror-comedy movie, aimed at a younger audience. The movie failed to make its production budget of $15 million by only grossing $14 million worldwide. (16)

All of these movies besides Mission Impossible, only made the production budget back thanks to large grosses from international markets. This displays Paramount’s need to cater to not only a domestic U.S. market but also an international one.

2015 Q4: Marching into the Holiday Season

After a slow start in the fourth quarter with Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse and Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, Paramount remains optimistic with a few key theatrical releases.

  • The Big Short will be released December 11th, 2015 and boasts huge star-power. Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt team up in a drama based on true events of the international banking collapse of 2008. (17)

  • On a lighter note, Paramount is re-releasing one of their classic romantic-comedies, Roman Holiday , staring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, this December. (18)

  • Finally, Paramount, once again appeals to star-power in Daddy’s Home, staring Will Farrell and Mark Walberg. This comedy pits stepdad vs. biological dad against one another. (19)

Steady March Slows: Reports Viacom

Paramount has been pulling in less and less revenue since a spike in 2011 of a huge $1,736 million. This displays that Paramount has clearly fell in prominence.

Source: Box Office Mojo (20)

Source: Box Office Mojo (20)

  • Viacom, Paramount’s parent company, continues to support the film company despite, “disappointing revenue”. The studios sales in the box office fell from 20 percent since Q4 of 2014. Despite the recent dip in revenues, Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman, believes that the industry is cyclical and that Paramount is ready to make a big comeback in 2016. (21)
Philippe Dauman- Viacom CEO (source)

Source: The Wrap Philippe Dauman- Viacom CEO (22)

  • Paramount, among other tactics, has retained good relationships with talent such as  Martin Scorsese and J.J. Abrams and intents to collaborate in the near future. (23)

2016: Looking Forward

  • In January 2016, Paramount plans to release The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. (24) The action-drama looks promising, especially since movies in the genre, like American Sniper have done incredibly well in the past. This may be a step in the right direction for Paramount to make 2016 a more successful finical year than 2015.

  • Paramount also plans to release Zoolander 2, the sequel to the comedy about male modeling, Zoolander, starting Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. (25)

  • Possible Reuniting of Scorsese and Monahan in Evel Knievel Film
    • The writer director duo of The Departed, which was financial and critically successful, are being sought after by Paramount in hopes of producing a feature film about the fearless Evel Knievel. (26) The possibility of the pair reuniting has excited Paramount, and the studio has continued to negotiate. The movie has all the ingredients for becoming wildly successful.
Evel Knievel Source: Deadline (source)

Source: Deadline Evel Knievel (27)

Paramount Adapts to Changing Times

  • Paramount Embraces World of Streaming
    • Paramount has long been known for producing high-quality, critically acclaimed movies as well as blockbuster hits. In a media industry facing loss of revenues from piracy and streaming, Paramount has found a way to embrace current technological advancements. Starting in October of 2015, Paramount has made available the, “Paramount Vault”. (28) The studio has made available select feature films for free. Paramount is now showcasing all of their film successes to a young, technological savvy audience, which only further builds their reputation.
  • Increased Distribution to TVOD
    • Paramount signs licensing deal to expand offerings on TVOD, in foreign markets, with Youku Tudou Inc. (29) In an age of increasingly prominent OTT services, film distribution companies often search for an outlet exhibit. Youku has struck a deal with paramount agreeing to showcase classic titles such as Transformers, Shrek, and Star Trek. (30) Paramount has also made a deal with UltraFlix, which would allow for UltraFlix subscribers to view classics like Forrest Gump, Saving Privet Ryan, and The Godfather. (31) Paramount continues to reach large diverse audience even in increasingly difficult times.
Source: http://www.youku.com/ (source)

Source: http://www.youku.com/
(33)

Source: https://www.ultraflix.com/ (source)

Source: https://www.ultraflix.com/
(35)

  • Changing Distribution Tactics
    • Paramount has shortened the digital release of Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. “Scouts” was a flop. By challenging the norms of digital release windows of feature films, Paramount aims to test shortened time of digital release. (32) The movie would be available for digital release two weeks after leaving the theaters. The deal forced the hand of exhibitors like Regal and AMC who refused to show the movie in their theaters, further contributing to its failure. (34) Paramount is pushing conventional limits, when movies flop in theaters, “arbitrarily keeping those movies out of circulation is just bogus,” said Megan Colligan, Paramount’s president of world-wide distribution.

Where does Paramount Stand?

Paramount is among the oldest, most successful, film studios in the United States, and have been raking in the money and academy awards since 1912. Though the studio has seen some successes in 2015, Paramount has fallen out of dominance they enjoyed in the mid-2000s. Paramount, recognizing the blip, has taken measures, such as key theatrical releases, the use of star-power and alternative distribution techniques, to hopefully make 2016 a more financially bountiful and critically acclaimed year.

Sources

(1) Inside the Studio. Paramount Studios Logo. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(2) Inside the Studio. Paramount Studios Executives Brad Grey. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(3) Inside the Studio. Paramount Studios Executives Rob Moore. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(4) Inside the Studio. Paramount Studios Executives Fedrick Huntsberry. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(5) Inside the Studio. Paramount Studios Executives Marc Evans . Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(6) Inside the Studio. Paramount Studios Executives Amy Powell. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(7) Inside the Studio. The Paramount Story: Our Founding Fathers. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(8) Inside the Studio. The Paramount Story: Mid-Century Renaissance. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(9) Inside the Studio. The Paramount Story: The New Hollywood. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(10) Inside the Studio. The Paramount Story: Critical & Commercial Success. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(11) Inside the Studio. The Paramount Story: Record-Breaking Films. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(12) Box Office Mojo. Studios: Paramount. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(13) Box Office Mojo. Movies: Terminator 2015. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(14) Box Office Mojo. Movies: MI5. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(15) Box Office Mojo. Movies: Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(16) Box Office Mojo. Movies: Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(17) Paramount Pictures. Paramount Showcase: The Big Short. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(18) Paramount Pictures. Paramount Showcase: Roman Holiday. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(19) Paramount Pictures. Paramount Showcase: Daddy’s Home. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(20) Box Office Mojo. Paramount Yearly Comparisons. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(21) The Wrap. Viacom Defends Paramount’s Disappointing Revenue. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(22) The Wrap. Phillipe Duaman. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(23) Deadline. J.J. Abrams Extends Deal to July 2018. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(24) Paramount Pictures. Paramount Showcase: Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.  Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(25) Paramount Pictures. Paramount Showcase: Zoolander 2. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(26) Deadline. Paramount Revs Evel Knievel Pic with “Departed” Scribe and Scorsese Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(27) Deadline. Evel Knievel. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(28) Slashfilm. Paramount Vault. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(29) Bloomberg Business. Paramount Pictures Key Developments. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(30) Bloomberg Business. Paramount Pictures: New Licensing Deal. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(31) Bloomberg Business. Paramount Pictures Expands Offerings. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(32) Wall Street Journal. Paramount’s Plan Sees Scary Results. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(33) Youku. Company Logo. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(34) Wall Street Journal. Paramount’s Plan Sees Scary Results. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(35) UltraFlix. Company Logo. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(36) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dx3ShEjUId0 Terminator 2015 Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(37) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjLSKvVDWyA Mission: Impossible Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(38) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9Jy2T0uQ9Y Paranormal Activity Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(39) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKOfR29xu-4 Scout’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(40) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgqG3ITMv1Q The Big Short Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(41) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQpN9LXrD-0 Roman Holiday Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(42) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arhMMJx7tCU Daddy’s Home Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(43) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBFmlNfFwUw The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(44) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CL4LNWHegk Zoolander 2 Trailer. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

(45) IMDB. Movies. Retrieved December 1st 2015.

MGM

by Joanna Monfreda
Screen Shot 2014-11-24 at 3.08.04 PM

Metro Goldwyn Mayer [1]

Contact Information

MGM Studios Inc.
245 N Beverly Dr.
Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Key Executives

Gary Barber
Chairman and CEO

Jonathan Glickman
President, Motion Picture Group

Roma Khanna
President, Television Group and Digital

Profile

History

Screen Shot 2014-11-24 at 3.03.57 PM

Alfred Hitchcock serving MGM mascot Leo the Lion tea [5]

In 1924 Metro Pictures Corp., Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer merged to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, a company that would go on to win 200 Academy Awards and uphold itself to an outstanding level of cinema creation. Known for films such as The Wizard of OzGone with the Windand hundreds more, the film production company paved its way during the beginning days of cinema as the leading studio in the business. [I] Through their peak from the 1930s to the 1950s MGM had many contracted actors such as Frank Sinatra, Fred Astaire, Elizabeth Taylor, and Lucille Ball. [II] Through the 1960s and 1970s, MGM studio was less successful than it had been in the golden age. In the hands of Kirk Kerkorian, many of the studio’s prized props, historical lots, and other possessions were sold. He then put most of the company’s money towards the construction of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. [III] The studio’s downhill spiral continued into bankruptcy in 2010 where the company was in 4 billion dollars of debt and desperately needed an overhaul. Since then MGM has slowly been working on building itself back up. [IV]

Finances

MGM Holdings Inc. made $233.5 million dollars in revenue in their third quarter ending in September 2014. The quarter included the months of July, August and September. The company saw $6.5 million dollars from theatrical revenue in these three months, which came from the release of Hercules in areas where MGM controls distribution.

Their worldwide home entertainment revenue was $41.7 million. This was impacted by the home distribution release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and RoboCop.

 Another $150.6 million came from worldwide television licensing this quarter. This revenue came from not only the licensing of Teen Wolf, Fargoand Viking, but from the television licensing of Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and their horror film, Carrie. This is less than the company’s third quarter in 2013, but that is due to how much of an impact Skyfall had on the company’s revenue last year. [V]

What’s Happening Now

Orion Pictures was obtained by MGM in 1997. The studio was responsible for some of the most famous films through the 80s and 90s such as Terminator, The Silence of the Lambsand Dances with Wolves.

After declaring bankruptcy and being acquired by MGM, the studio did not see much success. It wasn’t until this past October, that MGM released a film through the small studio.

A remake of the horror film The Town That Dreaded Sundown was released by Orion Pictures on October 16th, 2014. [VI] There hasn’t been talk of MGM pushing Orion Pictures to be a stand-alone studio, but they do have their hands in other future film distribution deals. [VI][VII]

 

Along with Orion Pictures, MGM is also rebuilding United Artists. This September MGM spent $343.8 million dollars on a 55% ownership in a joint venture with Roma Downey, Mark Burnett, and Hearst Entertainment’s Steven Swartz to create United Artists Media Group. This merge includes Downey and Burnett’s production companies LightWorkers Media and One Three Media. MGM originally purchased United Artists in 1981, and since then the studio has gone through many different hands.

LightWorkers Media and One Three Media are responsible for shows such as The Voice, Survivor, The Celebrity Apprentice, The Bible and Shark Tank. United Artists Media Group is now leaning towards producing more faith based content and will be launching a faith focused, subscription channel called “Over The Top” or OTT. The channel will have new and old faith focused programming including Christian music videos, and both film and television content. [VIII] The executives saw success from their spiritual driven content such as The Bible and Son of God. They seek to target audiences interested in faith and family content because their ratings have shown there is a market for it. [IX] While the MGM works to put together a team to bring OTT to life, they are also looking into other film and digital media ventures as well. [X]

 

MGM collaborated with Warner Brothers on If I Stay a film based on the popular, young-adult novel written by Gayle Forman. The film was made with an 11 million dollar budget, and directed by R.J. Cutler. It was released on August 22th, 2014 of this year, and closed on November 6th, 2014. Its eleven-week run grossed 78.3 million dollars worldwide. [XI]

 

 

 

What’s to Come

On December 17th, 2014 the last film of The Hobbit series The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies will be released. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey grossed over one billion dollars worldwide, while its sequel, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug grossed 958.4 million dollars worldwide. [XII][XIII]

With such a large fan base, there are high expectations for the amount of money the ending film of the trilogy will bring the studio. [XIV]

 

ABC has just announced a spin off of Shark Tank that will be produced by MGM’s United Artists Media Group and Sony Picture Television called Beyond the Tank.

 It will be a series documenting past contestants current success and business state after being on the show. The network has called for 10 one-hour episodes, but has not released a premiere date. [XV]

 

On November 27th, 2014 NBC released their first trailer for A.D.: Beyond the Bible produced by MGM’s United Artists Media Group. Roma Downey and Mark Burnett will be the show’s executive producers.

The mini-series is scheduled to premiere on April 5th, 2015, which is Easter Sunday. It is a sequel to The Bible, and begins at the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The series continues the story of the creation of the Christian faith. [XVI]

The company already has two films are scheduled to be released in 2015. The first, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, will be produced in collaboration with Paramount Pictures. The sequel’s theatrical release is directed by Steve Pink, and will be February 20th, 2015. [XVII] The second, in collaboration with 20th Century Fox, will be a remake of the 1982 horror film Poltergeist. It’s directed by Gil Kenan, and its release date is October 26th, 2015. [XVIII]

 

[I] MGM History mgm.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[II] The Historic MGM Studios seeing-stars.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[III] MGM Again: 87 Years of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studio History moviefanfare.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[IV] MGM Files for Bankruptcy Protection nytimes.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[V] MGM Third Quarter Financial Report mgm.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
[VI] Iconic Film Company Orion Pictures Returns After 15 Years slashfilm.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014
[VII] MGM Quietly Revives Orion Pictures deadline.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
[VIII] MGM, LightWorkers Media and One Three Media Merge mgm.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[IX] Mark Burnett: MGM Deal Will Drive Faith and Family Channel variety.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[X] Creation of the United Artists Media Group deadline.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
[XI] If I Stay Box Office Results boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XII] The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey Box Office Results boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XIII] The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Box Office Results boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XIV] The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Trailer Release variety.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XV] Inspired by the success of “Shark Tank” ABC Announces Launch of “Beyond the Tank” mgm.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XVI] NBC’s “A.D.” Trailer Promo Released: Riveting Portrayal of Passion of Christ christiantimes.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XVII] Details of Hot Tub Time Machine 2 ropeofsilicon.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[XVIII] Details of Poltergeist Remake ropeofsilicon.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.

[1] MGM logo mgmlogo.jpg. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[2] Gary Barber socialregister.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[3] Jonathan Glickman socialregister.co.uk.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[4] Roma Khanna deadline.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[5] Alfred Hitchcock Serving Leo the Lion instagram.com. Retrieved 24 November 2014.
[6] Hercules imdb.com. Retrieved 25 November 2014.
[7] The Town that Dreaded Sundown imdb.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
[8] Orion Pictures manlymovie.net. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
[9] United Artist Media Group insidetv.ew.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.
[10] Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies imdb.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[11] Shark Tank imdb.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[12] If I Stay imdb.com. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[13] A.D.: Beyond the Bible comingsoon.net. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
[14] RoboCop imdb.com. Retrieved 26 November 2014.