MUMBAI: Guaranteed $ 115 million, Paramount Studios has closed a deal with Disney to transfer worldwide marketing and distribution rights to Marvel for films like The Avengers and Iron Man 3.
The distribution deal was one of Paramount chairman and CEO Brad Grey‘s first major moves after taking over the studio in 2005 and Marvel‘s comic book-derived tentpoles Iron Man and its sequel strategically filled the studio‘s pipeline while the new regime readied its own franchises.
Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment for $4.24 billion last year, but the latter‘s current cycle of films had to be contractually released through Paramount via a distribution deal in place when Disney entered the picture.
Now that Paramount has Star Trek, Transformers and Mission: Impossible, it no longer needs the Marvel properties.
Grey said, "Five years ago, when Paramount and Marvel made our initial deal, both our businesses were in very different places. Today, this new agreement is the right deal for Paramount, for Marvel and for Disney. We look forward to working together on Thor and Captain America and we wish Disney and Marvel the utmost success in what we know will be a very productive and wide-ranging partnership."
