Overview
Paramount Pictures is the oldest surviving Hollywood studio, founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor and Jesse Lasky. The studio has operated continuously through numerous corporate owners and is now part of Paramount Skydance Corporation, a next-generation media company formed when David Ellison's Skydance Media completed an $8 billion merger with Paramount Global on August 7, 2025. The combined company trades on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol PSKY.
Paramount releases 15 films theatrically per year as of 2026, up from 8 releases in 2025. The studio's 2025 domestic gross totaled approximately $458 million across 6 in-year releases and 4 holdovers, equating to a 6.5% domestic market share. The company acknowledged in its Q1 2026 shareholder letter that the 2025 slate "underperformed, with most titles expected to miss their lifetime profit targets," and is investing in rebuilding its output under the new Skydance leadership.
David Ellison serves as chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance Corporation. The studio leadership includes Dana Goldberg (Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures), Josh Greenstein (Co-Chair of Paramount Pictures and Vice Chair of Platforms), and Don Granger (President, Motion Picture Group). Former Paramount Pictures CEO Brian Robbins departed following the merger close, as did co-CEOs Chris McCarthy and Tom Ryan.
Distribution Model
Paramount distributes its own theatrical releases in North America and maintains direct offices in key international territories including the UK, Australia, Germany, France, and Japan. In markets where Paramount does not maintain a direct office, the studio uses output deals with local distributors. International operations are overseen by Kevin MacLellan, President of International and Global Content Distribution.
The studio's streaming window flows to Paramount+, which competes with Netflix, Max, and Disney+ in the direct-to-consumer market. Paramount+ and Pluto TV are set to operate on a unified technology stack beginning in 2026 under the Skydance leadership. Cindy Holland, former Netflix executive, serves as Chair of Direct-to-Consumer.
Paramount has historically been among the more active studios in co-production and co-financing. Films produced with Skydance Media, Spyglass Media Group, Legendary Entertainment, and other affiliated companies are distributed under the Paramount banner. The studio's first-look deal with Miramax covers franchise properties including Scream and Scary Movie.
Example Titles They've Released
Paramount's recent theatrical releases span franchises, prestige dramas, and genre films:
- Top Gun: Maverick (2022) - $1.494 billion worldwide, the studio's highest-grossing film of the decade
- Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (2025) - $598.7 million worldwide against a $350 million production budget
- Scream 7 (2026) - $122 million domestic opening, nearly $208 million worldwide, the best performance in franchise history
- The Naked Gun (2025) - $102.1 million worldwide against a $42 million production budget
- Smurfs (2025) - $123 million worldwide against a $58 million production budget
The 2025 slate underperformed relative to profit targets. Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning carried a $350 million production cost and is not expected to post a profit in its first cycle. The Naked Gun and Smurfs grossed modestly relative to their production budgets.
Deal Structure Reputation
Paramount operates on a studio-financing model, funding its own productions and co-financing with partners. Co-production deals with Skydance Media, Spyglass Media Group, Legendary Entertainment, and Miramax split costs and downstream rights. The studio's first-look deal with Miramax covers franchise properties including Scream and Scary Movie.
Festival acquisitions, when they occur, follow a minimum guarantee (MG) structure. The studio pays an upfront fee for distribution rights, with backend participation based on performance. Paramount does not offer service deals to independent filmmakers. The studio's acquisition budget is modest compared to its production budget, reflecting its development-first approach.
Under Skydance leadership, the studio greenlit 11 films and 11 new series between August 2025 and early 2026. The new regime has signaled willingness to acquire packages with talent attachments. The Timothee Chalamet and James Mangold High Side deal closed shortly after the merger demonstrates this approach.
Typical Acquisition Profile
Paramount acquires genre films, prestige dramas, and franchise properties. Festival pickups happen at Sundance and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) but represent a small fraction of the slate. The studio requires talent attachments, proven intellectual property (IP), or established director track records for external acquisitions.
Open submissions do not exist. Filmmakers access Paramount through production company relationships with Skydance, Spyglass, Legendary, or affiliated producers. Agency packaging through CAA, WME, or UTA is essential for any external project reaching the studio.
The increased output target of 15 films per year, growing toward 20, creates more opportunity for external acquisitions than the previous regime's minimal output. However, the 2025 slate underperformance has made leadership cautious about per-film budgets and prints and advertising (P&A) commitments.
Recent Slate / Acquisition Activity
Paramount's 2026 theatrical slate includes at least 15 films, a significant increase from the 8 released in 2025. Confirmed titles and dates include:
- Scream 7 (February 27, produced with Spyglass Media Group)
- Untitled Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Kendrick Lamar, and Dave Free feature (March 20)
- Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (May 8, directed by James Cameron and Billie Eilish, 3D concert film)
- Passenger (Memorial Day weekend, supernatural thriller)
- Scary Movie (June 12, Miramax first-look deal)
- Jackass: Best and Last (June 26, fifth and final installment)
- PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie (July, third film in the franchise)
- Street Fighter (partnership with Legendary Entertainment)
- The Legend of Aang: The Last Airbender (October 9, animated, featuring Dave Bautista and Steven Yeun)
- Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol (starring Johnny Depp)
Scream 7 opened to $122 million domestically and nearly $208 million worldwide, the best performance in the franchise's history, providing an early positive signal for the expanded slate strategy.
Pending Warner Bros. Discovery Acquisition
In December 2025, Paramount announced a cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Warner Bros. Discovery at $30 per share, valued at approximately $111 billion. The deal was won after Netflix declined to raise its offer for Warner Bros.'s streaming and studios businesses. The acquisition is targeted to close by September 2026, pending regulatory approvals.
The combined Paramount-WBD entity would release approximately 30 films theatrically per year (15 from each studio) and have more than 200 million streaming subscribers across 200+ countries. Sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi have committed $24 billion toward the merger, meaning approximately 38.5% of the combined company's equity will be owned by the three Middle Eastern funds, with 49.5% foreign ownership overall.
Several state attorneys general have been considering whether to sue to block the deal. The transaction is financed through up to $57.5 billion in debt and $46.6 billion in equity commitments from the Ellison family and RedBird Capital Partners.
Key Labels and Divisions
- Paramount Pictures: Main theatrical label for wide-release features
- Paramount Animation: Animated features including The SpongeBob Movie and PAW Patrol franchise
- Paramount Television Studios: Television production, now consolidated with Skydance's television operations under Matt Thunell as President
- Miramax: First-look deal covering franchise properties including Scream and Scary Movie
- Nickelodeon Studios: Family and children's content
Future franchise priorities under the Skydance regime include Top Gun 3, new Star Trek films, Sonic the Hedgehog 4, a Call of Duty film adaptation (partnership with Activision), a new A Quiet Place entry (with James Wan and Jason Blum), and Children of Blood and Bone (Gina Prince-Bythewood, starring Cynthia Erivo, Idris Elba, and Viola Davis, targeting awards season early 2027).
Watch: Trailers and Interviews
What Filmmakers Should Know
Paramount's production-first model means the studio develops and finances its own projects rather than acquiring them on the open market. The acquisitions function picks up films at Sundance and TIFF on occasion, particularly in genre and prestige drama categories, but this is not a primary strategy. Filmmakers seeking to work within the Paramount ecosystem do so through production company relationships with Skydance, Spyglass, Legendary, or other affiliated producers.
Under Skydance leadership, the studio greenlit 11 films and 11 new series since August 2025. The increased output target of 15 films per year creates more opportunity for both internal development and external acquisitions than the previous regime's minimal output. However, the 2025 slate underperformance has made leadership cautious about per-film budgets and P&A commitments.
The pending Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition, if approved, would create a larger distribution platform with combined theatrical, streaming, and television infrastructure. Filmmakers with projects in development at either studio should monitor the regulatory approval process, as the combined entity's content strategy and release calendar will shift once the deal closes.
See Also
For how major studio distribution deals are structured and what a filmmaker can negotiate, see Distribution Deals Explained. To compare theatrical and streaming revenue across window models, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator. For how the theatrical window has evolved and how streaming-first releases compare to traditional theatrical distribution, see Streaming vs Theatrical Revenue.
