Plan B Entertainment
Brad Pitt's production company, one of the most acclaimed producer banners in contemporary cinema. Behind 12 Years a Slave, Moonlight, The Big Short, The Departed, and scores of prestige titles.
Overview
Plan B Entertainment is one of the most critically acclaimed production companies in Hollywood, founded by Brad Pitt in 2001. The company has produced three Academy Award Best Picture winners and numerous additional nominees, establishing a track record for prestige filmmaking that few independent production banners can match. Plan B operates from offices on the Paramount Pictures lot under a first-look deal.
The company's producing team, led by Pitt alongside producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner, develops and finances projects across a range of genres and budgets, with a consistent emphasis on literary adaptations, socially relevant narratives, and director-driven storytelling.
History
Brad Pitt co-founded Plan B with Jennifer Aniston in 2001 (Aniston departed after the couple separated). The company's early productions included Troy (2004), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and A Mighty Heart (2007). Plan B's identity crystallized with Martin Scorsese's The Departed (2006), which won Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
The company went on to produce The Tree of Life (2011), Moneyball (2011), World War Z (2013), 12 Years a Slave (2013, Best Picture), Selma (2014), The Big Short (2015), Moonlight (2016, Best Picture), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Minari (2020), Blonde (2022), She Said (2022), Women Talking (2022), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023).
Three Best Picture wins and over a dozen additional nominations across the acting, directing, and writing categories make Plan B one of the most decorated production companies in modern Oscar history.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Plan B develops projects from books, articles, original screenplays, and true stories. The company's development team reads broadly and acquires adaptation rights aggressively, particularly for literary properties with cinematic potential. Plan B's reputation attracts A-list directors and actors, which in turn makes the company's projects attractive to studio and streaming financiers.
Access to Plan B routes through talent agencies and literary agents. The company's relationship with major agencies means projects with Plan B involvement benefit from enhanced talent packaging.
See Also
For understanding how producer-driven development works in prestige filmmaking, see Distribution Deals Explained. To model revenue projections for prestige releases, use the Revenue Forecast Calculator.
