Paramount Pictures is reportedly in a pay dispute with actors John Krasinski and Emily Blunt in regards to the upcoming horror sequel “A Quiet Place Part II” according to Bloomberg.
The trade reports that the couple’s contract for the film compensates them based on the film’s box-office performance – Blunt has the lead role while Krasinski penned and directs.
This week Paramount made it official that they’ve cut the film’s theatrical run down from the previous standard of 90 days to 45 days, after which time the title will go directly to their Paramount+ service.
The actors and the film’s producers (including Michael Bay) are now reportedly concerned that much of the potential audience will instead wait for the film to be available for home viewing – especially as cinemas are still fairly quiet on the domestic front.
The situation is not unlike the issue Warners faced with its decision to have its entire 2021 slate premiere simultaneously in cinemas and on HBO Max. In that case, compensation payouts quickly quelled any disputes over the move.
The key difference here? According to the publication, discussions are ongoing and so far the studio has rebuffed them. Officially, ViacomCBS has no contractual obligation to pay extra.
With the 90 day window now effectively obliterated in favor of variable arrangements on a film-by-film basis, the industry is trying to figure out the future of movie deals. Old school deals relying on box-office results are less likely to be offered in the future in favor of larger upfront payouts that streamers like Netflix and Amazon currently employ.
The original “A Quiet Place” collected $341 million in ticket sales worldwide in 2018 from a $20 million budget. The sequel was expected to be one of the studio’s biggest movies of 2020 until the pandemic hit and the film was postponed three times.
While Paramount sold off many of its titles, it held on to “A Quiet Place Part II” and “Top Gun: Maverick” expecting huge box-office to follow. “A Quiet Place Part II” will hit cinemas on May 28th.
