There’s no question the global box-office is a much tougher place to launch a movie now than ever before as once solid markets have become unreliable, whilst costs have inflated rapidly.
The result is studios re-conceiving their slates – tightening budgets, changing the nature of what they’re putting into production. That includes Paramount Pictures as a new feature piece with Variety spoke with CEO Brian Robbins about the studio’s future.
One major change is Paramount’s animation division which has reportedly jettisoned projects not seen as commercial, including the hermit crab movie “Under the Boardwalk,” which is going to skip cinemas and debut on Paramount+ service.
Robbins says of their plans for future animated films:
“We’re not going to release an expensive original animated movie and just pray people will come. It’s not about Disney and Pixar anymore. People are looking for animated movies that are irreverent and have a comedic point of view.”
The result is that animated releases will center on familiar properties, including next week’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” and new animated films based on the “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” franchises. In terms of overall costs for the studio, Robbins says:
“It’s no one’s fault. COVID and inflation took the $100 million movies and made them cost $200 million. But movie tickets didn’t go from $12 to $24. We have to ask: How do we build movies? What’s necessary? We need to make smart choices. You can’t have everything, but you need that foundation to be strong.”
Finally, in terms of live-action films, Paramount is continuing to develop its “The Saint” reboot with Rege-Jean Page starring, and Robbins still has hopes for a “Dungeons & Dragons” sequel – the main caveat being “we’ve got to figure out a way to make it for less.”
