Paramount Global Q4 Earnings Nip Wall Street Forecasts But Ad Decline Hits Revenue; Company Projects Domestic Streaming Profit By 2025

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Paramount Global has sold its 13% ownership stake in TV and streaming company Viacom18 to Reliance Industries for $517 million. Reliance was already the majority owner of Viacom18. The pact comes two weeks after Disney and Reliance Industries announced a blockbuster $8.5 billion deal merging their massive Indian TV and streaming businesses.

Paramount Global has sold its 13% equity interest in Viacom18 Media to Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries for the equivalent $517 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong’s Film Development Council has unveiled the first shortlisted projects under its new scheme to develop content for streaming platforms. The Content Development Scheme for Streaming Platforms was announced last year. It aims to nurture cross-sectoral production teams and expand new distribution market and takes the form of a competition to recruit participating teams that develop a mini-series for streaming platforms.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “Dune: Part II” continued its reign at the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second weekend in a row with £5.9 million ($7.5 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. Denis Villeneuve’s anticipated sequel has an all-star cast including Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård, Dave Bautista, Zendaya, Charlotte Rampling and Javier Bardem reprising their roles from the first film, with Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Christopher Walken and Léa Seydoux joining them.

Angelique Jackson Before “Bob Marley: One Love” hit theaters on Valentine’s Day, the musical biopic about the Reggae legend was expected to sing its way to No. 1 on the charts. But box office projections indicated the Paramount movie — which chronicles Marley’s (Kingsley Ben-Adir) rise to fame in the mid-1970s and complex relationship with his wife Rita Marley (Lashana Lynch) up until he died in 1981 — would start slow.

according to IMDB’s Box Office Mojo.The Post called the film, which is the second of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel “Dune” by Frank Herbert, a “sci-fi triumph that’s better than the first.”The sequel to the 2021 original stars Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem in reprising roles and welcomes Christopher Walken, Austin Butler and Florence Pugh to its cast.Remaining in second was “Bob Marley: One Love,” which was released on Valentine’s Day, with earnings of $1.92 million.“Ordinary Angels” stayed in third, with a just-over-$1 million-dollar take.

Terence Winter, who stepped down as showrunner of the Sylvester Stallone-starring mob drama Tulsa King after its first season, is back as a writer on Paramount+ series’ upcoming second season in addition to his continuing duties as an executive producer. The series, created by Taylor Sheridan, has opted not to bring in a replacement for Winter in line with the practice at the other Sheridan series produced by 101 Studios which don’t have a traditional showrunner. Instead, Tulsa King has hired a director/executive producer whose deal is still being finalized.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor The inevitable M&A question came toward the end of Paramount Global‘s hourlong conference call with Wall Street analysts on Wednesday — a session that undoubtedly would have been more contentious for Paramount leaders if they hadn’t started out by serving up sacrifices for the greater good of free cash flow and profit. Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish waved off the inquiry from Bank of America Merrill Lynch media analyst Jessica Reif Ehrlich about the tidal wave of media speculation about suitors coming (and going) for the company with a breezy “We’re always looking for ways to create shareholder value.” But it was clear from the earlier commentary and business updates from Bakish and chief financial officer Naveen Chopra that they are charting a course for this year and next to take streamer Paramount+ to the promised land of profitability and keeps the company entact as a standalone entity.

Paramount Global expects to take a $1 billion charge in the current quarter due to ongoing programming shifts and the layoffs it announced earlier this month.

EXCLUSIVE: Buoyed by the overperformance of music-driven films Bob Marley: One Love and Mean Girls, Paramount Pictures has slotted Better Man for an exclusive qualifying release on December 25, followed by a wide theatrical release on January 17 in the heat of awards season. The film is an original musical by The Greatest Showman director Michael Gracey, based on the life and music of singer Robbie Williams.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor UFC and WWE logged record revenue and sponsorship deals in 2023, which added up to a strong fourth quarter for TKO, the newly formed parent company of both sports brands. The strong numbers for WWE stand in contrast to the controversy that erupted last month when disturbing sexual assault allegations were leveled against former WWE chairman Vince McMahon in a lawsuit by a former WWE employee.

EXCLUSIVE: The news when Deadline speaks to Lisa Kramer is the launch of a Paramount+ branded hub with African pay-TV giant MultiChoice. But a conversation with the President, International TV Licensing at Paramount Global Content Distribution (PGCD), offers a much wider insight into the world of TV in 2024.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love continued to sing sweet tunes in its sophomore session, adding $15M from 59 international box office markets for a drop of 37% from its above-expectations stellar opening. The overseas cume is now $49.4M for $120.6M worldwide.

Michaela Zee Paramount’s “Bob Marley: One Love” is feeling more than alright at the global box office. The musical biopic has generated $101.1 million worldwide after only 10 days in theaters, including $61.4 million in North America and $39.7 million from 59 international territories. “One Love” retained the top spot on domestic charts in its second weekend of release, grossing $3.7 million on Friday.

FRIDAY EVENING: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love remains on uppers at the weekend box office with a $3.6M Friday, and a 3-day of $13.4M at 3,597 theaters, -53% which will get the Reinaldo Marcus Green directed title to $71M by Sunday. That’s a great piece of counterprogramming business in a struggling marketplace. Say what you will, S&P Global about putting Paramount Global on “credit watch negative,” but the film studio has a vibrant theatrical release schedule this year with Gladiator 2, Quiet Place: Day, If and Smile 2 to name a few.

Brent Lang Executive Editor In what is shaping up to be a muted weekend at the box office, Sony and Crunchyroll’s “Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training” earned $1.8 million in Thursday previews, while Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company’s inspirational drama “Ordinary Angels” picked up a paltry $285,000. The weekend’s other new release, Focus Features’ comedic thriller “Drive-Away Dolls,” didn’t report preview grosses, which does not augur well for its commercial prospects. Despite the influx of movies, “Bob Marley: One Love” is expected to retain its spot at No.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Despite two new releases, Paramount’s Bob Marley biographical drama “One Love” is projected to top the box office again. This weekend’s newcomers, Hilary Swank’s inspirational drama “Ordinary Angels” and director Ethan Coen’s comedic thriller “Drive-Away Dolls,” are targeting single digits in their debuts. With those paltry ticket sales, “Bob Marley: One Love” looks to repeat No.

“1917” and “Skyfall,” will helm the entire magical mystery tour of biopics that explore the lives of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. “We intend this to be a uniquely thrilling, and epic cinematic experience: four films, told from four different perspectives which tell a single story about the most celebrated band of all time,” producer Pippa Harris, of Neal Street Productions, said in a statement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Four Chinese films dominated the mainland China and global box office charts over the latest weekend. “YOLO,” a comedy drama about weight loss and self-discovery, was crowned as the top earning film worldwide for a second weekend running. “YOLO” took $86.5 million (RMB614 million) between Friday and Sunday, giving it a 9-day cumulative total of $402 million (RMB2.85 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The second film by Jia Ling, who previously directed 2021 Lunar New Year smash hit “Hi, Mom”, “YOLO” released on Saturday, Feb.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love brought folks together around the world in its opening frame, singing up a sweet estimated $80M global bow. After coming on strong in early overseas play this week, and as audiences turned a deaf ear to critics, the international box office portion of that is $29M, landing well ahead of expectations.