So this came to my attention last night in an article by Variety and it's about the Dalian Wanda Group, a Chinese conglomerate that develops commercial management, culture, real estate, and finance. In the culture department, they have a group called a film group and this group owns and manages AMC Theaters and international cinema chains as well as Legendary Pictures, the company that produced Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Pacific Rim, the Dark Knight trilogy, etc. The Dalian Wanda Group bought Legendary Entertainment back in 2016 for $3.5 billion dollars and they were planning to turn it into one of the top five global studios by 2020.
It is reported that Legendary Pictures is not doing so hot financially. After Pacific Rim Uprising was released, it only made $28 million dollars on opening weekend in the US and $122.5 million overseas as of March 29th and so far there are no plans for a third movie. This came as a big blow to the studio. Legendary Pictures also has other movies that are about to be released and projects currently in production. Dwayne Johnson's Skyscraper is releasing soon and a Detective Pikachu movie is in production. Also, we still have Godzilla: King Of The Monsters set to be released next year and Godzilla vs. Kong is about to go into production and is set for a 2020 release.
So with Legendary Pictures in a pinch, it is currently unknown what the Dalian Wanda Group will do with the studio. Pacific Rim Uprising was one of the movies that they hoped would do well and it failed. Right now, the Dalian Wanda Group are waiting for results on Skyscraper and Godzilla: King Of The Monsters to determine Legendary's fate. If the other two movies flop then it basically spells a possible end for the studio by either being sold to another company or just closing the studio's doors. Now let us say that the other two movies does flop, does this mean no more Godzilla vs. Kong or movies from this series? The answer is no. I know that right now the movie is about to go into production very soon, but even if the movie is finished Legendary and the Dalian Wanda Group can always come in and just release it as a "straight to Netflix" movie instead of getting a theatrical release. We have seen this happen before. Remember The Interview? The movie was cancelled at the last minute because people were scared that it may hurt North Korea's feelings. The movie did get released online and on paperview channels, but the movie never made it into theaters. And let's not forget The Cloverfield Paradox. Originally, The Cloverfield Paradox was suppose to have a theatrical release on April 20th and instead was released on Netflix the same night as the Superbowl. Paramount Pictures watched this film and knew that the movie was a mess and would flop if it was ever released in theaters. So with that, Godzilla vs Kong will still happen whether it is released in theaters or Netflix. If these two movies does do well, then that's great news and if not then worst that could happen is either Godzilla vs Kong will either have a straight to Netflix release. My best guess is that Skyscraper will do just fine in the box office. I can see it make a little bit more money than Pacific Rim Uprising, which is a good thing. As for Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, only time will tell. I can't really say for sure or at least make an educated guess without seeing any footage first.
So is Legendary Pictures in trouble? They are in a bit of a pinch, but not in trouble yet. This is really nothing to be alarmed about, but just something that I wanted to share with you guys to be aware of what is happening and what might happen.
What are your opinions on this? Do you think Legendary Pictures will do just fine or do you think this is the end for the movie studio? Make sure to leave a comment in the comment section and be sure to bookmark or subscribe to my page for more news, reviews, and discussions.