Warner Bros. To Distribute MGM Movies Internationally, Next James Bond Not Included
MGM has signed a deal with Warner Bros. that would allow the latter studio to distribute the former’s movies in overseas territories, WB and MGM executives have announced (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Warner Bros. is thus replacing Universal as MGM’s international partner. Under the previous deal, the Comcast-owned studio released movies like No Time to Die, which earned $613M internationally (79.2% of its worldwide gross), Licorice Pizza, which made $15M internationally (47.7% of its worldwide box office), or House of Gucci, which cashed in $100M in overseas territories (65.1%).
The new deal, however, does include one exception — the next James Bond movie, which will still be released by Universal. This studio will still be the upcoming MGM movies Till, in October, and Women Talking, early next year. The first two movies to benefit from the new deal will be Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All, which released its first teaser trailer last week and will have its worldwide premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, and Michael B. Jordan’s Creed III, which is currently scheduled for a March 3, 2023, debut.
The deal has been set for three years, though an extension is available if both partners are happy. It will allow WB to also handle the physical home releases of the upcoming MGM slate and will mean that both studios will collaborate on the marketing, publicity, film distribution, and exhibitor relations in territories outside of the North American market, including China.
This comes over a year after Amazon Studios acquired MGM and its entire catalogue, meaning that the Jeff Bezos-owned corporation will be the next parent company of the James Bond franchise. The next Bond movie, the 26th installment in the franchise, is still years away, according to producer Barbara Broccoli.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
