While Paramount executives had to be smiling after Tom Cruise’s Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation hit the top of the box office this weekend, the studio hasn’t had a great 2015. They are hoping to change their fortunes in 2016 by releasing more films. After all, if you have more darts to throw at a target, there’s a better chance that some will hit the center target.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said during the third quarter earnings call with analysts this morning that the studio is hoping to release 15 films in 2016. That’s two more than the number planned for 2015, notes TheWrap.
“With the success of our first Paramount Animation feature, our unparalleled marketing capability and increased production across genres, the studio is stepping up its output and will be back up to its annual target of 15 films in 2016,” Dauman said.
Paramount has only released five movies, eight months into 2015 and ranks fifth among the major studios by box office market share. Meanwhile, Disney and Fax are up to eight each and Warner Bros. had 16 so far. Universal, which already has three billion-dollar grossing movies with Furious 7, Jurassic World and Minions, has released 11.
Rogue Nation grossed $56 million at the box office this past weekend, winning the frame. That’s a dose of good news for Paramount. While The Spongebob Movie: Sponge Out of Water did better than expected, Terminator Genisys, Project Almanac and Hot Tub Time Machine 2 all failed to reach expectations.
Paramount does have several exciting ideas (at least, for executives) on the table. There’s World War Z 2, another Mission: Impossible and more Transformers on the way. On the TV side, Paramount TV is practically adapting every recent movie into a TV series and has Minority Report debuting on Fox this fall.
“After a tough year, we believe Paramount is positioned to grow strongly next year and the years to come, fueled both by a reinvigorated film business and our new high-growth TV production business,” Daumon explained.
image courtesy of Stills Press/INFphoto.com