Legendary Entertainment has been one of the leading forces in theatrical release in 2024, responsible for both DUNE: PART TWO and GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE. These films stand currently as the two highest-grossing movies of the year, with sequels already in the works. This week, Bloomberg columnist Thomas Buckley published an interview with Legendary CEO Josh Grode to explore his company’s current success and outlook for the future.
Legendary has shown a remarkable ability to navigate the theatrical space during a challenging time. Legendary has leveraged its relationship with major Hollywood Studios such as Warner Bros. and Paramount to keep costs down and marshal its resources. The company has $500 million available in cash on hand, which is a uniquely strong position among major production studios. According to Grode, this gives them the flexibility to survey the Hollywood landscape for “potential merger-and-acquisition opportunities.”
Legendary has access to additional financial backing from Apollo Management Group, the private equity firm that established a minority stake in Legendary beginning in 2022. Apollo has been aggressive in pursuing opportunities in the entertainment space, including its current offer to acquire Paramount Global. Under that proposal, Apollo would plan to merge Paramount with Legendary, which would bring a whole new world of opportunities to Grode and Legendary.
Meanwhile, Legendary is already hard at work on a varied slate of new projects, including a movie adaptation of the video game Minecraft, a sequel to the 2019 film POKEMON DETECTIVE PIKACHU, and original stories from filmmakers Alejandro González Iñárritu and Denis Villeneuve. They are also producing several streaming series which include “Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft,” “Lazarus,” and the “Dune: Prophecy” spinoff that will premiere on Max.
Based on this slate alone, Legendary is well-positioned to continue on its successful track. And if Apollo is successful in its bid to acquire Paramount, Legendary could reach an even higher plane.