Paramount has handed over distribution rights to The Avengers and Iron Man 3 films to Disney, who recently bought the parent comic book company Marvel last year, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Riding on the publicized deal, Disney quickly announced that Iron Man 3 will be released May 13, 2013.
In the press release, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios Rich Ross said:
“In completing this agreement, Disney will now assume worldwide marketing and distribution of ‘The Avengers’ and ‘Iron Man 3’ and leverage these two highly-anticipated films across the multiple global platforms of The Walt Disney Company. We appreciate the tremendous momentum that Paramount established with these iconic Marvel characters and look forward to propelling the brand even further in the coming years.”
Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures Brad Grey added:
Five years ago, when Paramount and Marvel made our initial deal, both our businesses were in very different places,” added Brad Grey, Chairman & CEO of Paramount Pictures. “We are grateful for the partnership we have had with the terrific Marvel team over these years and proud of the work we have done together. Today, this new agreement is the right deal for Paramount, for Marvel and for Disney. We look forward to working together on ‘Thor’ and ‘Captain America,’ and we wish Disney and Marvel the utmost success, in what we know will be a very productive and wide-ranging partnership.
It’s a great deal for Paramount. They are guaranteed $115 million regardless of the box office performance and don’t have to pay anything for production, as well as eight percent of the profits of The Avengers, the Joss Whedon scripted and directed project which is set to be released in 2012. For Iron Man 3, they will get nine percent of the profits. Paramount will still distribute the upcoming Thor and Captain America movies. So far, they have grossed $300 million from their film deals with Marvel.