It's well-known Marvel Studios' upcoming film projects are under Walt Disney Pictures' banner, starting with next summer's
The Avengers. But as showcased in recent promotion for the superhero ensemble flick, including today's
theatrical trailer, the studios' ex-distributing partner, Paramount Pictures, are apparently receiving credit. And now
Variety has learned new specs on their odd deal.
Knowing Disney wanted to turn "The Avengers" into a new franchise and bank on the success of "Iron Man" after buying Marvel for $4 billion, Par's brass negotiated a rich deal in which the studio continues to collect 8% of the B.O. as part of the distribution fee it would have earned for distributing the pic -- as it did with the first two "Iron Man" films, "Thor" and "Captain America." It gets 9% for "Iron Man 3." At the very minimum, it gets $115 million, should the pics not perform at the B.O.
At the same time, the deal granted Par the sole studio credit on the marketing materials for both titles, even though the films are fully owned by Disney and will be solely distributed and marketed by the Mouse House. Additionally, the pay TV rights for "The Avengers" belong to Paramount's Epix, not Starz, through which Disney releases its pics.
So, basically, you'll have to get used to Paramount's face on marketing for
The Avengers, while Disney is surely the blockbuster's distributor. This seems to coincide with an earlier
CBM scoop, where Jim Hill stated that Disney wanted to "hang onto the audience that's already out there, that's excited about the Paramount Iron Man films." Will it matter, what do you think?
Marvel's The Avengers is the Super Hero team up of a lifetime, featuring iconic Marvel Super Heroes Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Hawkeye and Black Widow. When an unexpected enemy emerges that threatens global safety and security, Nick Fury, Director of the international peacekeeping agency known as S.H.I.E.L.D., finds himself in need of a team to pull the world back from the brink of disaster. Spanning the globe, a daring recruitment effort begins. Starring Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner with Samuel L. Jackson and Tom Hiddleston, directed by Joss Whedon, Marvel's The Avengers will be released May 4, 2012.