Moviefone Editorial

Tag: paramount

  • ‘Monster Trucks’ Movie Listed as $115 Million Loss Months Before Release

    If only MacGyver could defuse this potential bomb. Lucas Till stars in the upcoming live-action/computer animated adventure “Monster Trucks,” which is now scheduled for release January 13, 207. But apparently its own studio, Paramount/Viacom, sees a big loss coming, and is already writing it down in the books.

    Here’s the scoop from The Hollywood Reporter:

    “Lowering its earnings forecast for the current fiscal fourth quarter, Viacom cited ‘a programming impairment charge of $115 million’ that is ‘related to the expected performance of an unreleased film,’ in addition to other factors.

    Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter the movie in question is ‘Monster Trucks,’ set for release on Jan. 13. The big-budget title has been delayed numerous times after originally being slotted to hit theaters more than a year ago. First set for release on May 29, 2015, it was then pushed to Dec. 25 of that year, then March 18 of this year and eventually to next January.”

    The added that the estimated budget for the film was over $100 million. Jefferies analyst John Janedis noted, in a report quoted by THR, “Viacom indicated there would be a write-down of $115 million related to a future film that will not likely perform to expectations.” Drexel Hamilton analyst Tony Wible added that the loss “implies that Paramount will have lost about $500 million this year despite a favorable box office, home entertainment and licensing environment.”

    As Collider (which visited the “Monster Trucks” set back in June 2014) noted, Paramount has had some success this year, but “Star Trek Beyond” wasn’t a massive hit, and there were no “Transformers” or “Mission: Impossible” franchise movies in 2016. Still, there’s hope that things will improve next year.

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  • ‘Terminator’ Sequel Pulled From Schedule, Replaced With ‘Baywatch’

    Maybe he won’t be back?

    The new “Terminator” sequel is drowning, and not even hot people running in slow-motion on the beach can save it. Yesterday, Paramount Pictures announced that it was pulling the “Terminator: Genisys” follow-up from the release schedule. “Terminator 2” (not to be confused with the perfection of James Cameron‘s “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”) was scheduled for May 19, 2017, but now the “Baywatch” reboot with Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron, Kelly Rohrbach and company has that date.

    Deadline said the studio had no further comment on the move, but actions speak louder than words. As the site noted, in 2014, before “Genisys” underwhelmed with critics and domestic audiences, Paramount had planned out release dates for both “Terminator 2” and “Terminator 3,” which was supposed to arrive in June 2018. Now the whole thing seems up in the air, which is one of the dangers of counting franchise reboot chickens before they hatch.

    “Terminator: Genisys” was popular overseas, making $440.6 million, but it didn’t even quite make $90M domestically, and that’s with a reported budget of roughly $155M.

    Meanwhile, the other “Terminator 2” — “T2: Judgment Day” — is getting a special 3D conversion for its 25th anniversary this year. James Cameron is overseeing that process for a summer 2016 theater release. So maybe we should just let that be the only “Terminator 2” we know.

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  • Leonardo DiCaprio to Produce Movie About Volkswagen Diesel Scandal

    Leonardo DiCaprio Announces Major New Climate Commitment In NYCNews about Volkswagen’s deceptive diesel emissions broke only a few weeks ago, but Hollywood has already taken notice, and has fast-tracked a flick about the scandal. Now, one of the industry’s hottest stars is set to produce the film.

    According to Variety, Leonardo DiCaprio has just signed on to produce the as-yet-untitled project for Paramount Pictures, through his Appian Way company. It’s unclear at this time if DiCaprio also intends to star in the movie, which so far does not have any actors or a director attached.

    The flick will be based on a forthcoming book about the scandal written by New York Times journalist Jack Ewing. Variety reports that the book details how Volkswagen “placed illegal software in their clean diesel cars that could tell when a car was being tested for fuel emissions and would turn on the emissions control to cheat the test and meet EPA standards. During normal driving conditions, emission control software was shut off — resulting in as much as 40 times more pollution than allowed by law.”

    The scandal has already led to the resignation of Volkswagen’s CEO, Martin Winterkorn. The company is also facing fines of up to $18 billion from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

    This film is just the latest high-profile project for DiCaprio’s company, which also produced his Oscar-nominated flick “The Wolf of Wall Street.” There’s been no word yet on a projected release date or production timetable; stay tuned.

    [via: Variety]

    Photo credit: Getty Images

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  • Tom Cruise Says ‘Mission: Impossible 6’ Is Already in the Works

    Get ready for even more “Mission: Impossible“: On the eve of the release of the fifth film in the hit franchise, star Tom Cruise has revealed that a sixth flick is already in the works.

    Cruise made the announcement on Tuesday night during an appearance on “The Daily Show,” where he was promoting this weekend’s upcoming release, “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation.” In an interview with host Jon Stewart, Cruise said that fans can expect more adventures from Ethan Hunt and co. sooner than normal.

    “We’re starting to work on it now. We’ll probably start shooting it next summer,” the actor said of the series’s sixth installment.

    Variety notes that that’s an accelerated schedule for the venerable action franchise, which typically has at least a four-year gap between releases. The original “Mission: Impossible” hit theaters back in 1996, and follow-up installments launched in 2000, 2006, and 2011 before this summer’s release.

    Studio Paramount declined to comment on Cruise’s announcement, though it makes sense that the star would be bullish about the film’s prospects. The “Mission: Impossible” series has been a huge success since its launch, grossing more than $2 billion combined at the international box office, and buzz for “Rogue Nation” is incredibly loud, thanks to Cruise’s high-profile stunts.

    We’ll see if the actor is right about the production schedule, but it seems like a safe bet that audiences will be seeing “Mission: Impossible 6” at some point over the next few years.

    [via: Variety]

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