Legendary Entertainment

History[edit]

Thomas Tull founded Legendary Entertainment with co-founders Jon Jashni, Larry Clark, William Fay and Scott Mednick^[4][5][6] after raising $500 million from private equity firms.^[7] It was one of the first companies of its kind to pair major motion picture production with major Wall Street private equity and hedge fund investors, including ABRY Partners, AIG Direct Investments, Bank of America Capital Investors, Columbia Capital, Falcon Investment Advisors, and M/C Venture Partners.^[8] Legendary Pictures, Inc. was incorporated in California and in 2005 it signed an agreement with Warner Bros. to co-produce and co-finance up to 40 films over seven years.^[8]


In 2010, Tull, Fidelity Investments, and Fortress Investment Group bought all the shares of the original investors. The buyout also included a $25 million investment by Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment. Following the transaction, Tull became the largest shareholder, thus enabling him to more easily direct the company's operations.^[9] Golden Harvest later sold its stake in the company for $30 million.^[10] In 2011, Accel Partners bought $40 million-worth of shares and Accel partner Jim Breyer joined the company's board of directors.^[11] That same year the company was reported to have been valued at more than $1 billion.^[8]


In September 2011, Legendary Pictures Chief Creative Officer Jon Jashni was appointed to the new position of President and Chief Creative Officer of the parent company, Legendary Entertainment.^[12] William Fay left Legendary Pictures in September 2011.^[13] In December 2012, Waddell & Reed bought around 20% of Legendary's shares for $443 million.^[14]


In July 2013, Legendary reached an agreement with Universal Pictures in which it would market, co-finance, and distribute Legendary's films for five years starting in 2014, the year that Legendary's similar agreement with Warner Bros. expired.^[15] In October 2014, SoftBank bought $250 million shares in Legendary for a 10% stake. The transaction increased the company's total value to around $3 billion.^[16]


In 2014, Legendary acquired the television producer Asylum Entertainment, which made ESPN's 30 for 30 and miniseries The Kennedys, for $100 million, but Asylum Entertainment will continue operating as a separate company.^[17][18]


On January 11, 2016, Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group announced that it had concluded an agreement with shareholders to acquire Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion, making it the largest acquisition of an American media company by a Chinese firm.^[19]


In March 2016, it was announced that Jon Jashni had decided, on the heels of the sale, to leave the company to establish Raintree Ventures, a media investment and advisory firm.^[20]


On January 17, 2017, it was announced that Tull had exited as Legendary Entertainment CEO.^[21] He was replaced by the senior vice president of Wanda's cultural industry group, Jack Gao, as interim CEO.^[22]


On October 17, 2017, it was reported that Gao stepped down from his positions at Legendary Entertainment and Wanda Group.^[23][24] The resignation comes after an announcement by Wanda's chairman Wang Jianlin earlier that year that Wanda would refocus its investments onto the Chinese domestic market in an attempt to "actively respond to the call of the country".^[23] This, in turn, is thought to be a consequence of the Chinese government banning Chinese banks from providing loans to Wanda Group's foreign operations, which was intended to stop the firm's offshore acquisition plans.^[25]


On December 5, 2017, it was announced that Joshua Grode had been named as Legendary Entertainment CEO.^[26]


On August 13, 2018, following the box office failure of certain films such as Skyscraper, the distribution deal between Legendary and Universal ended and a new agreement was reached to return to Warner Bros. Pictures.^[27]


In December 2020, Variety and Deadline Hollywood reported that Legendary Entertainment, financiers, and talent with backend deals were not pleased with WarnerMedia's multi-release plans and non-transparent intentions. Legendary was not given advanced notice of the multi-release decision nor given a say in how Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong would be distributed. The studio planned to have discussions with Warner Bros. regarding a more "generous deal" however legal action was considered.^[28][29] A few weeks later, Deadline reported that the film could keep its HBO Max release but only if Warner Bros. matches Netflix's $250 million bid.^[30] In January 2021, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that a legal battle was averted due to Legendary and WarnerMedia nearing an agreement to keep the film's simultaneous release.^[31]


On April 30, 2021, the company hired LionTree Advisors to explore possible deals, including the possibility of merging with a SPAC, making acquisitions, or finding partners.^[32] On July 22, 2021, it was announced that Legendary is looking for a merger instead of a SPAC.^[33] On January 31, 2022, a minority stake in Legendary was sold to Apollo Global Management, with Wanda still remaining the majority owner.^[3]


In August 2022, following the lapse of their deal with Warner Bros., Legendary Entertainment began seeking a new partnership, with Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures among the companies interested.^[34]


In November 2022, Legendary Entertainment reached an agreement with Sony Pictures in which Sony would market, co-finance, and distribute Legendary's films with the exception of China where Legendary East will handle all marketing and distribution on its movies. Sony would also handle home entertainment and TV distribution for the Legendary titles it distributes. The partnership pact does not include Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as Legendary would continue to remain in business for Warner Bros. Pictures. Legendary would also continue to partner with other companies for streaming, such as Netflix, as Sony does not have a streaming service.^[35]