The new IP landlord
Skydance now holds the keys to two century-old studio lots. The Warner Bros. deal closed earlier this month, putting Paramount and Warner Bros. under the same parent while keeping their operations separate.
Skydance outright owns DC, Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, Top Gun, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and SpongeBob. Major franchises such as Transformers, G.I. Joe and Sonic remain licensed from Hasbro and Sega by Paramount.
Those assets now carry a specific burden: an $80 billion debt pile and a co-CEO pair — David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz — under pressure to make the library work harder.
A 30-film mandate
Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who co-run the Skydance Motion Picture Group, steer both studios. Output has nearly doubled from eight releases in 2025 to 15 this year, with at least 16 planned for 2027. The internal target is 30 films a year.
A packed slate gives buyers more inventory, but it also concentrates risk. Every release has less room to breathe, and marketing dollars have to stretch across more openings.
Where the box-office bets are
The clearest Paramount bets are the franchises it owns outright. Top Gun: Maverick grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide in 2022; a third film is in the works, though a 2028 Days of Thunder sequel is dated first. World War Z, A Quiet Place Part III and a new Star Trek film are also moving.
On the licensed side, Transformers carries a lifetime global gross above $5.4 billion, but the franchise has slowed. Steven Spielberg is overseeing Transformers 8 and Michael Bay is in early talks to return. Bradley Cooper leads a new G.I. Joe with Danny McBride writing and directing.
Warner Bros.’ DC slate is the other big swing. James Gunn’s Superman grossed about $618 million worldwide last year; Supergirl collapsed to roughly $125 million worldwide on a $170 million budget. Man of Tomorrow is set for July 9, 2027, and The Batman: Part II for Feb. 18, 2028.
- HBO’s Harry Potter series drops this Christmas.
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 grossed about $490 million worldwide; Sonic 4 is dated March 19, 2027.
- A Minecraft Movie grossed about $957 million worldwide; the sequel opens July 23, 2027.
- Dune: Part Three opens Dec. 18 against Avengers: Doomsday.
What the slate means for media planners
For entertainment marketers, this is less a trophy cabinet than a supply forecast. Franchise releases are stacking into 2027 and 2028: Transformers, Sonic, Batman, Superman, Minecraft, Dune, The Hunt for Gollum on Dec. 17, 2027, and more.
The practical read is to treat the pipeline as a calendar, not a collection. Lock early windows around proven IP; reserve flexibility around unproven reboots. After Supergirl’s miss, every DC opening will be scrutinized for audience overlap and budget discipline. Horror is a bright spot: Scream 7 opened to $64.1 million domestic on a $45 million budget, and Scary Movie opened to $54 million on $30 million.
Skydance’s challenge is to feed a 30-film machine without turning its strongest titles into oversupply. That will determine whether the vault is an engine or an interest payment.
Source: TheWrap
