Paramount Pictures Changing Hands ... Maybe

One of the oldest movie studios in the country might soon be put on the block.

Viacom is planning to sell a "significant" minority stake in its film and television studio Paramount Pictures.

The company had been approached by several investors, said chief executive Philippe Dauman, and would be holding talks with some investors.

Viacom is under pressure to revive its fortunes after a run of poor results.

Earlier this month it posted a 6% year-on-year fall in quarterly revenues to $3.2bn (£2.2bn).
Paramount Pictures has also struggled, with revenue falling 15% and an operating loss of $146m. ...

In the late thirties and straight through World War II, Paramount was the most successful movie studio going. All the majors of the time made money, but Paramount was up there at or near) the top. It has so many completed motion pictures lined up on the tarmac that some biggies didn't get a release for over a year.

But the high-flying days are long gone. Now the division of Viacom is sputtering, which might explain why the parent conglomerate desires to unload some of it. Paramount/Viacom is one of the few conglomerates that hasn't been making animated features.

But that reality will soon be changing. Paramount now has its own animated feature unit on the lot with the next Sponge Bob movie and several others in development. Production will be along the lines of the Illumination Entertainment model, with development in Los Angeles and production outside U.S. borders.