Battle Moves Overseas

Is it really a surprise that, with new leadership and the growing importance of the international market to rescue poorly performing domestic movies, Brad Grey stepped up to bring the world back to Paramount? Madagascar, which did gross nearly $200 million at home, also grossed $305 million overseas, leading DreamWorks Animation to hope for a new franchise. In a move signaling his further desire to reshape Paramount, Grey has announced the dissolution of United International Pictures, the joint studio distribution entity that has been handling non-domestic distribution for Paramount and partner Universal.

As reported in Variety, "UIP was formed in 1981, when U and Par partnered with MGM and United Artists to release their films overseas through a single distribution apparatus. MGM and UA exited the partnership in 2000."

As of 2007, Universal will take eight territories and Paramount seven, with each able to utilize the other's operations for the first two years, while they create their own offices. At the end of the day, UIP will still operate in 20 territories, but with the exception of Japan and Korea, they represent areas where maintaining an independent office is not supported by the size of the market -- Argentina, Denmark, Greece, Hungary.

While UIP has been very successful with the release of blockbuster films, studios always felt shortchanged by an entity that could never devote its full attention to one studio's product and by a perception of less success with smaller titles. There is also a further rehashing in Variety, coverage in The Hollywood Reporter.