Legendary Entertainment facts for kids
Logo used since 2019
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Legendary Entertainment headquarters at the Pointe office building in Burbank
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| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder | Thomas Tull |
| Headquarters | 2900 West Alameda Avenue,
Burbank, California 91505
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United States
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Key people
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Number of employees
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153 |
| Parent | Wanda Group (2016–2024) Apollo Global Management (co-owner) |
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Legendary Entertainment, LLC (also known as Legendary Pictures or simply Legendary) is an American company that makes movies and other media. It is located in Burbank, California. Thomas Tull started the company.
Legendary often works with big movie studios. These include Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, and Paramount Pictures. They also work with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu. In 2016, a Chinese company called Wanda Group bought Legendary. Later, in 2022, an American investment company named Apollo also bought a part of it. In 2024, Legendary and Apollo became equal partners.
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How Legendary Entertainment Started
Thomas Tull founded Legendary Entertainment in 2000. He started it with co-founders Jon Jashni, Larry Clark, William Fay, and Scott Mednick. They raised money from different investment companies to get started.
Legendary was one of the first companies to combine making big movies with money from large investment groups. In 2005, Legendary Pictures made a deal with Warner Bros. They agreed to work together to make and pay for up to 40 movies over seven years.
Changes in Ownership
In 2010, Thomas Tull and other investors bought all the shares from the original investors. This made Tull the biggest owner. This helped him guide how the company worked.
In 2011, another investment company, Accel Partners, bought shares. This made Legendary worth more than $1 billion. In 2012, Waddell & Reed bought about 20% of Legendary's shares.
In 2013, Legendary made a new deal with Universal Pictures. They agreed that Universal would help market, pay for, and release Legendary's movies for five years. This deal started in 2014, after their agreement with Warner Bros. ended. In 2014, SoftBank bought shares in Legendary. This made the company's total value around $3 billion.
Becoming Part of Wanda Group
On January 11, 2016, a large Chinese company called Wanda Group announced it would buy Legendary Entertainment. They paid $3.5 billion for it. This was the biggest purchase of an American media company by a Chinese firm at that time.
After the sale, Jon Jashni, who was a key creative leader, left the company in March 2016. In January 2017, Thomas Tull also stepped down as CEO of Legendary Entertainment. Jack Gao, from Wanda's cultural industry group, took over as interim CEO.
In October 2017, Jack Gao left his roles at Legendary and Wanda Group. This happened because Wanda Group decided to focus more on business within China. In December 2017, Joshua Grode became the new CEO of Legendary Entertainment.
New Partnerships and Changes
In August 2018, Legendary's deal with Universal ended. They then made a new agreement to work with Warner Bros. again.
In December 2020, there were discussions about how Legendary's movies, like Dune and Godzilla vs. Kong, would be released. Legendary was not happy with WarnerMedia's plans to release movies in theaters and on streaming services at the same time. They eventually reached an agreement to keep the simultaneous release.
In January 2022, Apollo Global Management bought a part of Legendary. Wanda Group was still the main owner at that time. In August 2022, Legendary started looking for a new partner after their deal with Warner Bros. ended. Sony Pictures and Paramount Pictures were interested.
In November 2022, Legendary made a deal with Sony Pictures. Sony would help market, pay for, and release Legendary's movies. However, Legendary East would handle movies in China. This partnership did not include Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which continued to be with Warner Bros. Legendary also kept working with streaming companies like Netflix.
In October 2024, Legendary bought out Wanda Group's ownership. This made Legendary and Apollo Global Management equal partners. This change gave Legendary more freedom to make big deals in the future.
In November 2024, the distribution deal between Legendary and Sony Pictures ended. In January 2025, Legendary started a new company called 193 with Patrick Wachsberger. This company will make its own movies. In July 2025, Legendary was looking into buying Lionsgate Studios.
Legendary's Different Businesses
Legendary Entertainment does more than just make American movies. They have several other business areas.
Legendary Digital Networks
In 2009, Legendary started a digital division. At first, it focused on making games. Later, in 2012, they bought Nerdist Industries, which is a popular culture blog and podcast. The founders of Nerdist, Chris Hardwick and Peter Levin, became leaders of Legendary's digital division.
In 2014, Legendary also bought Geek & Sundry, a YouTube channel, and the website Amy Poehler's Smart Girls. In 2016, they launched a streaming service called Alpha, which had shows from Nerdist and Geek & Sundry. The Alpha service closed in 2019.
Over time, the digital brands became less important to Legendary's main business, which is movies and TV.
Legendary Comics
In 2010, Legendary started a comic book division called Legendary Comics. Their first graphic novel was Holy Terror by Frank Miller, released in 2011. This division now creates many different comic books and graphic novels.
Legendary Television
In 2011, Legendary announced it would start Legendary Television to make TV shows. They signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television. However, in 2012, they decided to pause this plan and ended the contract.
In 2013, Legendary bought a company called Five33 Ltd. This company helps market movies. Five33 now works only on marketing Legendary's films. Also in 2013, Legendary hired Bruce Rosenblum to lead their TV and digital media work. In December 2013, Legendary bought Asylum Entertainment, a TV production company known for sports shows and reality series.
Legendary East
In 2011, Legendary formed Legendary East Ltd. This is a movie production company based in Hong Kong. Its goal is to make movies with Chinese companies. This helps them release films in China more easily.
Legendary East made a new agreement with China Film Group in 2013. They agreed to make several movies together over three years. This partnership eventually led to Wanda Group buying Legendary.
Movies and TV Shows
See also
In Spanish: Legendary Entertainment para niños
