Paramount Players
TypeDivision
IndustryMotion pictures
FoundedJune 2017; 6 years ago (June 2017)
FounderJim Gianopulos
Headquarters,
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Jeremy Kramer (president)
ProductsFilm production
ParentParamount Pictures
Divisions
Paramount Players is an American film production label of Paramount Pictures, focusing on "contemporary properties" while working with other Paramount Global brands. The name alludes to the company's earliest origins as Famous Players Film Company, before its 1914 founding by William Wadsworth Hodkinson.

History

On June 7, 2017, Jim Gianopulos, who joined Paramount Pictures as the Chairman and CEO in March, announced the launch of the Paramount Players division with Brian Robbins, the founder and former CEO of AwesomenessTV, as president. Robbins will work with Viacom’s Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and BET operations to generate projects while the new division focuses on "contemporary properties." The division was created after Paramount and Viacom expressed disappointment at Comedy Central stars Jordan Peele and Amy Schumer producing their own films (2017's Get Out and 2015's Trainwreck, respectively) for Universal Pictures due to feeling "unwelcome" by Paramount's former executives.

On August 17, 2017, Paramount Players acquired its first project, which is a film adaptation of the book Vacation Guide to the Solar System by Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley.

On October 1, 2018, Brian Robbins left his position as the president of Paramount Players after Viacom tapped him to be the president of Nickelodeon, ending his 16-month run at the studio. Despite leaving the studio, he will remain involved with Paramount Players' Nickelodeon films (Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Playing with Fire). Wyck Godfrey, the president of Paramount Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, is serving as interim and will oversee day-to-day operations with support from Robbins until Paramount finds a new president for the studio.

On June 30, 2020, Emma Watts replaced Wyck Godfrey as the president of Paramount Pictures’ Motion Picture Group and began on July 20th (Godfrey returned to producing). In October, Watts tapped Jeremy Kramer as president.

Films

Released films

Release date Title Notes
November 2, 2018 Nobody's Fool Co-produced by Tyler Perry Studios and BET Films
February 8, 2019 What Men Want Co-produced by Will Packer Productions and BET Films
August 9, 2019 Dora and the Lost City of Gold Co-produced by Nickelodeon Movies, Walden Media, Media Rights Capital and Burr! Productions
October 18, 2019 Eli Distributed by Netflix; co-produced by MTV Films, Intrepid Pictures and Bellevue Productions
November 8, 2019 Playing with Fire Co-produced by Nickelodeon Movies, Walden Media and Broken Road Productions
May 19, 2020 Body Cam Co-produced by Ace Entertainment and BET Films
October 30, 2020 Spell N/A
October 29, 2021 Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin Distributed by Paramount+; co-produced with Blumhouse Productions
February 11, 2022 The In Between Distributed by Paramount+

In development

Title Notes
Mean Girls the Musical Co-produced by Broadway Video and Little Stranger
On the Come Up Co-produced by Temple Hill Entertainment and State Street Pictures
Orphan: First Kill Co-produced by Dark Castle Entertainment, Entertainment One and Sierra/Affinity
Quinceanerx Co-produced by 'Twas Entertainment
Senior Year Distributed by Netflix
Shhh Co-produced by Ace Entertainment
Slime N/A
Something's Wrong with Rose Co-produced by Temple Hill Entertainment
Untitled Pet Sematary prequel Distributed by Paramount+; co-produced by Di Bonaventura Pictures and Room 101, Inc

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films
Rank Title Year Worldwide gross Budget
1 Dora and the Lost City of Gold 2019 $120.6 million $49 million
2 What Men Want 2019 $72.2 million $20 million
3 Playing with Fire 2019 $68.6 million $30 million
4 Nobody's Fool 2018 $33.5 million $19 million