Now that the battle for Viacom is over; Sumner Redstone and his daughter, Shari, retain control and Philippe Dauman is almost out, attention is turning to Viacom properties, including the troubled Paramount Pictures and the studio's CEO Brad Grey. Ben-Hur is the most recent of their box office bombs -- earlier flops this year include Zoolander 2 and Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. Star Trek Beyond is their only movie this year to make more than $100 million, but even that's not great because it's been the least successful film in the franchise. People on the lot at Paramount claim all the corporate struggles have been a distraction, and now they can return to focusing on filmmaking. They do own several powerful franchises, including Transformers and Mission Impossible. They need upcoming films to land in a big way.
KCRW
