Warner Bros. to handle older Paramount disc sales
LOS ANGELES -- Paramount Pictures is handing off the distribution of physical discs of 600 older movies like "Terms of Endearment" and "Airplane!" to Warner Bros. in a three-year deal that puts digital copies of its newer titles for sale on Warner's Flixster online movie service.
The deal in the U.S. and Canada allows Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., to make movie bundles that wouldn't be possible without the cooperation of other studios, like Humphrey Bogart's 1942 classic "Casablanca" and his later 1951 movie "The African Queen." Warner will receive an undisclosed distribution fee.
Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc., will focus on newer franchises like its recent reboot of "Star Trek."
High-definition Blu-ray disc sales have been growing, but DVD sales are falling as consumers adapt to watching movies online or on mobile devices.