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Paramount and Warner Music Group Announce First-Look Deal for Artist and Songwriter Biopics

Paramount Pictures and Warner Music Group have formalized a multi-year, first-look partnership to develop films inspired by WMG's extensive roster of artists and songwriters. This collaboration aims to bring more music-driven stories to the

Variety Music·May 7, 2026·via Variety Music

Paramount and Warner Music Group Announce First-Look Deal for Artist and Songwriter Biopics

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May 7, 2026 10:00am PT

Paramount and Warner Music Team Up for Movies About Artists and Songwriters

Warner Music Group's roster includes David Bowie, Cher, Aretha Franklin, Madonna and Dua Lipa

By Rebecca Rubin

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Rebecca Rubin

Senior Film and Media Reporter

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Get ready for more music-centric stories on the big screen. Paramount Pictures and Warner Music Group are partnering under a multi-year, first-look deal to produce theatrical films based on the recording label’s vast catalogue of artists and songwriters.

There aren’t any projects in development, though WMG’s roster includes legends like David Bowie, Cher, Phil Collins, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, and Frank Sinatra, as well as contemporary stars such as Charli xcx, Coldplay, Dua Lipa, Bruno Mars and Cardi B.

“We’re excited to partner with WMG and their extraordinary artists to create powerful theatrical experiences inspired by generation-defining music and talent,” Paramount’s co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg said in a statement.

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WMG and its production partner, Unigram, led by Amanda Ghost and Gregor Cameron, will work with Paramount to develop each project in collaboration with the artists and songwriters or their estates. Warner Music Group has a separate creative partnership with Netflix that focuses on documentaries.

“This unprecedented collaboration provides Warner Music artist and songwriters with the incredible opportunity to bring their stories, sounds, and repertoire to scripted features and animated films,” Ghost said in a statement. “This partnership finds new ways to empower iconic artists and to bring their creative worlds to the screen with music as a central character.”

Music biopics are nothing new, but Hollywood has leaned in after the success of 2018’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Since then, all kinds of artists including Elvis Presley (“Elvis”), Amy Winehouse (“Back to Black”), Bob Dylan (“A Complete Unknown”), Bob Marley (“One Love”) and Bruce Springsteen (“Deliver Me From Nowhere”) have gotten the cinematic treatment across various studios. That’s not to say all have been embraced with equal fervor at the box office.

Most recently, Lionsgate’s “Michael” has been a sensation with nearly $200 million domestically and $450 million globally after two weekends of release. Meanwhile Madonna, one of WMG’s artists, has attempted for years to make a movie about her life. She was supposed to co-write and co-direct a biopic (and even put a number of young actors through a rigorous bootcamp ) before the project was ultimately scrapped at Universal.

Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl promises the collaboration is “taking a fresh approach to the space.”

“This collaboration with Paramount unites two forward-looking and innovative companies,” Kyncl said in a statement. “Every artist deserves to tell the stories behind their life and music in their own creative way, and we’re excited to partner with our incredible talent and world-class filmmakers to bring these stories to the big screen, growing their audiences around the world.”