Paramount Plus is busting out the popcorn: The ViacomCBS streamer is stuffing more than 1,000 movie titles into the service this week as it fights for ground in the streaming wars.
The new batch of flicks includes “Infinite,” Paramount’s sci-fi thriller starring Mark Wahlberg and Chiwetel Ejiofor and directed by Antoine Fuqua, which will exclusively debut on Paramount Plus this Thursday, June 10, alongside another 1,000-plus movies. All told, the company said, Paramount Plus will be stocked with more than 2,500 movie titles by the end of summer 2021.
On Aug. 20, Paramount Plus will add animated kids’ flick “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” the same day it hits theaters. The subscription service also will become the streaming home for “A Quiet Place Part II” following its theatrical release.
The move to boost the film lineup comes as ViacomCBS bows its new, less-expensive $4.99/month plan for Paramount Plus with ads, available starting Monday. Unlike the predecessor CBS All Access with ads at $5.99/month — which is being discontinued — the Paramount Plus Essential package does not provide access to local CBS stations. (The no-adds $9.99/month Paramount Plus Premium does include CBS locals.)
Paramount Pictures adjusted its pay-TV output deal with Epix, the premium network owned by MGM (which is being acquired by Amazon), in order to provide an expanded bucket of movie titles for Paramount Plus.
Here’s a partial list of the movies coming to Paramount Plus this week:
- Action/adventure: “Terminator: Dark Fate,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Red Dawn,” “Skyfall,” “The Avengers,” “Gemini Man,” “The Rhythm Section”
- Comedies: “Like a Boss,” “The Hustle,” “Valley Girl,” “What Men Want,” “Fighting with My Family,” “The Little Hours,” “The Dictator,” “I Love You, Man,” “Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa,” “Tropic Thunder,” “No Strings Attached,” “Hello, My Name Is Doris,” “The School of Rock”
- Critically acclaimed titles: “Rocketman,” “Judy,” “Florence Foster Jenkins,” “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Revolutionary Road,” “71,” “The Soloist,” “The Birdcage,” “The Full Monty” and “Little Women”;
- Kids and family: “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “The Addams Family,” “Wonder Park,” “The Adventures of Tintin,” “Charlotte’s Web”
- Horror: “Body Cam,” “Saint Maud,” “Crawl,” “Child’s Play,” “Gretel & Hansel,” “Pet Sematary,” “The Prodigy,” “The Haunting,” “Paranormal Activity 3 & 4,” “Arachnophobia”
ViacomCBS also touted Paramount Plus’s lineup of new and returning original series this summer. That includes the revivial of “iCarly” (June 17), “Evil” (June 20), “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars” (June 24), “RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked!” (June 24), “The Good Fight” (June 24), “Behind the Music” (July 29) and “Star Trek: Lower Decks” (Aug. 12).
“The breadth and depth of premium feature films and exclusive series coming to the service further strengthens our position in the market as a premium entertainment destination,” Tom Ryan, CEO of the recently formed ViacomCBS Streaming division, said in a statement.
Paramount Plus is available online at paramountplus; on mobile devices via the Paramount Plus app for iOS and Android; and on Android TV, Amazon Prime Video Channels, Apple TV, Apple TV channels, Chromecast, Facebook Portal, Fire TV, LG Smart TVs, PlayStation 4, Roku Players, Samsung Smart TVs, Vizio Smartcast TVs and Xbox One.
