To make motion pictures, studios require a large network of vendors and creators who work around the clock to help bring stories to life. Behind the scenes of every film at Paramount Pictures, the physical production team manages hundreds of relationships to bring movies to the screen. With filming, production and post-production taking place around the world, paying vendors and creators is a major challenge, and the studio turned to J.P. Morgan Payments to streamline its production-related payment processes.

Opportunity

Founded in 1912, Paramount Pictures has produced some of the most iconic films of the 20th and 21st centuries, including The Godfather, Titanic and Mean Girls.⁴ In 2023 alone, its films generated $2 billion at the global box office and delivered five No. 1 debuts at the domestic box office.⁵ Executive Vice President and Co-head of Physical Production, Ralph Bertelle, estimates that Paramount Pictures averages 12 feature films per year.

“We are almost always in a state of pre-production, production or post-production,” he says. “We’re hiring between 150 to 200 crew and cast members per movie, and we can have thousands of crew members, cast and extras working at any given time.”

Film production has a major impact on the community where a movie is being filmed. According to Bertelle, Paramount Pictures must enlist a wide array of vendors, from catering services and construction to vehicle rentals and accommodations, to support production needs.⁵ Each project can involve tens of thousands of transactions in multiple currencies, and to maintain trust with the local community, the studio needs to make these payments on time and in the recipients’ local currencies.

Solution

Paramount Pictures’ physical production department depends on J.P. Morgan Payments to make payments in a secure, reliable and fast manner. This ensures that relationships with global vendors remain positive, whether they are large enterprises or small businesses. The strength of J.P. Morgan Payments solutions is highlighted by its recent accolades; the bank received 21 recognitions at the 2023 Greenwich Excellence Awards, including distinctions within Cash Management, Trade Finance and Large Corporate Banking.

Every day, the studio uses J.P. Morgan Access® to manage its payment operations. These capabilities empower the studio to navigate complex international payments with ease. This comprehensive suite of services offers tools to help the studio manage its budgets, analyze financial data and facilitate transactions on a global scale. Different team members involved in production can load and approve payments, ensuring vendors and creators are paid on time and in full.

“These days, our vendors expect us to be able to make payments in the most innovative ways. Having J.P. Morgan Access® helps us do that,” says Head of Production Finance, Bob Roath, at Paramount Pictures. “It’s getting easier and easier to make payments across borders.”

Paramount Pictures also depends on Cross-Currency Solutions from J.P. Morgan Payments, a suite of services designed to facilitate efficient and secure cross-border payments in multiple currencies. With this global network, the studio has the ability to send payments in 120 currencies to over 200 countries and territories in real time.⁶ Roath shared that by using these solutions, the studio can efficiently process payments in the local currency of each vendor, simplifying complexities and offering scalability that is not otherwise available with manual conversions.

By working with a global bank, Paramount Pictures can move money around the world with ease. Bertelle shared that the studio has reduced its time to payment, gaining the ability to load and process international payments within a day. This improvement not only accelerates payment processes, but also has a substantial positive impact on local economies around the globe. Hundreds of businesses and vendors integral to film productions appreciate the timely and precise nature of these payments, as well as the convenience of receiving them in their local currencies. According to Roath, Paramount Pictures has witnessed an increase in vendor satisfaction, which has helped fortify its global relationships.

Next steps

Looking ahead, Paramount Pictures will continue its relationship with J.P. Morgan Payments for the timely, efficient processing of vendor payments. With productions around the world, the studio’s commitment to financial efficiency and vendor satisfaction remains a top priority.

“Seamless payments help create movie magic because they allow me and our filmmakers to focus on the most important thing, which is making the movie,” says Bertelle. “Thanks to J.P. Morgan Payments, we can concentrate on our cast performances, our action sequences and the content of the script.”

About Paramount Pictures

Founded in 1912, Paramount Pictures is a film and television production and distribution studio based in the U.S. with operations worldwide. In 2023, its films generated $2 billion at the global box office and delivered five No. 1 U.S. debuts.⁷