Paramount to Distribute Next Five Marvel Films Worldwide

Marvel Studios, a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, has extended its global distribution deal with Viacom's Paramount Pictures for Marvel's next five self-produced feature films.

Marvel's upcoming films included in the deal are Iron Man 2 (May 7, 2010), Thor (July 16, 2010), The First Avenger: Captain America (May 6, 2011), The Avengers (July 15, 2011) and Iron Man 3 (no release date set).

"Coming off of Iron Man's incredible success this summer, we could not be more excited about extending our relationship with Marvel," says Robert Moore, vice chairman of Paramount Pictures. "Marvel's iconic brand, its popular characters and its proven ability to create compelling and visually spellbinding films complement Paramount's great history of filmmaking. We look forward to a long and successful run together."

This year's release of Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. and directed by Jon Favreau grossed $574 million worldwide for Marvel. The Paramount distributed film was released on DVD Sept. 30.