Sony to acquire Peanuts majority stake | What it means for Universal and Six Flags
The Peanuts franchise, home to Charlie Brown and Snoopy, will belong mostly to Sony as the company acquires an ownership stake.
Photo by Sean Teegarden / Six Flags
Sony Music Entertainment Japan Inc. and Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. will jointly acquire WildBrain Ltd.’s 41% stake in Peanuts Holdings LLC. Combined with Sony’s current 39% stake in Peanuts, this will give the company an 80% majority stake in the franchise. The remaining 20% belongs to the family of Peanuts creator Charles M. Schultz. The deal was announced on Dec. 18, 2025.
WildBrain — a family entertainment company whose portfolio also includes Strawberry Shortcake, Teletubbies, and Yo Gabba Gabba — has partially owned its Peanuts stake since 2018.
What Sony’s Peanuts deal means for theme parks | Analysis
In the U.S., Peanuts rides, lands, shows, and characters inhabit many Six Flags theme parks, where Camp Snoopy or Planet Snoopy reign as themed children’s areas. Earlier this year, Six Flags extended its Peanuts licensing agreement through 2030. (Six Flags also maintains licensing agreements to use Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters.)
Photo by Blake Taylor
Beyond the U.S., Peanuts characters appear at Universal Studios Japan with their own roller coaster and live entertainment.
Moving forward, it will be Sony’s responsibility to manage these partnerships and decide, come time for any future potential renewal agreements, if Six Flags and Universal are stewarding the Peanuts brand to Sony’s standards and in a way that aligns with Sony’s business model for the franchise.
Notably, Sony does have a park of its own, Columbia Pictures Aquaverse in Thailand, a water park with attractions based on “Hotel Transylvania,” “Jumanji,” “Ghostbusters,” and other familiar movies.
Photo by Blake Taylor
Sony is no stranger to licensing its franchises with other theme parks, having collaborated for decades with Universal to bring “Ghostbusters” shows, characters, and haunted houses to various Universal theme parks. Meanwhile, a “Jumanji” land exists at Chessington in the U.K. and an “Uncharted” ride is at PortAventura in Spain. All this to say, Sony has experience managing the license of a well-known intellectual property (IP) to a third-party theme park company.
What the deal means for Peanuts on streaming services
Classic Peanuts holiday specials — such as “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown” — currently stream on Apple TV, as do new Peanuts series and specials created by WildBrain. The franchise’s streaming deal with Apple currently lasts through 2030.
Stay connected with AttractionsMagazine.com for daily coverage of theme park news, trip reports, and exclusive interviews from Disney, Universal, Six Flags, and independent attractions around the world.
More Attractions Magazine stories:
Follow us:
No matter where you want to go, our trusted partner MEI-Travel will handle the planning so you can focus on the memories. They offer free vacation-planning services and have nearly 20 years of experience creating memorable vacations. Visit MEI-Travel for a fee-free, no-obligation quote today.
