The announcement came hard on the heels of the disappointing opening for its new Mike Myers comedy "The Love Guru," which earned just $13.9 million during the weekend. Hollywood pundits had expected it to open in the $20 million range.

Last week, the Viacom Inc -owned studio surpassed the $1 billion mark in international ticket sales.

The superhero saga "Iron Man" has now grossed $305 million domestically (U.S. and Canada), while director Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" has pulled in $291 million. Paramount has also benefited from the cartoon "Kung Fu Panda," which has made $156 million after three weekends.

The studio did not produce any of the movies, but receives a fee for distributing them. "Iron Man" was produced by Marvel Entertainment Inc's Marvel Studios, "Indiana Jones" by George Lucas' Lucasfilm, and "Kung Fu Panda" by DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc .

But Paramount did produce "The Love Guru," partnering on the $60 million project with independent producer Spyglass Entertainment. Critics ripped Myers' portrayal of a Deepak Chopra-style New Age Svengali.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte, Dean Goodman and Andre Grenon)