Jim Gianopulos Leaves Paramount as Chief Executive Officer, – Deadline

Jim Gianopulos is leaving Paramount as chief executive officer, Deadline has confirmed. A Wall Street Journal article said Brian Robbins, the leader of ViacomCBS Inc.’s Nickelodeon children’s television empire, would take over as Gianopulos as head of Paramount Pictures. His appointment is imminent. Robbins, who goes from star to Class leader at the helm of Paramount, is a brilliant and progressive executive who will likely lead Paramount to put more product emphasis on its streaming service.

Gianopulos, 70, took the helm of Paramount in March 2017 after a long stint at Fox where he oversaw 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Fox 2000, Fox Animation / Blue Sky Studios, Fox International Productions and Fox Home Entertainment. Gianopulos arrived at Paramount after the 11-year tenure of Brad Gray and Rob Moore, the last of which was vice president and left in September 2016. Gianopulos arrived on a Melrose pitch that was in tatters from a previous administration which once had distribution rights. to the Marvel hits that Kevin Feige was producing, only to see this deal work when high-end Philippe Daumann refused to buy Marvel, the deal that transformed Disney. Paramount also blurted out Indiana Jones and his relationship with Lucasfilm, and the studio bought DreamWorks only to see clashes lead to Paramount’s abandonment.

When Gianopulos arrived, the hope was that he would do for Paramount what Alan Horn brought to Disney, which was to bring calm and cohesion as the studio tried to overcome imperfections such as the expensive Monster trucks and Ben hur box and a tiring franchise like Star Trek and Transformers. It would be a time of reconstruction for Gianopulos. A positive point for the CEO is that at the end of the pandemic, Paramount was the only major studio to see its summer revenue increase this year compared to 2019 with $ 220.6 million, + 17% thanks to A Quiet Place, Part II. The year before the arrival of the executive known to Hollywood as Jim G, the studio lost $ 450 million. This year is heading for a big profit, a swing of over $ 850 million. Gianopulos has built a strong management team including Emma Watts, Marc Weinstock, Mary Daily and Nicole Clemens. Paramount TV has created over 20 production / on-air shows including 13 Reasons Why, Jack Ryan, Defending Jacob, with upcoming series such as The Offer and American Gigolo for Paramount + and Showtime. A global deal with Taylor Sheridan of Yellowstone will yield an abundance of programming for the streaming service, including the 1883 prequel and Mayor Jeremy Renner-starrer of Kingstown. On the movie side, franchises were solidified with A Quiet Place earning money and more sequels, Sonic the Hedgehod, Missin: Impossible and Top Gun, and a repositioning of the Transformers with Bumblebee, a revival of its losing predecessor. money. He also re-established Paramount Animation with the movie SpongeBob and Paw Patrol. It also made streaming deals with profitable third parties during the pandemic on No remorse, Coming 2 America, and established short windows for Paramount + on animated films.

There had been rumors about Gianopulos for a while, and the word was that it had to do with his emphasis on the filmmaker relationship and respect for the theater. Rumor had it that Shari Redstone was not thrilled with Top Gun: Maverick’s passage from November 19 to Memorial Day weekend 2022 and Mission: Impossible from Memorial Day to September 30, 2022. It was just before the movie Marvel Shang-Chi didn’t become a surprise box office success. Robbins was known to have Redstone’s ear, and she sparked his vision for the studio’s future. He will continue to lead Nickelodeon and Kids and Family Entertainment for the studio and Paramount +.

Robbins was the star of Class leader and has always been seen as an innovative and progressive executive and producer. His oversight at ViacomCBS includes all strategic, creative and business operations for the company’s child and young adult-focused brands including Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Nick Jr., TeenNick, Nicktoons, Nickelodeon Studios and Awesomeness. Not many people are shocked at Robbins’ rise here, as it is understood he has the ear of ViacomCBS President Shari Redstone, who was one of the proponents of the change in the executive suite by WSJ.

It is expected that Gianopulos will remain on board to help with the transition of the management team.

We will keep you posted on the details soon.