Bobby Cohen Exiting Lionsgate as Co-President of Production
Lionsgate’s Bobby Cohen is departing his post as the studio’s co-president of production and moving into a production deal.
Peter Kang, who came on as co-president of production in April, is expected to remain in the post.
The move comes a month after Rob Friedman departed as co-chair of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. Friedman has been named special advisor to CEO Jon Feltheimer.
Kang had been an exec VP at Paramount, where he worked on the Brad Pitt thriller “Allied,” and at Fox, where he oversaw the revamped “Planet of the Apes” and worked on “Gone Girl,” “The Maze Runner,” and “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.”
Cohen joined Lionsgate in June, 2015, after producing both “Now You See Me” and “Now You See Me 2,” which have grossed nearly $700 million worldwide. His other credits also include “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Cider House Rules.”
Lionsgate saw its largest success from “The Hunger Games” movies, which launched in 2012, grossed nearly $3 billion, and transformed Jennifer Lawrence into a worldwide star. But it has struggled to duplicate that since with the “Divergent” series and misfires like “Gods of Egypt.”
Its top grosser this year is “Now You See Me 2” with $360 million worldwide. But its “Deepwater Horizon” — which carries a $110 million price tag — has performed only moderately with $39 million domestically in 11 days.
Lionsgate has a pair of potential awards season contenders in Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” and Mel Gibson’s “Hacksaw Ridge” — both which premiered to strong reviews at the Venice Film Festival. Other prominent upcoming titles include “Power Rangers,” “Patriots Day,” “Wonder,” and “American Pastoral.”
The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
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