Erik Lomis CinemaCon Tribute: May His “Light Shine Brightly on Now”

Pamela McClintock
·3 min read

Hollywood studios and theater owners joined together Tuesday to pay tribute to the late Erik Lomis, the larger-than-life veteran distribution executive who was a mentor to many — including top filmmakers — and released numerous Oscar winners and blockbusters throughout his career.

“Our industry lost one of its most passionate and intelligent executives. He was unlike any other. You could take the boy out of the boy. ,” said Paramount domestic distribution president Chris Aronson, who worked for years under Lomis at MGM. They had a lasting friendship

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“Eric was a friend of many and a mentor him many, many more, and frankly, he was just one hell of a special person. And while the suddenness of Eric’s passing is so difficult to comprehend. But we have to understand that life can only be understood backwards, but we must live life forward. And that’s the way Eric wanted it. Always living forward, getting the most out of each and every day days, which usually started before most everyone else would even be waking up,” Aronson continued.

“The things like wins and losses that one seem so important will simply fade away. So what does really matter? What will matter is not one’s success but one’s significance. What matters is every act of courage, integrity, sacrifice, and compassion that we can possibly do. And Eric was incredibly compassionate,” Aronson continued. “There are some people who bring the light so great to the world that even after they’re gone, the light remains. May Eric’s light shine brightly on now.”

Aronson’s remarks were delivered at CinemaCon, the annual gathering of cinema owners in Las Vegas where Hollywood studios tout their upcoming slates. Studios are known for being fierce rivals, but in this instance, differences were put aside as the crowd paid tribute to Lomis.

Lapel pins were expected to be handed out with one of Lomis’ signature expressions about how there’s no such thing as a bad day.

Lomis died suddenly on March 22 at his home in Santa Monica. He was 64.

As MGM’s head of distribution, he was in the midst of helping parent company Amazon Studios prepare for the release of Ben Affleck’s Air when he passed. Amazon recently signed Lomis — a champion of the big-screen experience — to a new deal after officially acquiring the storied film studio.

Lomis watched over the box office like a hawk and was renowned for arising at 4 a.m. to compile detailed notes analyzing the theatrical lineup every weekend.

His first tour of duty as MGM’s president of worldwide distribution ran from 1993 to 2011, including handling four James Bond films, Legally Blond and Barbershop. His next post was at The Weinstein Co., where he shepherded the release of a long list of acclaimed awards fare, including Oscar best-picture winners The Artist and The King’s Speech. And he helped realize Quentin Tarantino’s dream of releasing The Hateful Eight in 70mm by equipping as many cinemas as he could with old-school projection systems.

He left the Weinstein Co. to launch a distribution division at Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures in 2016 before segueing in 2019 to United Artists Releasing, the joint venture of MGM and Annapurna that rolled out No Time to Die (2021) during the immense challenges of COVID-19. Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson have long been avid fans of Lomis, and relied more than ever on his guidance when delaying the latest 007 film several times because of the pandemic.

MGM absorbed UAR after the Amazon purchase. In addition to Air, Lomis’ recent roster included MGM’s best picture Oscar nominee Women Talking and Creed III, which has grossed a franchise-best $271 million at the global box office.

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