Twentieth Century Fox President of Domestic Theatrical Marketing Marc Weinstock will leave the studio at the end of the year to become president of Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures.
Weinstock will become the latest veteran marketing and distribution executives to join Annapurna, which Ellison founded in 2011. Last year, Annapurna hired former Sony exec David Kaminow as its president of marketing.
And in March, Ellison’s production company attracted longtime The Weinstein Company distribution chief Erik Lomis, prompting speculation the indie shingle had designs on becoming a full-fledged distribution engine as well as content creator.
Weinstock’s experience with a major studio — which was just nominated for a Clio Award for Best Integrated Campaign for its work on the Ryan Reynolds Marvel hit “Deadpool” — certainly would not hurt Annapurna’s efforts to scale up.
Annapurna was the production company behind one of this year’s other surprise hits, raunchy animated comedy “Sausage Party,” which made $138 million worldwide on a $19 million budget.
Weinstock also follows a series of veteran departures from Fox, which shook up the top of its studio this summer, with Stacey Snider replacing Jim Gianopulos as chairman and CEO of its film studio in September, well before her planned June 2017 start date. Paul Hanneman, Fox’s former worldwide head of marketing and distribution for its film division, left the studio in October.