Emma Watts, who serves as president of production at 20th Century Fox, has signed a new three-year contract with the studio, it was announced Thursday by Jim Gianopulos, chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox Film.
With Stacey Snider expected to leave DreamWorks for a senior position at Fox, possibly as soon as November, there had been rampant speculation by industry observers regarding Watts’ future role at the studio. Gianopulos made a strong statement to the town with the contract extension, which gives Watts job security.
“Emma is a proven and extremely talented production executive who has consistently led her division to great success, most recently through her stellar contributions to our remarkable summer slate. We look forward to her continuing contributions to our creative achievements in the years ahead,” said Gianopulos.
Watts as served as president of production at 20th Century Fox since Nov. 2009, having previously served as co-president since 2007, and executive VP of production beginning in 2005.
Last month, 20th Century Fox became the first studio to gross $1 billion in domestic box office — and $3 billion worldwide — following a record-breaking summer that included three projects overseen by Watts: the comedy “The Other Woman”; the global blockbuster “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” which has become the highest-grossing picture in that franchise, amassing more than $730 million worldwide to date; and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” which opened to an impressive $104 million global tally and has grossed more than $500 million worldwide to date.
Fox released Luke Greenfield’s comedy “Let’s Be Cops” on Wednesday and its upcoming films include the YA adaptation “The Maze Runner” and David Fincher’s “Gone Girl” starring Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike. The studio’s holiday releases include Ridley Scott‘s “Exodus: Gods and Kings” starring Christian Bale as Moses, and Shawn Levy’s “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” which reunites Ben Stiller and Robin Williams once again.
Fox’s 2015 slate includes Matthew Vaughn’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service” starring Colin Firth, Paul Feig’s “Spy” starring Melissa McCarthy, the Daniel Radcliffe-James McAvoy movie “Victor Frankenstein,” Ridley Scott’s “The Martian” starring Matt Damon and Josh Trank’s reboot of “The Fantastic Four.”
