Paramount Pictures CEO may step down, business losses are the main reason

According to people familiar with the matter, the order for Gray to leave was issued by Viacom Group's new boss Bob Baksey, and the two sides are still negotiating on Mr. Gray's resignation. Gray did not respond for the time being.

Original title: Paramount Pictures CEO Brad Gray may step down due to business losses

According to Fox, Viacom Group is undergoing internal adjustments, and the group's media giant Paramount Pictures has also been affected. Brad Gray, who has served as CEO for 12 years, has recently announced his resignation. According to people familiar with the matter, the order for Gray to leave was issued by Viacom Group's new boss Bob Baksey, and the two sides are still negotiating on Mr. Gray's resignation. Gray did not respond for the time being.

Paramount Pictures 'profits have been declining in recent years. On the one hand, it has produced relatively few films; on the other hand, it is because the box office of its works has been poor, such as "Monster Truck" and the remake of "Ben-Hur", etc., failed to achieve the expected box office. Paramount Pictures lost $445 million in its last fiscal year (ending September last year) and $110 million in 2015, and has ranked bottom in the Hollywood box office for four consecutive years. Although this year's "Coming" has a good reputation, Paramount Pictures has only 4 films in its 2018 plan. Several other companies, such as Disney and Universal Pictures, have as many as 10.

In addition, according to insiders, recently, Gray has negotiated a three-year cooperation project with two China companies with a total amount of one billion yuan. This cooperation not only brought money to Paramount, but also allowed Paramount to find allies in China, the world's second largest market. However, after Bob Baksey and Vice Chairman Shari Redstone took over Viacom, they acted very hard. Although Gray claimed that he had plans to revitalize Paramount Pictures, it was clear that the two new officials did not believe him.

However, Viacom Group has not yet announced a candidate for the new head of Paramount Pictures. According to people familiar with the matter, Jim Giannopoulos, an executive who resigned from 20th Century Fox last year, is likely to become the new CEO of Paramount. Another candidate could be Jeff Robinoff, former president of Warner Pictures.

Editor: Nancy