But the slate of films that Mr. Rothman served up during the company’s last fiscal year, which ended in March, generated the highest profit of any Sony slate in over a decade, the company has said. One film, “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle,” which cost $90 million to make, collected nearly $1 billion worldwide.
Mr. Rothman’s track record at Sony has not been perfect, and whether Sony can compete with the likes of the Walt Disney Company and Warner Bros. over the long term remains to be seen. Many analysts think that Sony must merge with another studio in the years ahead. And Mr. Rothman remains a divisive figure in Hollywood, where devotees chuckle at his showman ways — he rides around the Sony lot on a bicycle with a little personalized license plate: “ROTHMAN” — and detractors complain that he wields too strong of a hand.
Even so, Sony appears poised for further success. A “Jumanji” sequel has been scheduled for next year, when Sony will also deliver the follow-up to “Spider-Man: Homecoming” and try to reboot the studio’s “Men in Black” and “Charlie’s Angels” franchises. Next summer, Sony will also release Quentin Tarantino’s much-anticipated “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” which is set in 1969 and stars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.
In the coming weeks, Sony will roll out “Venom,” a dark superhero movie, and the animated “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.” Both are stirring substantial advance interest from ticket buyers, according to box office analysts.
“We feel pretty great about how far we have come, but know that there is still more to do,” Mr. Rothman said in a statement. He thanked Mr. Vinciquerra and “Yoshida-san,” referring to Kenichiro Yoshida, chief executive of Sony Corporation, and added, “This job is a privilege.”
Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/20/business/media/sony-movie-chairman-rothman.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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