James N. Gianopulos (Greek: Δημήτρης Γιαννόπουλος) is an American businessman. He served as chairman and CEO of 20th Century Fox and Chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures until his departure in September 2021.
Gianopulos started his career by working at Columbia Pictures and Paramount. In 1992, he was appointed President of 20th Century Fox International, where he was responsible for the marketing and distribution for the studio's films and television programs.[2][3][4][5]
Fox
From 2000 to 2012, Gianopulos was chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment with Tom Rothman. During that time, the company earned over $30 billion from the box office and made the then two highest-grossing films, Titanic and Avatar; and twenty movies he greenlit each grossed over $100 million domestically ($151 million in current dollars) and 26 movies that fetched $100 million internationally. Fox films during his tenure were nominated for more than 150 Academy Awards and won three Best Picture Awards, including Slumdog Millionaire, which won the Best Picture Oscar in 2008.[2][4][6]
Gianopulos took over as the sole chairman and CEO of Fox beginning in 2012.[7] In this position, he served as the head of 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Fox 2000, Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios, Fox International Productions and Fox Home Entertainment.[6] During his tenure, the studio had its most profitable years and broke the industry global box-office record in 2014.[8] Some notable successes during his time at Fox include two of the biggest box office hits of all time, Titanic and Avatar, as well as several entries into the Planet of the Apes, Ice Age and X-Men franchises, as well as Deadpool (2016), and The Martian (2015).[9]
At Fox, Gianopulos supported a closer relationship between Hollywood and Silicon Valley,[6] and he was instrumental in the launch of iTunes, the Hulu streaming service, and other internet-driven offerings.[10][11]
Paramount Pictures
In March 2017, he was named chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, after the dismissal of the late Brad Grey.[12] Gianopulos began his duties on April 3, 2017.[13] He oversaw all feature film and television production, marketing and global distribution. Under his leadership, Paramount experienced a revitalization, with Gianopulos focusing on returning the studio to profitability. After Paramount had suffered years of losses, including an operating loss of $445 million the year before Gianopulos was hired in 2017, by 2019 he had returned the studio to its first full-year profit.[14]
It was announced that CBS and Viacom (parent company of Paramount Pictures) would recombine as ViacomCBS in December 2019. Jim Gianopulos was confirmed to continue on as chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures under the merged ViacomCBS.[18] Gianopulos left Paramount in September 2021 and was replaced by Nickelodeon president Brian Robbins.[19]
Gianopulos has received numerous accolades and recognition for his contributions to the entertainment industry, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award in 2013,[23] the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation's 2015 Pioneer of the Year award,[24] and the Producers Guild of AmericaMilestone Award in 2016.[25]
Personal life
He is married to Ann Gianopulos. They have three daughters named Alexa, Niki, and Mimi.[1]