{"id":27176,"date":"2016-02-18T13:27:31","date_gmt":"2016-02-18T18:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/?p=27176"},"modified":"2016-04-25T22:49:46","modified_gmt":"2016-04-26T02:49:46","slug":"focus-features-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/2016\/02\/18\/focus-features-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Focus Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

Focus Features<\/strong><\/p>\n

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[21<\/a>] Focus Features Logo<\/p><\/div>\n

Corporate Offices<\/p>\n

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LOS ANGELES OFFICE<\/div>\n
1540 2nd St #200<\/div>\n
Santa Monica, CA 90401<\/div>\n
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NEW YORK CITY OFFICE<\/div>\n
c\/o NBCUniversal<\/div>\n
30 Rockefeller Plaza<\/div>\n
Building 5TS \u2013 10th Floor<\/div>\n
New York, NY 10112Phone: (818) 777-8738
\nFax: (818) 866-4579<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

http:\/\/www.focusfeatures.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Key Executives\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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[19<\/a>] Peter Kujawski, Chairman<\/p><\/div>\n

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[20<\/a>] Robert Walak, President<\/p><\/div>\n

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About<\/strong><\/p>\n

Focus Features is an art film production and distribution subsidiary of Universal Pictures\/NBCUniversal<\/a> under Comcast Corporation. Focus and Universal Pictures together compose the film department of Universal Studios. [1<\/a>]\u00a0Merged of Universal Focus, USA Films and Good Machine on 2002, the company is moving forward with diverse ranges of film genres as well as releasing appealing to filmmakers. [2<\/a>]\u00a0Some of the most successful films of Focus includes Brokeback Mountain<\/a><\/i> (2005), which earns $83 million domestically and $95 million from foreign markets, Burn After Reading<\/a><\/i> (2008), which earns $163.7 million in worldwide film revenue, and the recent hit London has Fallen <\/a>(2016) <\/i>with a worldwide gross $182 million is one of the most selling features of Focus. Focus also participates in other good-reviewing features like The Danish Gir<\/em>l <\/a>(2015), The Theory of Everything<\/em><\/a> (2014)<\/i>, Pride and Prejudice <\/i><\/a>(2003) <\/i>and etc.\u00a0<\/i>[3<\/a>]\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Financials<\/b><\/p>\n

Although Focus Features does not have a separate financial report from its parent company, the first quarter of 2016 is not a bad start for Focus. With four new 2016 releases and two 2015 ones (Suffragette<\/em> and The Danish Gir<\/em>l still in theaters), Focus earned $120.2 million and bumped up the ranking on the top grossing film studios to the sixth place with a 3.7% market share up dated to April 17. [4<\/a>] Focus Features and Universal together earned $372.8 million for their parent company with a market shared of 11.4%.\u00a0Focus has already made up the gap comparing to 2015 with 728.1% more grossing this time. [5<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Leadership Changes<\/strong><\/p>\n

Focus Features has some breaking news in its major management shakeup this year.<\/p>\n

Universal Pictures International Production (UPIP) is merging with Focus Features under Focus\u2019 banner. The company\u2019s former CEO Peter Schlessel<\/a>, who replaced founder James Schamus in 2013, exited his position on April 1 as part of a drastic housecleaning by Universal Pictures<\/a>. Current Focus COO Adrian Alperovich, Marketing President Christine Birch and President of Acquisitions Lia Buman will also be exiting Focus Features in April.[6<\/a>] This merging is an attempt to make the unit more\u00a0global and artistically relevant after a couple of \u00a0awards-season pictures such as \u201cThe Danish Girl\u201d and \u201cSuffragette\u201d collapsed at the box office.\u00a0Universal depicted the move as \u201ccombining the resources of Universal Pictures International Productions <\/a>with the highly respected creative legacy of Focus Features,\u201d in order to \u201cgrow the specialty film sector both domestically and around the world.\u201d The announcement came from Universal Pictures Chairman Donna Langley<\/a>.\u00a0[7<\/a>] “Peter Schlemiel of Focus Features to Exit as CEO After Universal Pictures International Merger”<\/p>\n

Peter Schlessel oversaw the release of the division\u2019s upcoming releases of Race,<\/i> London Has Fallen <\/i>and The Young Messiah<\/i> before his departure. Peter Kujawski<\/a>, the formal managing director of Universal Pictures International Productions, became the chairman of of Focus Features that combined UPIP and Focus. Under his leadership, UPIP acquired rights to hugely successful films, including The Wolf of Wall Street, Room,<\/i> which Universal released in select territories. UPIP Co-Managing Director Robert Walak<\/a>, who came to Universal after serving as Managing Director Europe\/President Production, Acquisitions and Television at The Weinstein Company, Alliance Films, where he led some great acquisitions, including Carol, The King\u2019s Speech, Paddington and The<\/i> Imitation Game, <\/i>became Universal Pictures\u2019 Executive Vice President of Film Strategy. Abhijay Prakash, joined Focus as Chief Operating Officer. [6<\/a>][8<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Last year, only four Focus releases took in more than $10 million at the box office, while other studios began to play in the specialty film space. Focus is losing audience to its competitors like STX Entertainment, armed with financial backing from Chinese private-equity firm Hony Capital, Broad Green, fueled by mutual fund billionaire Gabriel Hammond, Fox Searchlight, intended in making films that can cross over beyond the art and international borders.[6<\/a>]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe independent world has been squeezed in the last ten years,\u201d said Jason Squire, a professor at USC. \u201cThe question is whether Focus will continue to be an independent-style studio or will it fade?\u201d\u00a0[6<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Current News & Releases\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Focus has released four new films during this semester time, including the second film of London vs Olympus series London has Fallen, <\/i>horror movie The Forest, <\/i>sports drama Race, <\/i>and a Christian film The Young Messiah.<\/i> The four new films together earned $113 million domestically. [10<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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[9<\/a>] London Has Fallen\u2019 image courtesy of Focus Features<\/p><\/div>London Has Fallen,\u00a0<\/i>on a $60 budget, opened with just $22 million and bumped to $62m domestically. With the help from strong overseas which has made 66% of its box office, especially from China (where it has earned $45m and is still in theaters), the film\u2019s worldwide total is now $182m. [9<\/a>]<\/p>\n

While London has Fallen<\/i> brings Focus great possibilities, The Forest <\/i>(closed with $26.6m) earned $16m more than its budget, The Young Messiah <\/i>(closed on April 21, $6.4 million), R<\/i>ace (closed on April 21, $19 million) are doing ok under the studio\u2019s expectation. [10<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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[11<\/a>] Alicia Vikander Winning Oscar for Best Supporting Actress<\/p><\/div>During the Award season, Alicia Vikander wins Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Focus\u2019s The Danish Girl, <\/i>a remarkable love story inspired by the real lives of Lili Elbe and Gerda Wegener (Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne [\u201cThe Theory of Everything\u201d] and Alicia Vikander [\u201cEx Machina\u201d]), directed by Academy Award winner Tom Hooper (\u201cThe King\u2019s Speech,\u201d \u201cLes Mis\u00e9rables\u201d). [11<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Focus Future Releases<\/b><\/p>\n

Following the upcoming release of an animation Ratchet & Clark<\/i> on April 29, Focus has six new films in 2016. [12<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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[17<\/a>] Kubo and the Two Strings Poster<\/p><\/div>\n

Laika<\/a> and Focus Features<\/a> are teaming again on Kubo And The Two Strings<\/i><\/a> <\/i>after their Oscar-nominated animation The Boxtrolls. <\/i>the first\u00a0film under\u00a0Laika and the studio\u2019s\u00a0three-picture deal.<\/a>[13<\/a>] Focus Features has also announced a theatrical release for\u00a0\u201cLoving” on November 4 after paying a $9 million for the film directed by Jeff Nichols, which depicts the real-life story of\u00a0Richard and Mildred Loving, an interracial couple living in the state of Virginia in the 1960s, at the time that interracial coupling was illegal. [14<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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[14<\/a>] Ruth Negga and Joel Edgerton as Mildred and Richard Loving, on the set of the movie “Loving,” being shot in Richmond, Va.<\/p><\/div>Following the success of The Forest<\/i>, the two years direction journey of Juan Antonio Bayona<\/a>\u2019s A Monster Calls<\/i><\/a> finally will be in theaters on October 14. With Felicity Jones<\/a> to star and Liam Neeson<\/a> to voice the Monster. [15<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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[18<\/a>] A Monster Calls Poster<\/p><\/div>A Monster Calls Official International Teaser Trailer #1 (2016) – Liam Neeson Drama HD<\/a><\/p>\n

Focus Features also partners with Time Inc. and The Advocate to display the new digital short film documentary series We\u2019ve Been Around<\/i>. The series tells previously untold histories of transgender pioneers, will premiere exclusively across three Time Inc. websites \u2013 People.com, EW.com, Essence.com.\u00a0[16<\/a>]<\/p>\n

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[1<\/a>]\u00a0Focus Features, About.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016. focusfeatures.com<\/a>
\n[2<\/a>]\u00a0Focus Features, LLC.\u00a0Retrieved December 2, 2015.\u00a0focusfeatures.com<\/a>
\n[3<\/a>]\u00a0 Focus Features All Time Box Office Results. Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Boxofficemojo.com<\/a>
\n[4<\/a>] Studio Market Share January 1-April 17. Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Boxofficemojo.com<\/a>
\n[5<\/a>] Yearly Comparison.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Boxofficemojo.com<\/a><\/p>\n

[6<\/a>]\u00a0“Why focus features is again\u00a0getting a drastic reboot”. Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[7<\/a>] “Peter Schlemiel of Focus Features to Exit as CEO After Universal Pictures International Merger”. Retrieved April 24, 2016.\u00a0Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[8<\/a>] “Peter Schlemiel Out At Focus Features In Universal Shake-Up”. Retrieved April 24, 2016.\u00a0Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[9<\/a>] “Box Office: ‘London Has Fallen’ Tops’ Olympus Has Fallen,’ Triples Its Budget”. Retrieved April 24, 2016.\u00a0Forbes.<\/a><\/p>\n

[10<\/a>] \u00a0Box Office by Studios January 1-April 17. Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Boxofficemojo.com.<\/a><\/p>\n

[11<\/a>] “‘Danish Girl’s Alicia Vikander Wins Oscar For Best Supporting Actress”. Retrieved April 24, 2016. Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[12<\/a>]\u00a0 Focus Features Future Releases. Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Boxofficemojo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[13<\/a>] “‘Kubo And The Two Strings’ Trailer: Laika Takes On Japanese Folklore”Retrieved March 20, 2016,\u00a0Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[14<\/a>] “Focus Features Picks Up Ruth Negga\/Joel Edgerton ‘Loving’ Story”.\u00a0Retrieved April 16, 2016.\u00a0Blogs.indiewire.com<\/a><\/p>\n

[15<\/a>] “\u2018A Monster Calls\u2019 Trailer: Felicity Jones & Liam Neeson Branch\u00a0Out”.Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Deadline<\/a>.
\n[16<\/a>] Focus Features Debuts Docuseries “We’ve Been Around”. MovieGeeks.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016. MovieGeeks.com<\/a><\/p>\n

[17<\/a>] Kubo and the Two Strings Movie Poster.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016. Focus Features<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[18<\/a>] A Monster Calls Poster.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Focus Features<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[19<\/a>] Peter Kujawski Profile. Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[20<\/a>] Robert Walak Profile.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016.\u00a0Variety<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[21<\/a>] Focus Features Logo.\u00a0Retrieved April 23, 2016. Deadline<\/a>.<\/p>\n

(Sorry, I tried to fix the format of my sources but failed.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Focus Features Corporate Offices LOS ANGELES OFFICE 1540 2nd St #200 Santa Monica, CA 90401 NEW YORK CITY OFFICE c\/o NBCUniversal 30 Rockefeller Plaza Building 5TS \u2013 10th Floor New York, NY 10112Phone: (818) 777-8738 Fax: (818) 866-4579 http:\/\/www.focusfeatures.com Key … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4877],"tags":[5055,5046,518,966,2010,662,2851,5053,2873,5051,5054,90,522,5050,1774,4711,5047,5052,269,2731],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27176"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/565"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27176"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27176\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28249,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27176\/revisions\/28249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bejone03.expressions.syr.edu\/trf235\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}