Tom Rothman
Tom Rothman is the longest serving motion picture studio head of the modern era.
He is currently Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group. In that role, Rothman oversees the film studio’s businesses worldwide, including Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Sony Pictures Classics.
Rothman joined Sony Pictures in 2013 as Chairman of TriStar Pictures before being promoted to Chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group in February 2015, and then to Chairman and CEO in 2021. Under his leadership, the motion picture business returned to strong profitability and has experienced several of its most profitable years ever. He has launched or reignited multiple active franchises including Spider-Man, Venom, and Uncharted; and new installments of Jumanji, Ghostbusters, Insidious, and Bad Boys.
Dedicated to the theatrical experience, he has brought multiple topflight filmmakers to the studio including Quentin Tarantino, Greta Gerwig, Danny Boyle, Sam Mendes, Darren Aronofsky, Taika Waititi, Edgar Wright, Ang Lee, and many others. During his tenure, the studio has received 80 Academy Award nominations, including 6 Best Picture nominations. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, the first in a trilogy, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, marking the first such win for Sony Pictures Animation and breaking a six-year Disney win streak in the category.
Continuing a dedication to mix originality with strong IP, in 2024, the studio had two hit movies in genres that pundits had pronounced dead at the box office: Anyone but You, a classic rom-com that grossed $220 million and It Ends with Us, a romantic drama that earned $350 million globally.
Previously, Rothman served as Chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment (FFE) from 2000 – 2012. In this capacity, he oversaw 20th Century Fox Film Corp., Fox Searchlight (which Rothman founded in 1994 and which won three Best Picture Oscars), and 20th Century Fox Television. Rothman’s overall tenure at Fox spanned more than eighteen years.
A few of the successes under his oversight include Titanic, Avatar, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Descendants, Cast Away, Master and Commander, Black Swan, Walk the Line, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, The Full Monty, The Devil Wears Prada, Borat, the X-Men series, Marley and Me, Little Miss Sunshine, Minority Report, Moulin Rouge, Boys Don’t Cry, Man on Fire, Sideways, Waiting to Exhale, the Ice Age franchise, The Simpsons Movie, Something About Mary, The Crucible, Modern Family, Glee, and Homeland. During his tenure, Fox films garnered over 150 Academy Award nominations, won three Best Picture Oscars, and earned in excess of $50 billion at the worldwide box office.
Prior to Fox, Rothman was President of Worldwide Production for the Samuel Goldwyn Company. During his tenure, the company’s pictures won the Palme D’Or at Cannes Film Festival three times.
Rothman came to Goldwyn in 1989 from Columbia Pictures where he was Executive Vice President, working for David Puttnam and Dawn Steele.
Before joining Columbia, Rothman was a partner at the New York entertainment law firm Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein and Selz where he represented many major independent filmmakers such as Spike Lee and Jim Jarmusch, whose film Down By Law he co-produced.
Rothman began his work life as an English teacher and was later a law clerk on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York. He graduated from Brown University in 1976, with Honors in English and American Literature, Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and was an All-New England selection in Division I Lacrosse. In 1980, he graduated from Columbia Law School as a two-time James Kent Scholar.
Rothman has received lifetime achievement recognitions from the Producers Guild of America, the IFP East, and the Academy of Science Fiction Films. Columbia University honored him with the Arthur B. Krim Award for outstanding leadership in entertainment, and he was presented with the Corwin Award for Human Relations from the American Jewish Committee.
In 2015, President Obama appointed Rothman to the National Council on the Arts, and in 2022, President Biden appointed him to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board.
Rothman serves on the Board of Directors of Booking Holdings Inc. the world’s largest online travel agency, parent company of Priceline, Booking, OpenTable, and Agoda.