Company: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Worldwide
Title: Prexy
How he’s leading: Although Fox’s DVD unit is best known for its new-release slate, which includes mega-selling franchises like “X-Men” and “The Simpsons,” Dunn has positioned his unit as a powerful distributor of catalog and third-party content.
In May, Fox grabbed the reins to MGM’s 4,000-movie catalog in a high-profile coup. Highlighted by 20 James Bond films, MGM sales totaled $459 million in 2005.
Dunn and his team had already established their expertise at managing content that didn’t originate from Fox. The studio exclusively distributes DIC kids properties on DVD including Strawberry Shortcake and Care Bears, and HIT children’s brands Barney and Bob the Builder.
Additionally, Fox oversees limited physical distribution operations for Starz Home Entertainment and Lionsgate.
Matching its distribution drive, Fox is becoming one of the most aggressive studios for hi-def releases.
In November, Fox became the first studio to street Blu-ray movies tagged with Java technology, which promises to enable a whole range of interactive bonus features .
POV: “It’s firing on all cylinders,” Dunn says. “With MGM, it was one plus one equals three, meaning that with greater scale comes greater clout, creativity and marketing opportunities, which leads to profitability. And our first (Blu-ray) releases are right on target with the early adopter. If you’re going to do it, do it right.”
Homevid Leader Report:
