Disney’s theatrical distribution VP Frank Patterson departs studio

Frank Patterson, who served as Disney’s Vice President of Sales Eastern Division, has exited the studio after 17 years.
According to Deadline, Patterson is a second-generation theatrical distribution vet. His father Frank Patterson Sr. was the long-time EVP and Head Film Buyer at Loews Theaters. This departure comes at a time when Disney’s theatrical business is impaired by Covid, and the studio is currently devoting more attention to its streaming service Disney+.
While Disney’s CEO Bob Chapek is committed to a theatrical release for Marvel’s ‘Black Widow’, it won’t be a shocker if that movie’s current release date of May 7 is postponed due to the ongoing pandemic.
During Patterson’s run at Disney, he was part of the team that worked on the execution of the studio’s distribution strategy for all titles including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, etc. It was that overall strategy that led Disney to an industry domestic record of USD 3.7 billion in 2019, propelled by ‘Avengers: Endgame’ (USD 858.3M), ‘The Lion King’ (USD 543.6M), ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’ (USD 515.2M) among many other franchise titles, as well as setting the previous USD 3 billion annual domestic B.O. records. (ANI)