Disney Hires Former Warner Bros. Executive Andrew Cripps as Head of Theatrical Distribution

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Previously with Warner Bros., Andrew Cripps has been appointed as the leader of movie distribution at Walt Disney Studios.

Starting March 3rd, Tony Chambers’ position as president of The Walt Disney Company in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa will be taken over by Cripps. He will report directly to Cathleen Taff, who is the head of production, franchise management, and theatrical distribution at the studio.

Cripps expressed his great excitement about joining Alan Bergman, Cathleen Taff, and their team at The Walt Disney Studios. He admires the remarkable work they’ve consistently achieved over the years, and he looks forward to adding to that outstanding progress and helping shape the company’s future.

In January, Cripps, a well-regarded industry veteran, resigned from his position as head of international distribution at Warner Bros., following a company reorganization led by co-CEOs Michael DeLuca and Pam Abdy. During his tenure of more than five years at Warners, he played a crucial role in launching the studio’s foreign releases for films like “Dune” and its sequel, “Joker”, “Wonka”, Christopher Nolan’s “Tenet”, “Barbie”, as well as MGM films across all international markets. Additionally, he guided Warner Bros.’ controversial, home-theater and cinema simultaneous release strategy during the pandemic, which deviated from industry norms, allowing 2021 blockbusters such as “Dune” and “The Matrix 4” to be streamed at home and watched in cinemas concurrently.

In his new position, Cripps is broadening his responsibilities to oversee global theatrical distribution for all films produced and released by Disney’s seven studios, such as Disney Live Action, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, and Searchlight. This includes managing the Cinema Partnerships team, handling non-theatrical sales, and maintaining control over Hollywood’s El Capitan Theatre. Disney’s upcoming films for 2025 include “Snow White,” “Lilo & Stitch,” “Freakier Friday,” “Elio” from Pixar, “Thunderbolts” and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” from Marvel, “Zootopia 2,” and “Avatar: Fire and Ash.

Taff stated, ‘Andrew is a highly esteemed distribution executive in our field who possesses an insightful grasp of the changing market and a fervor for sharing films with global audiences.’ I’m delighted that he’s now part of our team, as his strategic acumen and years of experience will undoubtedly prove indispensable as we strive to provide top-notch cinematic experiences to our viewers.

Cripps has had extensive experience working in various significant film studios, including serving as the president of international theatrical distribution at 20th Century Fox, holding positions at Paramount Pictures International, and being part of United International Pictures (a partnership between Universal and Paramount). Before these roles, he was the president of international operations and executive vice president at Imax, based in London.

Originating from Sri Lanka and growing up in Japan, Cripps boasts qualifications from the Georgia Institute of Technology and Georgia State University. He is an esteemed member of both the British Academy of Film and Television Arts and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Jeffrey Forman, the high-ranking executive overseeing international theatrical sales, and Matthew Kalavsky, the senior VP and general sales manager for domestic theatrical distribution, will now be reporting directly to Cripps. Furthermore, heads of studio distribution in various regions – such as Nick Rush, EMEA’s senior VP of studio distribution, Martin Iraola, the senior VP and managing director of Southern and general manager of LATAM theatrical, and John Hsu, the head of APAC distribution and operations – will also be reporting to Cripps. However, they will continue to maintain their existing lines of communication with their respective regional leaders as well.

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2025-03-03 20:46