John Friedberg

Runs the show when it comes to everything international for this studio’s movies—seriously, the entire global game is in their hands. With a crew of 35 execs scattered across continents, they’re hustling on all fronts: international sales, grabbing the hottest new films, and running direct theatrical releases in the UK (which, let’s be real, is no small feat with the way that market shifts every five minutes). This person isn’t just playing catch-up, either. In only five years, they’ve cobbled together a wild network of output deals worldwide. That’s not just impressive in theory—those deals have juiced the company’s whole global strategy. Basically, if you’re seeing this studio’s films popping up in random places from Paris to Perth, thank this person. They built the company’s international acquisitions game from scratch, too, riding on some pretty sweet relationships they locked in with power players like Black Bear Pictures, Imperative, 30West, and Black Label Media. These aren’t just partnerships—they’re the kind of connections that get deals done and movies made. But maybe the flashiest move? Pulling off a multi-territory partnership with Amazon Studios. That’s right, first-of-its-kind. Now, Amazon’s streaming platform in the UK, France, and Italy gets legit theatrical content from this studio. It’s the kind of strategic play that changes the rules and puts the company a mile ahead of the competition. If there’s a secret sauce to the studio’s international swagger, you’re looking at it.