Specialty distributor Fathom Entertainment announced Wednesday that CEO Ray Nutt plans to step down and retire from the company later this year. Nutt, an exhibition veteran who has served as chief executive officer for the past nine years, will play an active role in the search for a replacement on the board.
“I’m very anxious to finish my time at Fathom and want to make my voice heard to ensure we have the right leader moving forward,” Nutt told Variety. “I’m excited about that, because I think whoever gets that position is going to be a very fortunate person who has a lot of runway to accomplish everything that Fathom has to go forward.”
Why now? “I’ve done a lot of track and field in my day, and I always knew in my heart when it was time to move on to the next thing,” Nat said.
Fathom Entertainment is a joint venture of three of the largest exhibition companies: AMC Entertainment, Cinemark, and Regal. Some of its biggest successes include the faith-based series “The Chosen,” the re-release of “Coraline,” and the annual revival of classic films.
AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aaron praised Natt for “further strengthening (Fathom’s) position as a leader in alternative theatrical experiences and expanding the scope of content available to AMC guests.”
“Ray Nutt’s long-standing leadership of Fathom Entertainment has delivered meaningful benefits to AMC, the broader theatrical exhibition industry, and most importantly, movie fans across the country,” Aaron said.
“Throughout his career, Ray Nutt has been a respected advocate of theatrical exhibition, and his work at Fathom Entertainment brings a wide range of non-traditional stories and events to theaters,” said Sean Gamble, Cinemark president and chief executive officer. “His leadership at Fathom helped steer a valuable part of the industry ecosystem, expanding opportunities for alternative programming on the big screen and connecting theaters with new and diverse audiences.”
Mr. Nutt previously served as senior vice president of business relations at Regal and as a director at Fathom.
Over the past two years, Nat has overseen the company’s evolution from Fathom Events, which handled 150 events a year, to Fathom Entertainment, which releases approximately 100 titles a year. Some titles are longer than one week. Nutt said the change in philosophy came after the coronavirus.
“A little thing called the pandemic set the whole industry back, but it also caused us to take a step back,” Nutt said. “The best way to grow the company was to move a little bit further away from the events side of the business and into the featured presentation side of the business. So about two years ago, we started our adventure to do that, and we’ve had a lot of success doing that.”
Among Fathom’s titles this year is Leica’s “Wildwood,” which will be released in theaters in October.
“We have a business model that stimulates and incentivizes all parties (exhibition, Fathom, content partners) by splitting the box office revenue,” Nutt said.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve as CEO of Fathom Entertainment over the last nine years of its transformational growth, and it has been a once-in-a-lifetime professional opportunity after a nearly 40-year career in the theatrical film industry,” said Nutt. “I would like to thank Fathom’s unparalleled leadership team, Fathom’s talented and hard-working employees for their unwavering commitment and dedication, and the Board of Directors for the opportunity and support.”
