Veteran Warner Bros Executive Veronika Kwan Vandenberg Steps Down After 30 Years

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Veteran Warner Bros. Pictures executive Veronika Kwan Vandenberg is stepping down as president of international distribution, the studio announced Monday.

She’ll transition to an advisory role before leaving the lot at the end of the year. Her successor is Tom Molter, who currently serves as EVP in international.

Kwan Vandenberg’s move continues an old-guard exodus like that of former marketing honcho Sue Kroll and, before her, Greg Silverman.

Also Read: Former Warner Bros Exec Sue Kroll Launches Own Production Banner on Studio Lot

Several leadership changes have come with news of her departure. They are as follows, according to a memo sent to studio employees obtained by TheWrap:

Jim Wuthrich has been named President, Warner Bros. Worldwide Home Entertainment and Games, with full oversight of those businesses. Jim will report to Ron Sanders and work closely with Blair Rich who oversees home entertainment marketing of new theatrical releases.

Jessica Schell, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Film, for Home Entertainment will continue to report to Jim Wuthrich and jointly report to Wuthrich and Rich on the slate.

David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, will continue to run the videogame division reporting to Wuthrich.

Jim Gewert will now serve as Executive Vice President, Worldwide Finance & Operations for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and Theatrical Marketing & Distribution, with responsibility for the finance and operations of both the theatrical and home entertainment marketing and distribution groups. Jim will report to Blair and Ron.

With Jim’s role expanding, David Brander, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Marketing & International Distribution Operations, will be retiring.

On her departure, Kwan Vandenberg said she was “so proud of everything we’ve accomplished over the years and I’m particularly proud of the great team we have in place. I want to thank Toby Emmerich] and Kevin [Tsujihara, Warner Bros. Entertainment CEO) for their support.”

Emmerich said the studio “could not have had a better representative in the global marketplace.”

Read some highlights from her impressive run:

Throughout her tenure with Warner Bros., Kwan Vandenberg oversaw the distribution of over 350 titles (including local-language titles), amassing over $40 billon in box office receipts. The Studio has been a market leader, ranking #1 or #2 12 of the last 17 years, including five years over $3 billion at the international box office. During this period, she oversaw the release of 30 films that grossed over $500 million, including 15 over $600 million. Kwan Vandenberg was involved in managing the Studio’s most successful film series, including the eight Harry Potter films (with last film in the series becoming the Studio’s highest international grossing-film at $960 million), “Fantastic Beasts,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy, Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” trilogy, “The Matrix” trilogy, the Sherlock Holmes films, the New Line horror universe (including “The Conjuring,” “Annabelle” and “IT,” which has become the highest-grossing horror film of all-time), the “Hangover” films, with “Hangover 2” becoming the highest-grossing R rated comedy internationally, and the DC superhero universe. Kwan Vandenberg also oversaw all of Clint Eastwood’s films, including “Gran Torino,” ($119 million internationally), the companion pieces “Flags of Our Fathers” and “Letters from Iwo Jima,” and “American Sniper” ($197 million internationally). Additionally, she worked closely with Ben Affleck in bringing his directorial hits “The Town” and Academy Award Best Picture winner “Argo” to international audiences.

Kwan Vandenberg’s accomplishments also include shepherding the first film ever to release simultaneously in every major country at the same hour around the world (“The Matrix Revolutions” in 2003 which went on to gross $460 million and became the then-highest R rated movie of all time).

Kwan Vandenberg joined Warner Bros in 1990 and rose through the ranks to become one of the youngest presidents at the studio in 2000. Prior to Warner Bros., she worked in international marketing for Lorimar Film Entertainment and at the German American Chamber of Commerce.

Kwan Vandenberg grew up living in six countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia before moving to the United States, and speaks fluent German in addition to her knowledge of French and Cantonese.

Summer 2017 Movie Winners and Losers, From 'Spider-Man: Homecoming' to 'The House' (Photos)

Who killed it this summer, and who should hope to have a better fall? Check out TheWrap's list of this summer's movie winners and losers.
WINNER: "Wonder Woman"
Apart from making more than $400 million at the domestic box office, the movie was critically lauded and united girls, boys, men and women all over the world -- doing did things no superhero movie has done before it.
WB
LOSER: "Rough Night"
Unfortunately, Sony's "Rough Night" has only banked $22 million so far although it was produced for $20 million. Plus, it received mixed reviews from critics -- and one month later, a similar comedy (in that it starred several recognizable actresses in a tale of old friends reuniting with a wild night that gets way out of hand) performed better among critics and the box office.

WB
WINNER: Patty Jenkins
Jenkins directed the second biggest movie of the year -- "Wonder Woman" -- and has been an outspoken critic about female representation in Hollywood. Plus, she is in the process of negotiating a record-breaking deal to helm its sequel.
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LOSER: "The Mummy"
Tom Cruise's reboot of the Brendan Fraser films cost a reported $125 million to produce but has only grossed $80 million domestically. Thankfully, it played well overseas, but it still received a Rotten Tomatoes score of 16 percent.
Universal
WINNER: Christopher Nolan
Christopher Nolan resurfaced this summer with "Dunkirk," which has become a strong Oscar contender and was very well-reviewed by critics. It currently has a 93 percent "fresh" score on Rotten Tomatoes.
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LOSER: "The House"
You'd think a movie starring Amy Poehler and Will Ferrell would be a hit, but no. For Ferrell, it’s the worst opening weekend for any of his movies with a screen count of over 3,000 locations, even lower than the $15 million made in 2008 by “Semi-Pro” and the $13.8 million made by “Zoolander No. 2” last year.

WB Domestic Distribution President Jeff Goldstein told TheWrap, "We’re so disappointed. We had much higher hopes."
WINNER: "Dunkirk"
As previously mentioned, "Dunkirk" received stellar reviews and raked in a solid amount of money both domestically and overseas. It was lauded as a "masterpiece."
WB
LOSER: Any Parent Sent to Watch "Emoji Movie"
"The Emoji Movie" became summer's worst reviewed movie, even below "Transformers" and "The Nut Job 2." We just feel bad for the parents that were forced to take their kids to the theater to see it. And there were a lot ...
Sony
WINNER: Ansel Elgort
"Baby Driver" pretty much defied all expectations and had solid reviews but also made a decent amount of money. Many praised Ansel Elgort in his career-turning performance, and people loved the soundtrack of the movie itself.
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LOSER: Sequels
"Transformers: The Last Knight," "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales" and "Alien: Covenant" all underperformed at the domestic box office. Audiences at home seem to be sick and tired of sequels, although those particular 3 raked in huge overseas.
Fox
WINNER: Disney
Disney's summer roster included "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," "Pirates of the Caribbean 5" and "Cars 3," all big blockbusters that raked in the big bucks -- although "Pirates" came in big overseas.
LOSER: Paramount
Paramount received a blow this summer: "Baywatch" and "Transformers: The Last Knight" bombed domestically. Of course, international box office came to the rescue, but both movies were widely panned by critics.
Paramount
WINNER: "Annabelle: Creation"
The horror genre is one of the most sustainable genres in the industry as it keeps proving that low risk-high reward pays off. "Creation" over-performed when it opened and also received pretty decent reviews.
New Line
LOSER: "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets"
Luc Besson's latest sci-fi fantasy didn't do well domestically or internationally. It has only grossed around $172 million worldwide to date although it was produced for around $177.2 million. Poor casting, an unfamiliar story and the fact that "Guardians of the Galaxy" opened right before it could've been reasons it failed to launch.
STX
WINNER: Zac Efron's Abs for "Baywatch
"Baywatch" was filled with hot bots, but all eyes seemed to wander towards Zac Efron's abs. The actor underwent a heavy workout regime and diet to look like that -- and we appreciate it.
Paramount
LOSER: "Transformers"
As previously mentioned, "The Last Knight" failed to launch at the box office. Not only did it rake in significantly less than its predecessors, but it was also widely panned by critics. However, Paramount doesn't seem to care about audiences growing tired of the franchise -- a spin-off, "Bumblebee," is already in the works.
Paramount
WINNER: Warner Bros.
Even though "The House" bombed, Warner Bros. has had huge successes this summer, of course including "Wonder Woman" and "Dunkirk."
LOSER: "The Dark Tower"
The movie adaptation of one of Stephen King's most famous works unfortunately failed to resonate with audiences. It somewhat underperformed and critics didn't love the film starring Matthew McConaughey and Idris Elba.
Sony
WINNER: Tiffany Haddish
Newcomer Tiffany Haddish received a lot of praise for what critics called a "breakout" performance in "Girls Trip."
LOSER: Memorial Day Weekend
This year's Memorial Day Weekend was the worst since the turn of the century in terms of box office. According to numbers from comScore and Box Office Mojo, the 2017 Memorial Day weekend totals only amounted to $180.6 million, down 12 percent from the $205.4 million made last year and 43 percent from the record-setting $314 million made in 2013.

Disney
WINNER: "Girls Trip"
"Girls Trip" succeeded where other adult comedies failed. Directed by Malcolm D. Lee, the film has posted the biggest opening in the genre so far this year with a final tally of $31.2 million.
LOSER: "Emoji Movie"
Yes, "The Emoji Movie" scored $25 million its opening weekend, but it was widely panned by critics and became the worst reviewed movie of the summer.
Sony
WINNER: Illumination
Illumination killed it this summer with "Despicable Me 3," which propelled the franchise into becoming the highest grossing animation franchise ever.
Illumination
LOSER: Sony Pictures
The studio got hit with a double whammy this summer: "Emoji Movie" and "Dark Tower" flopped, and the studio lost its $200 million slate financing deal with Texas private equity firm Lone Star. Sony's weak run at the box office was the main reason Lone Star bailed on the deal, but chief Tom Rothman didn't help matters when he plopped his feet on the boss' desk during a disastrous meeting.
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WINNER: "Spider-Man: Homecoming"
Jon Watts' take on the webbed superhero received a 92 percent Rotten Tomatoes score, has grossed over $737 million worldwide and has already spawned sequel. We'd say it's definitely a winner.
Sony
LOSER: August
Let's be honest -- August has been kind of a dud. In the past two weeks, no big releases were unveiled, and although mid-August through early September is known to be sleepy, this year has been exceptionally slow. According to The Guardian, this August is down 35 percent from last year.
Lionsgate
WINNER: DC Execs
After the gloominess of “Batman v Superman” and “Suicide Squad,” a team of DC executives and creatives looked for a new guiding philosophy. Three executives — Kevin Tsujihara, chairman of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Greg Silverman, the former president of Creative Development and Worldwide Production and Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment and Warner Bros. Consumer Products — decided to give oversight of the DC film projects to the dynamic duo of Geoff Johns and Jon Berg. The duo helped "Wonder Woman" become this summer's smash hit and course corrected DC movies.
Warner Bros.