Rob Friedman

Rob Friedman (born 1950) is an American media executive. He is currently the CEO of Ascendant Entertainment.

Friedman served as Co-Chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, overseeing all aspects of Lionsgate’s domestic and international feature film acquisition, production and distribution as well as the home entertainment releases of theatrical feature films. He stepped down in 2016. Friedman joined Lionsgate in January 2012 following the company’s acquisition of the worldwide filmed entertainment studio Summit Entertainment where he served as the Co-Chairman and CEO since 2007.

Friedman has helped guide the strategy for some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises, including launching the Batman Franchise, The Hunger Games, the Twilight films, and the John Wick franchise.

Friedman started his career in 1970 in the mailroom at Warner Bros. Studios and in the subsequent 27 years he held many posts ultimately rising to become the studio's President of Worldwide Advertising and Publicity.

In 1997, Friedman moved to Paramount Pictures as Vice Chairman of the Paramount Motion Pictures Group. In 2000, he also added the role Chief Operating Officer, ultimately overseeing seven divisions. He created the studio's specialty film division then known as Paramount Classics. Friedman also served on the Board of Directors of UIP, the joint international distribution venture between Paramount and Universal Studios, and Movie Link, one of the internet's first legal film download to view sites.

In 2017, Friedman joined Tang Media Partners as CEO and chairman of TMP Entertainment. TMP's entertainment holdings merged to become Global Road Entertainment and Friedman became chairman and CEO of the Global Road Entertainment studio. He left these positions in November 2018 He was a prominent supporter of Hillary Clinton in her 2016 presidential campaign.

Career

Early Warner Bros. Career Friedman began his career at Warner Bros., where he worked for 27 years and held roles including nine years as President of Worldwide Advertising and Publicity. Friedman's campaigns at Warner Bros. contributed to the success of several major franchises and films, including Batman, Lethal Weapon, Ace Ventura, and Twister. He launched Academy Award winning movies such as The Fugitive, Unforgiven, and many others. During Friedman's tenure, Warner Bros. was the top ranked studio in domestic box office share in 1989 and from 1991 through 1993. It was second only to Disney in his years after that. In the New York Times, with "Superman II," Friedman revealed an unprecedented distribution strategy, in which the film was shown abroad before its U.S. release. This recouped costs quickly while timing each country's release with its peak moviegoing period. The first film in the franchise alone brought in $251 million at the worldwide box office, at the time ranking it sixth on the list of top-grossing films of all time, and the logo became a cultural phenomenon, appearing on over 30 million T-shirts and generating over $750 million in merchandise sales. Friedman is credited with the marketing success of the Batman franchise during his tenure.

Paramount (1997-2005) Source:

Friedman moved to Paramount Pictures as Vice Chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group in 1997. There, he created Paramount’s specialty film division, Paramount Classics.

Titanic (1997)

As Vice Chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group, Friedman shepherded Titanic (1997). The film opened on December 19, 1997, and spent an unprecedented 15 consecutive weekends at No. 1 at the box office. Friedman's Oscar campaign emphasized dignity and reverence, given the film's commercial success amidst the historic tragedy. "The whole idea with the movie was to conduct ourselves with dignity and not forget the event [the sinking of the Titanic] itself… There was always a reverential tone to the campaign, both the direct marketing and the distribution campaign," Friedman explained. Titanic won 11 Academy Awards, tying the record held by Ben-Hur for 38 years until then.

Lara Croft Franchise

As Vice Chairman at Paramount, Friedman vocally championed women protagonists in film, noting Paramount’s Lara Croft movie, which starred Angelina Jolie and opened at $48.2 million, set a new opening record for a female-star driven vehicle. In June 2001, Friedman announced plans to develop the Lara Croft franchise following the success of the first film, and USA Today credited this success with proving "the increasing strength of women on the big screen."

War of the Worlds (2005)

In 2005, while Vice Chairman for Motion Pictures at Paramount, Friedman oversaw War of the Worlds, directed by Stephen Spielberg. The movie opened at number one at the box office Fourth of July weekend and had the second biggest Fourth of July weekend opening in movie history.

Summit Entertainment (2007-2012) Friedman founded Summit Entertainment, producers of movies such as the Twilight Saga and Hurt Locker. In 2007, Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger launched Summit Entertainment LLC with more than $1 billion in funding from Merrill Lynch and other investors. Friedman served as CEO and co-chairman. Friedman built Summit Entertainment into a leading motion picture production and distribution company. In August 2008, Summit Entertainment, under Friedman's leadership as co-chairman and chief executive, announced the November 21 release date for Twilight, the film adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel. Friedman identified an opening in the summer schedule and positioned "Twilight" strategically, amidst growing momentum for the film. The series became one of the most successful for a Young Adult property. In November 2011, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, the fourth installment in the vampire series, was released mid November 2011. Within its first two weeks, it surpassed $500 million at the worldwide box office. "We couldn't be more pleased with the success of this film," said Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger, co-chairmen of Summit Entertainment. The franchise’s five films grossed more than $3.3 billion worldwide.

Lionsgate (2012 - 2016) In early 2012, Lionsgate acquired Summit Entertainment in a merger and Friedman joined Lionsgate as Co-Chairman. Lionsgate reported that since buying Summit, with Friedman at the helm, it grossed more than $1 billion a year at international box offices with hits including the Hunger Games franchise, Divergent, and Now You See Me.

Under Friedman’s leadership, Lionsgate became the first studio outside the traditional majors to generate over $1 billion at the U.S. box office, and did so two years in a row. In Friedman’s final year of leadership at Lionsgate, the studio received the highest number of Academy Award nominations, with 26 in total, including six wins for La La Land and two for Hacksaw Ridge. TMP Entertainment merged to become Global Road Entertainment and Friedman became chairman and CEO of the Global Road Entertainment studio. Friedman left in November 2018 and soon after launched Ascendant Entertainment.

On the Line

In 2024, Friedman, with Ascendant Entertainment, began developing On the Line, a drama series about female high school basketball. The series was created by former basketball player Melanie Page, with Kellie R. Griffin serving as showrunner. Friedman shared he is “the proud father of four young women and a basketball dad myself.” Regarding the series, he stated, “Our focus is not on the coaches, but on the players — the young women and all the pressure and drama they face in their day-to-day lives, balancing schoolwork, gameplay, and relationships."

The Zone (2025)

In March 2025, Friedman's Ascendant Entertainment announced The Zone, an urban action horror film with a high concept science-fiction twist for 20th Century Studios. The film is directed by Dallas Jackson from a script by David Hayter (X-Men franchise) and Jackson. The project partnered with the film division of Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), the record label of artists such as Kendrick Lamar and SZA.

Honors and awards Friedman was honored with the United Friends of the Children Brass Ring Award in 1999 and 2013. He serves as Vice-Chairman of the Board of United Friends of the Children.

In 2009, Friedman was honored at National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s 35th Annual Dinner of Champions.

In November 2010, Friedman was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year in the Media, Entertainment and Communications category for his work in creating Summit.

Friedman is a supporter of the Special Olympics movement, having served on the Special Olympics Southern California Board (SOSC) as well as the international Board of Directors for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. In 2011, Friedman was selected by SOSC as the Honoree at the 15th annual Pier Del Sol. Friedman was a Founding Member of the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games Organizing Committee, serving as Chairman of the Board and playing a role in bringing the 2015 World Games to Los Angeles. In 2025, Friedman was honored with the Rafer Johnson Humanitarian Award for his work with the Special Olympics. Friedman currently serves on the SOSC board of directors.

In 2012, Friedman was honored by Saban Free Clinic (Now the Saban Community Clinic). In introducing Friedman, then Warner Bros. distribution president Dan Fellman said Friedman “devotes so much time to helping others.”

In 2013, Friedman was honored with the Publicists' Guild Motion Picture Showman of the Year Award, where he was recognized for 40 years of achievement as a motion picture industry leader.

In 2014, Friedman was honored by International Medical Corps.

Friedman serves on philanthropic boards for UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, The Curtis School, Saban Community Clinic, and International Medical Corps.

Friedman is on the Board of Directors of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation and serves on the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences executive committee,