An Hour With... Fathom Entertainment CEO Ray Nutt

Having already announced his intentions to step down from his role as the Chief Executive Officer of Fathom Entertainment at the end of this year, Ray Nutt also stopped by for a brisk 35-minute chit-chat for another irregular “an hour with” episode of The Box Office Podcast.On the eve of Amazing Digital Circus becoming the latest “from YouTube to movie theaters” success story, and weeks after Fathom’s first trailer for Laika’s Wildwood broke the Internet, the departing CEO discussed hopes that recent success with the 15th anniversary rerelease of Coraline (with $34 million in North America alone) and the aforementioned Wildwood teaser trailer (100 million views in a day or two) will translate into actual butts-in-seats interest for what will be Fathom’s first conventional nationwide theatrical release, on October 23, for a “new” movie.Mr. Nutt also discusses the recently announced Jimmy, a KJ Apa-starring Jimmy Stewart biopic set for November 6 and what will likely be his proverbial swan song. Among the subjects of discourse are what he believes he accomplished during his nine years in the top spot, as the company has sought to expand what it offers theaters, even as it emphasizes quality and variety over sheer quantity.From the expected anniversary releases to brief theatrical runs for faith-based titles like The Blind and comparatively secular flicks like Rob Zombie’s Three from Hell and Peter Jackson’s World War I documentary They Shall Not Grow Old, alongside semi-regular offerings in the realm of opera, Broadway, sporting events and episodic television, the goal has been offering something for everyone without necessarily saying “Yes” to everything.Along with this of-the-moment discourse, there’s time for history lessons on how the digital revolution made any of this possible and how the company weathered both the pandemic and a pre-COVID decline in casual moviegoing. Get full access to The Outside Scoop at scottmendelson.substack.com/subscribe