Nearly three years ago, in February 2016, Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley decided that her studio’s specialty division, Focus Features, needed to, well, refocus. Created in 2002, the unit, known for Oscar winners like The Pianist and Brokeback Mountain, had taken a detour into genre movies, giving their artier fare short shrift, with less-than-stellar results. So, explains Langley, “We all made a decision to redouble our efforts in the specialty field and not confuse the brand.”
Peter Kujawski, managing director of Universal Pictures International Productions, was named Focus chairman, Robert Walak was made president and Jason Cassidy came aboard as president of marketing. With its own domestic distribution and access to Uni’s international infrastructure, the re-energized Focus got back to basics — picking up Oscars for films like Darkest Hour…