On October 11, 2021, Alan Horn announced he would retire from Disney at the end of the year. Let’s take a look back at Horn’s illustrious nearly-50 year career in the entertainment business.
After serving as a captain in the Air Force. Horn co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment in 1987. Horn oversaw critically acclaimed television series and films such as A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, In the Line of Fire, and Seinfeld.
Horn would then join Warner Bros. in 1999 as President and Chief Operating Officer. During his tenure at Warner Bros., Horn oversaw the Harry Potter films, Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy, Sherlock Holmes, The Departed, and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. Horn was the executive producer on The Hobbit trilogy. During this period, Warner Bros. was the top-performing studio at the global box office seven times and released numerous critically acclaimed films.
Despite Horn’s incredible success at Warner Bros. He was forced to retire at the age of 68 because then-Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes wanted younger talent to take over the studio.
In 2012, after the firing of Disney Studios Chairman Rich Ross. Disney CEO Bob Iger lured Alan Horn out of his “forced” retirement. Horn became the Chairman of Walt Disney Studios.
Horn’s tenure at Disney would come at a time of rapid expansion which included the integration of Lucasfilm and 20th Century Studios as well as Disney’s production of making content for its streaming services. In 2019, Horn was given the added title of Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Studios.
During Horn’s tenure, Disney would transform into a box office juggernaut and the envy of the industry. The Walt Disney Studios would set monumental records at the box office, surpassing $7 billion globally in 2016 and 2018 and $11 billion in 2019, Disney remains the only studio ever to have reached these thresholds. Horn’s tenure also features 20 films that surpassed the billion-dollar mark, five of which are in the top 10 global releases of all time (Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King (2019), Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Avengers: Infinity War, The Avengers, and Frozen II).
Horn oversaw many hits at Walt Disney Studios such as Aladdin (2019), Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Beauty and the Beast (2017), Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Frozen, Frozen II, Hamilton, Incredibles 2, The Lion King (2019), Moana, Soul, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Toy Story 4, and Zootopia.
Horn had successful working relationships with executives at Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios which operated under Disney’s overall ownership
Alan Horn’s motto of “Do I have to see it now, and do I have to see it on the big screen?” would ring true multiple times during his tenure at both Warner Bros. and Disney. As we are amidst a streaming world, Horn’s motto rings true. Films that are blockbusters and have to be seen in theaters make the money these days.
Horn will retire at the end of 2021. The majority of his duties will be done by his long-time colleague Alan Bergman, Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. If Bob Iger passed the torch to a fellow Bob, it only makes sense Alan Horn passes it to a fellow Alan.
Zach Perilstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Boardwalk Times
