(Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. is overhauling some of the leadership at its troubled movie division, replacing an executive who oversaw a string of disappointments with the head of Searchlight Pictures, the art-house film unit behind such critical successes as
Sean Bailey, the longtime president of film production for Disney's namesake studio, is being replaced by David Greenbaum, the company said Monday in a statement.
Greenbaum will take on the new position of president, Disney Live Action and 20th Century Studios, according to a statement from the company on Monday. That puts him in charge of some of Disney's biggest franchises, including and .
Disney's film business, which has towered over Hollywood for years, has struggled of late. The most recent superhero picture, , delivered just $206 million in global ticket sales, a fraction of what successful comic-book features typically produce. After leading the global box office for several years, Disney lost the top spot to Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures in 2023.
Greenbaum has served as co-president of Searchlight, along with Matthew Greenfield, who will continue solo in that role. The Searchlight release is a nominee for best picture at the Oscars next month, and the division was behind previous winners such as and . Both executives will continue to report to Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman.
Prior to joining Searchlight, Greenbaum worked for Miramax on pictures including and .
Bailey, who had served in the role since 2010, is best known for remaking some of Disney's animated hits, like and, with live actors. While some became successes — brought in $1.27 billion globally — others like last year's failed to perform as well.
“The time is right for a new chapter,” Bailey said in the statement.
The executive has considered other film executive positions. He will serve as a producer on Disney's and other projects, the company said.
Burbank, California-based Disney is in the midst of a fight with shareholder activists including Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management, which owns about $3.6 billion of the stock and is seeking two seats on the company's board at the April 3 shareholder meeting.
Under Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger, who returned to lead Disney in November 2022, the company has been cutting costs and reshaping its entertainment operations around online video businesses led by Disney+.
Shares of Disney were little changed at $107.84 in extended trading. The stock is up 19% this year.
--With assistance from Thomas Buckley.
(Updates with details on Greenbaum's role in third paragraph.)
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