Stacey Snider to be named co-chair of 20th Century Fox

Stacey Snider is expected to be named co-chair of 20th Century Fox, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Snider, currently co-chair and chief executive of Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks Studios, will serve as 20th Century Fox’s No. 2 executive under Jim Gianopulos. Fox is expected to make the announcement soon.

Snider’s move to a key position at Fox has been widely anticipated in Hollywood. Her start date has not been set because she is still under contract at DreamWorks until the end of the year, according to people familiar with the matter but who were not authorized to speak on record.

Representatives for Snider and Fox declined to comment.

Snider, who established herself in the film business as a top executive at Universal Pictures, joined DreamWorks in 2006. The studio started out with bold ambitions but has recently had a mixed track record at the box office.

DreamWorks, a separate entity from publicly traded DreamWorks Animation SKG, has delivered successes such as Oscar winners “The Help” and “Lincoln” in recent years. However, it has also suffered flops, including “The Fifth Estate” and “Cowboys & Aliens.”

The 2014 slate has included “The Hundred-Foot Journey,” which grossed $54 million in the United States and Canada. “Need For Speed,” based on a video game of the same name, failed to take off at the box office.

Snider was said to have chafed under the financial restrictions placed on the company by Reliance, the Indian conglomerate that is DreamWorks’ main outside investor.

Variety was the first to report Snider’s new title.

In September, DreamWorks announced that Turner Broadcasting executive Michael Wright would replace Snider as chief executive at the end of the year.

Snider and Gianopulos have worked together before. Their companies partnered on Spielberg’s 2012 film “Lincoln.”

In 2012, then co-chair Tom Rothman departed Fox, leaving Gianopulos as the sole chair of the Century City-based studio.

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