Paramount Marketing Exec Resigning After 14 Years

Paramount Pictures worldwide marketing chief Arthur Cohen is stepping down from a job he’s held for the last 14 years. The move ends one of the longest reigns for a top studio marketing executive in recent decades.

“I have the world record for holding the job,” said Cohen, who will remain with the company as a consultant. Until a successor is named, the Viacom Inc.-owned studio’s marketing group will report directly to Paramount’s chief operating officer, Rob Friedman.

“This is something he’s wanted to do for a long time,” Friedman said, adding that Cohen had told studio managers that he wanted to leave before the summer began.

Cohen’s departure comes as a number of Paramount movies have stumbled badly at the box office, including this summer’s expensive sequel “Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life,” “Marci X” and the David Spade comedy “Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star,” which opened last weekend to a dismal $6.7 million in ticket sales.

During his long tenure, Cohen oversaw a number of big hits, including this summer’s sleeper, “The Italian Job” ($103.5 million to date), and such past blockbusters as “Titanic,” “Forrest Gump,” “Braveheart,” “Ghost” and the “Mission: Impossible” films.

Before joining Paramount, Cohen was a top advertising executive at Revlon and Bloomingdale’s.