It’s official: veteran movie marketer Josh Goldstine is back in the Hollywood studio fold.
Goldstine is joining David Ellison‘s revamped Paramount Pictures as president of global marketing and distribution, effective today. He’ll report to newly minted Motion Pictures co-chairs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein, who Ellison picked to run the movie studio after the Paramount-Skydance merger closed in early August.
Goldstine is widely respected as a legacy studio marketer. The affable executive has a long list of wins under his belt that he amassed during stints at Warner Bros., Universal and Sony Pictures, although his career took a more turbulent turn in recent years.
Goldberg and Greenstein announced the news in a note to staff.
“Over his career, Josh has led marketing for franchise cornerstones and breakout originals, and he brings a sharp strategic lens to positioning, creative advertising, media, publicity, partnerships, analytics, strategy & research, creative content, and now, theatrical distribution,” the duo said in the note.
At the beginning of 2025, he was shown the door at Warner Bros. despite guiding the campaigns for such blockbuster breakouts as including Barbie, the Dune Movies, Batman and Beetlejuice 2. His exit coincided with a reversal in fortunes for the studio and a string of box office misses, such as Joker: Foile á Deux and Mickey 17. (There’s an old adage in Hollywood that the first group blamed when a title doesn’t work is the marketing department.)
Goldstine’s unexpected departure as president of marketing for Universal Pictures was even more complicated, and followed an investigation by NBCUniversal and parent company Comcast into allegations of inappropriate conduct. Goldstine famously went on to win a large arbitration award against the studio and was no longer had considered cancelled.
In 2018, one of the execs announcing Goldstine’s exit was then-Universal Filmed Entertainment chairman Jeff Shell, who subsequently rose up the ranks to become NBCUniversal CEO. In 2023, Shell himself was fired with cause after being accused of inappropriate conduct involving a female employee.
At the time, few could have predicted that Shell and Goldstine would end up reuniting on the Melrose lot.
Goldstine inherits the post previously held by Marc Weinstock, who had served as Paramount’s marketing and distribution chief since 2019. Weinstock is among a number of executives who are departing the Melrose lot in the wake of the merger.
Below is Goldberg and Greenstein’s note in full.
Team,
We’re pleased to share an exciting leadership update: Josh Goldstine is officially joining the studio as President, Global Marketing & Distribution for Paramount Pictures, effective today. In this role, Josh will oversee our worldwide marketing and distribution organization and report to us.
Over his career, Josh has led marketing for franchise cornerstones and breakout originals, and he brings a sharp strategic lens to positioning, creative advertising, media, publicity, partnerships, analytics, strategy & research, creative content, and now, theatrical distribution.
Josh previously served as President of Worldwide Marketing at Warner Bros., where he architected the record-breaking campaign for Barbie, a cultural and box office phenomenon that became the studio’s highest-grossing film of all time, earning more than$1.4 billion globally. He also oversaw marketing for major tentpoles including Dune, The Batman, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and Wonka, among others.
Prior to Warner Bros., Josh was the marketing chief at Universal Pictures, where he led the strategic vision and execution behind the global success of blockbuster franchises including Fast & Furious, Jurassic World, Despicable Me, Pitch Perfect, and Minions. His campaigns also powered hits like Straight Outta Compton, the AcademyAward-winning Get Out, Split, The Secret Life of Pets, and Fifty Shades of Grey.
Earlier in his career, Josh spent over two decades at Sony Pictures, where he served as President of Creative Advertising. There, he led campaigns for Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, the Academy Award-winning The Social Network, Casino Royale, The Da Vinci Code, Jerry Maguire, Men in Black, and Groundhog Day.
Please join us in welcoming Josh to the Paramount team.
