Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. and General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal named new executives to lead their film studios after falling behind competitors at the box office.

Adam Fogelson was named chairman of Universal Pictures and Donna Langley co-chairman, the Los Angeles-based studio said yesterday. Burbank, California-based Disney promoted cable- network chief Rich Ross to studio chairman, replacing 38-year company veteran Dick Cook, who resigned last month.

Disney and Universal occupy the bottom two spots among the six major studios in U.S. and Canadian box-office sales in 2009, a year in which revenue has surged 7.5 percent. Studios are cutting back on the number of movies and grappling with a decline in DVD sales, developments that spotlight disappointments like Disney’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and Universal’s “Land of the Lost.”

“The industry is changing,” Chris Marangi, an analyst with Gabelli & Co. in Rye, New York, said in a phone interview. “There’s fewer films getting produced, there’s pressure on the home entertainment revenue stream and that’s led the studios to examine their cost structure and to be choosier about what pictures get made.”

Ross, who turns 48 tomorrow, will oversee worldwide production, distribution and marketing for live-action and animated film labels that include Touchstone, Miramax and Pixar, Disney, the world’s largest media company, said yesterday.

Disney, also the largest theme-park operator, said separately that Ed Grier, 54, retired as president of the Disneyland resort in Anaheim, California, to work on a business venture with his sons.

Box Office Surge

U.S. and Canadian box-office sales have risen to $7.96 billion this year from $7.4 billion, according to Los Angeles- based researcher Hollywood.com Box-Office. Time Warner Inc., the box-office leader in 2008, is in first again this year with $1.61 billion in sales and 20 percent of the market, according to Box Office Mojo, which also tracks receipts.

Disney is fifth with $972.1 million in domestic ticket sales, or 12 percent market share, according to Box Office Mojo, based in Sherman Oaks, California. Last year the company was sixth with 11 percent.

Universal’s $837.2 million in sales so far in 2009 account for 11 percent of the market. Last year the company was fourth with 13 percent.

Disney’s “Confessions of a Shopaholic” generated $108.3 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo. “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience,” took in $23.1 million worldwide.

Ross, who was president of the Disney Channel, will lead efforts to restore movie-making profit. Disney has agreed to distribute films for Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks studio and plans to purchase Marvel Entertainment Inc., gaining rights to comic-book characters.

“He’s done a great job with the network and he’ll continue to focus the studio on franchise pictures,” Marangi said.

Shmuger, Linde

At Universal, Fogelson, 42, and Langley, 41, replace Marc Shmuger and David Linde, who were named chairman and co-chairman in March 2006. They agreed to four-year extensions in January, when Linde also took the title of chairman.

“Adam is a natural leader with a unique ability to anticipate our audience, understand our business and collaborate with our filmmakers to give us a competitive advantage,” Ron Meyer, president and chief operating officer of Universal Studios, said in a statement yesterday.

The company is changing management at its film-making unit after replacing Ben Silverman, co-chairman of entertainment at NBC, in July. He failed to pull the television network out of fourth-place.

‘Land of the Lost’

“Land of the Lost,” starring Will Ferrell, cost Universal about $100 million to make and took in $62.5 million in worldwide ticket sales, according to Box Office Mojo. “Funny People,” starring Adam Sandler, brought in $60.6 million in global ticket sales and cost an estimated $75 million to make.

General Electric, based in Fairfield, Connecticut, rose 44 cents to $16.27 at 9:36 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had fallen 2.3 percent this year before today.

GE is in discussions with Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable operator, to create an entertainment venture that would own New York-based NBC Universal, people with knowledge of the discussions said last week.

Cook’s Departure

Comcast, based in Philadelphia, would own more than 50 percent of the operation, two people said then. An agreement isn’t certain and any deal would depend on NBC Universal’s minority owner, Vivendi SA, agreeing to sell its 20 percent stake. GE owns 80 percent.

The Universal Pictures changes are “unrelated to recent speculation around possible ownership changes” Anne Eisele, a spokeswoman for GE, said yesterday in an e-mail. She declined to discuss any changes in GE’s ownership of NBC Universal.

Disney rose 22 cents to $27.89 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares had gained 22 percent this year before today.

Ross’s appointment follows the surprise resignation of Cook on Sept. 18. He started at Disney as a ride operator at Disneyland. His departure followed a quarterly loss of $12 million at the film studio.

Ross joined Disney in 1996 as Disney Channel’s senior vice president, programming and production, and was named Disney Channel president in April 2004.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael White in Los Angeles at mwhite8@bloomberg.net; James Callan at jcallan2@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 6, 2009 09:37 EDT