Relativity Media, whose activities included digital media, releasing music, managing sports teams, producing and distributing films and television, and financing them, was founded and led by Ryan Kavanaugh. More than 200 films were produced, released, or had finance arranged by Relativity. These films brought in more than $17 billion at the box office worldwide and received 60 Oscar nominations. He received the 2010 Leadership Award from The Hollywood Reporter, and at the 13th Annual Hollywood Awards Gala, he received the 2009 Hollywood Producer of the Year Award. Kavanaugh served as The Art of Elysium’s board chairman, which encourages artists to lend their time and skills to children with life-threatening illnesses. He is the recipient of the 2011 Entertainment Industry Award from the Anti-Defamation League as well as the Hollywood Humanitarian Award from the Board of Governors of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. The Sheriff’s Youngsters Foundation Community Champion Award was given to Kavanaugh in appreciation of his commitment to assisting inner-city youth.
Thriller being his biggest comeback:
When Ryan Kavanaugh‘s “new age” film and television studio Relativity Media failed in 2016, many areas of Hollywood celebrated his punishment. The aggressive, quick-witted mogul had been portraying himself for years as a Hollywood prophet who would change many of the conventions and standards of the business. Instead, Relativity reportedly burned through $100 million in two years, filing into bankruptcy twice. To the surprise of his former adversaries, Kavanaugh appears to be emerging from the ashes of that catastrophe like a Phoenix. On July 31, 2020, when then-President Donald Trump said that he would impose a ban on the well-known video app TikTok owing to worries about what its Chinese parent firm conducts with the personal information of its more than 800 million users, his comeback was never more evident.
