Davis was born and raised in Denver, Colorado. He is the son of Barbara Davis (née Levine), a philanthropist, and former 20th Century Fox owner and oil and media industrialist Marvin Davis (1925–2004).[1] His interest in cinema began as a youth when his father purchased the neighborhood film theater, where he sold popcorn and subsequently viewed up to 300 films a year. Davis graduated from Bowdoin College, attended Amherst College, and received an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. Davis is of Jewish descent.[2]
Career
Davis, Chairman of Los Angeles–based Davis Entertainment, is one of the most prolific producers in film history. His film and television company has made more than 116 feature films and 13 television series, which have earned more than $8 billion worldwide.[3]
Davis Entertainment produces projects for all major studios, broadcast networks, and streaming companies.
Davis most recently produced Jungle Cruise with Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt, and Prey starring Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, and Dane DiLiegro. Prey broke Hulu's records for the most-watched premiere for a single release, beating every other Hulu film and TV series in 2022.[4] The film received six nominations at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Television Movie. Davis would produce Harold and the Purple Crayon for Sony Pictures. Davis is also in post-production on The Uglies for Netflix, which is a collaboration with his wife Jordan Davis. He is currently in development on The Pick Up, starring Eddie Murphy for Amazon Studios, and a Vertigo remake for Paramount Pictures as well as an untitled Jungle Cruise sequel. Davis also produced Dolemite Is My Name with Eddie Murphy for Netflix – his fifth movie with Eddie Murphy in their 25-year collaboration. The film won the Critics Choice Award for Best Comedy, the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture, and was nominated for Best Comedy at the Golden Globes. Dolemite Is My Name was one of Times Magazine's 10 best movies of 2019. Davis also made the hit comedy Game Night for Warner Bros Pictures.
Aside from his entertainment career, Davis’ successful business ventures include Wetzel's Pretzels and the casual pizza franchise Blaze Pizza. His newest food ventures include Dave’s Hot Chicken, the fastest-growing food company in America, and PopUp Bagels, which was named twice the winner of the Brooklyn Bagel Fest for the best bagel in New York.
Davis has owned, operated, and started several small market television stations.
Personal life
Davis is married to Jordan Davis. They have three children: Jack, Catherine, and Jensen, as mentioned in the Garfield: The Movie DVD commentary.[10] Davis' three children said that the CG version of Garfield looked "evil" when they first saw him.[citation needed]
Filmography
He was a producer in all films unless otherwise noted.