Rachel Hollis reacts to death of ex-husband, former Disney executive Dave Hollis: “My heart is so broken”

News of Dave Hollis’ death shocked the distribution community. The 17-year Disney vet helmed Disney’s feature slate with franchise peaks in its pre-Fox merger and Disney+ heyday. Star Wars: The Force Awakens And Avengers: Infinity War. Its box office track record has been impeccable counting various industry all-time records, including $7 billion worldwide in 2016, $6 billion in 2017, and a seven-year span with 12 Disney global box office releases north of $1 billion, and one over $2 billion (The Force Awakens) Even more so, Hollis was known for his razor-sharp business acumen, good-guy personality, and charismatic personality.

Then-Disney chairman Alan Horn called the outgoing Hollis “an equal” to Warner Bros. Disney distribution boss Dan Fellman at CinemaCon 2018.

“When I left, I thought I’d never see his equal, but I have, and it’s Dave Hollis,” Horn exclaimed at CinemaCon that year.

Hollis left Disney in June 2018, going to work for and lead his then-wife Rachel’s multimedia empire that spanned motivational speaking, books, self-help podcasts and entrepreneurial endeavors. He oversaw the theatrical release of his documentary Fathom Events Rachel Hollis Presents: Ready for more In August 2018. Doc followed Girl, wash your face As an author she tackled her dream of creating the RISE conference series, which brought women who don’t look alike, vote alike, or do the same things together in a supportive and inspiring community.

Dave Hollis took inspiration from Rachel and wrote his own self-help book, which hit store shelves just as Covid hit in March 2020, titled Get out of your own way. In it, he said of his high-flying run as head of Disney distribution “I was going straight and didn’t need to study. As the slate grew and teams hit their stride, the hits became more common and the fleeting effort required to sell gave me something that, for the longest time, I couldn’t put my finger on. I got the biggest bonus of my life, the most recognition of my career, and was the envy of others who had to work hard to do the same at other studios; And yet because of that contrast, I was disappointed.”

Later in the chapter, Hollis writes, “I quit in what many saw as a crazy move. I left a great job full of security, a guaranteed multi-million-dollar annual salary, and a position full of influence and prestige. I left to chase my dreams with my wife. In a leap of faith, before a single copy of his big book sold out, we decided to move our family from LA to a small town south of Austin, Texas.”

Although Dave Hollis and Rachel Hollis would later divorce, the former would continue to write. In 2021, he wrote his second self-help book, Building Through Courage: Face Your Fears to Live the Life You Want, where she documents her public divorce and expiration with herself. He also wrote children’s books Here is your dream. On social media, Dave Hollis will post about work with his church, life with his children, work and life with his fitness influencer and author Heidi Powell.

One of Dave Hollis’ last posts was about his daughter fishing.

“From fridge to shorts in less than 48 hours. Today was a good day,” he wrote.