In brief
Michael Barnathan (born March 1958) is an American film producer renowned for his work on high-profile family films and dramas, including executive producing the first three installments of the Harry Potter film series and producing the Academy Award-nominated drama The Help (2011). As a key figure in Hollywood production, he co-founded the company 1492 Pictures in 1994 with director Chris Columbus and producer Mark Radcliffe, contributing to over two dozen films that blend commercial success with broad appeal, such as Night at the Museum (2006).
Barnathan graduated from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1980, where he first collaborated with Chris Columbus on student projects, laying the groundwork for their long-term professional partnership. He entered the industry in the early 1980s as a producer under Edgar Scherick Associates, working on television miniseries and earning a Primetime Emmy nomination for co-executive producing The Kennedys of Massachusetts (1990). By the mid-1990s, Barnathan had transitioned to feature films, with 1492 Pictures' debut project Nine Months (1995), a romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant and Julianne Moore, marking the start of his focus on accessible, audience-driven storytelling.
Barnathan is Jewish.
