Hollywood’s King of Culture Is Building a Billion

Charles D. King may not be a household name like Steven Spielberg, Alfred Hitchcock, and Walt Disney. But in Hollywood, he operates in the same echelon.

King joined these luminaries at the top of his industry as the recipient of the Producers Guild of America Milestone Award in 2024, recognizing his “immeasurable contribution to the film industry” as the founder of multi-platform media company Macro, dedicated to bringing BIPOC stories to life.

But it wasn’t until 2025 that King’s Hollywood clout came to bear on a deal unprecedented in Tinseltown history.

The Warner Bros. horror thriller Sinners, written and directed by Ryan Coogler, took in $279.7 million domestically making it the seventh highest-grossing movie of the year-and the only one in the top 10 not based on a popular IP

Arguably, however, the most groundbreaking part of the film happened behind the scenes. King was part of the team-along with Coogler’s agent at William Morris Endeavor, Craig Kestel; his attorney Jonathan Gardner; and WME COO Dan Limerick-that negotiated the deal giving Coogler final cut, first-dollar gross participation, and ownership of the film’s rights after 25 years.

“We knew Sinners was going to be special,” King told ADWEEK. “The ownership deal was well earned given Ryan’s extraordinary track record and is in alignment with deal precedent for a select number of very accomplished filmmakers.”

He added: “I hope this deal serves as a reminder to Hollywood and beyond of the enormous potential upside of partnering with extraordinary storytellers and original voices.”

Trailblazing seems to be in King’s DNA. Years earlier, he became the first Black partner at Hollywood powerhouse agency WME in its over 100-year history-and the first at any major Hollywood talent firm.

Now, King is focused on scaling his own entertainment empire with Macro. Founded in 2015, the film, TV, and digital content studio has grown to include a talent representation arm, M88, and a creative agency, Brand Macro. This past September, Macro acquired the streaming platform Allblk from AMC Global Media to further its distribution and storytelling ambitions.

His goal is to build Macro into a billion-dollar company through culture-shaping work that uplifts underrepresented voices. That mission has produced lauded films such as Judas and the Black Messiah, Fences, and Sorry to Bother You, but “impact can be measured in a lot of ways,” he noted.

“There’s the careers that we’ve launched by financing films by first-time filmmakers,” King said. “We’ve had productions where we’re making sure there’s diversity and a range of folks hired as part of our crews. There’s the make-up of the creatives of our company and everyone that we partner with, which is extraordinarily diverse.”

King has been living by that ethos long before it took shape as Macro. Coogler, who became the first Black winner of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Sinners (not to mention directing Marvel’s Black Panther franchise), met King in 2012 and remembers his strong influence at Hollywood’s ground level as an agent.

“He made sure our voices were heard in those agency hallways, advocating for the value of Black filmmakers and the value of Black stories,” Coogler told ADWEEK.

As CEO of Macro, King’s ability to bring financing “makes all the difference in the world” when it comes to getting projects greenlit, Coogler added, as does his business savvy acquired from years of experience. “Just him having so much earned knowledge from his position as an agent and his position as a producer and financier and being able to share his business strategy with like-minded folks has been such a great tool to have,” Coogler said.

“And it’s been a joy to watch them build community through the work that Stacey [Walker King, chief brand officer of Macro and King’s wife] does,” he added.

Walker King also runs Brand Macro, the company’s marketing agency. In addition to working with brands, Brand Macro also focuses on building community through events that bring together Black and POC talent, such as Macro Lodge at the Sundance Film Festival and the Macro HBCU Summit, which connected students interested in entertainment with industry insiders.

For his work in elevating, financing, and championing diverse creative talent, Charles D. King is the recipient of the Adcolor | ADWEEK 2027 Beacon Award.

“I feel incredibly blessed that a vision I had more than three decades ago has grown into something that resonates so deeply with people-not just Black filmmakers, but Latino, Asian, LGBTQ+, and white storytellers who feel that the traditional system hasn’t made room for the stories they want to tell,” King said. “I think one of the most powerful things we’ve built is belief. Belief in what’s possible.”

An eye for talent and potential

After King graduated from Howard University’s School of Law in 1996, he moved to Hollywood to set out on the path that would lead to Macro. But King remembers the vision for the company starting much earlier.

Growing up in Decatur, Ga., King got his first taste of entrepreneurship watching his father, a physician, start and build a medical practice.

He also experienced firsthand the power of representation in entertainment. On the television drama L.A. Law, he idolized Blair Underwood’s portrayal of the “charismatic” and “intelligent” Black law firm associate Jonathan Rollins.

“There was the power of content and [seeing] an aspirational person,” King said. “I saw myself in this person and thought, ‘I could be like that guy one day.'” King has since worked with Underwood on two Macro projects, the 2020 film Really Love and the upcoming Netflix romantic drama Don’t Ever Wonder. “It’s such a beautiful, full-circle moment,” he said.

But his path shifted between his sophomore and junior years at Howard. While working a summer job at MTV in New York, a lawyer told King he’d make “a good lawyer-but a great agent.”

When King graduated, he inked his vision in the Howard Law commemoration book. Asked what he’ll be doing in 10 years, King wrote: “Be at the helm of a diversified entertainment and media company.”

Despite his mother being a writer and a poet, King never wanted to be a creative force himself. Instead, he realized early on that he had a talent for seeing potential in others, and leveraged this to immense success as an agent. He signed multi-hyphenates like Coogler and Tyler Perry, the filmmaker and actor behind the Madea franchise, before they became household names.

When King keys into what he looks for in people, he names qualities like vision, ambition, and brilliance. “I would also say authenticity,” he added. “People who authentically know who they are as artists and as people, and you see that throughline in everything that they touch.”

Investing in people with a strong point of view has brought industry accolades as well. The 93rd Academy Awards nominated Macro’s historical drama Judas and the Black Messiah for six Oscars, making King, Coogler, and Shaka King (no relation) the first all-Black producing team to be up for Best Picture. (The film ultimately won two Oscars: Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya and Best Original Song.)

“That experience-I’ll take it with me forever,” King said. “That movie meant so much to all of us. Everyone on that movie is bonded for life. To really be in it as a producer, and to then get the blessing of being the first film from an all-Black producer unit to get an Oscar nomination, was just truly icing on the cake.”

Building a community

King says his ability to connect with people from different backgrounds is “just part of who I am.” He remembers being “really small and skinny” before having a growth spurt in high school, enabling him to relate to people who were “not necessarily as accepted socially.”

“I’m more inclined in that direction, as opposed to being someone who only wants to talk to who’s in the ‘in crowd,'” he said. “I’m going to interface with people who I think are intelligent and talented, and who I enjoy spending time with.”

When he started in the mailroom at what was then William Morris Agency, he was the only Black trainee and worked hard to “build the bottom of my pyramid” through relationships.

“I was dropped into a pot of gold to understand this industry from the ground floor up,” King said. “I recognized the uniqueness of the opportunity, and I cultivated and built relationships with everyone,” from his fellow mailroom trainees to assistants at other agencies and young executives just getting their start.

Now, at Macro, he’s reached the top of his proverbial pyramid, able to build community the way he wants. He estimates between 350 and 400 interns have come through Macro since its founding, several of whom have gone on to become “executives at every one of the major talent agencies.” Macro alumni have also won Emmys, and sit in the C-suites of companies around Hollywood. Among them is Mark Wright, vice president of film and TV at Higher Ground, the production studio of Barack and Michelle Obama.

For King, a major part of turning out future executives is fostering a culture of collaboration at the beginning of their careers: “Everyone at our company has a voice, and great ideas can come from anywhere.”

Ideas for a New Hollywood

King launched Macro during the production boom of the Peak TV era in the mid-2010s. According to the New York Times, the number of TV shows in the U.S. jumped 52% in about six years, from 349 in 2013 to 532 in 2019. During that time, studios also implemented DEI policies in response to campaigns such as 2015’s #OscarsSoWhite, creating a robust pipeline for diverse talent and projects.

Seven years later, Hollywood is undergoing massive shifts, from how shows are produced to consolidation among the major studios. The number of TV shows and feature films being made has dropped significantly. In October, Paramount Skydance closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Studios. And new forms of content, like made-for-social microdramas, are cutting into audience share.

But King continues to rely on what’s gotten him this far: faith, relationships, and his deep knowledge of people and the industry.

And in some ways, these shifts have provided unprecedented leverage for the people who can break through the noise. In March, Macro announced a multi-year first-look, co-financing, and distribution deal with Sony Pictures.

The acquisition of streaming platform Allblk, founded by BET’s Bob Johnson in 2014, gives Macro a direct distribution channel and a closer relationship with its audience.

“I have been looking at Allblk for 12 years,” King said. “We think that having ownership of this platform will serve our business well as potentially a provider of content. But, more broadly, it’s a larger market opportunity that we saw needed to be unlocked.”

And there could be more deals to come, with King considering acquiring assets being “spun out” from consolidating media giants and pushing further into producing live events.

He also recognizes AI as a tool for efficiency and the “democratization of opportunity,” with creators being able to build their own audiences. But he made clear that AI should “never replace real storytelling, writing, and acting,” and that protecting intellectual property is a priority.

“Our vision forward will continue to be to assess the marketplace and adapt,” King said. “That’s one of the benefits of being a smaller, more nimble institution, as opposed to a much larger institution where it’s harder to pivot and maneuver. We’ve had to make adjustments like every thoughtful company, making sure we’re right-sizing our organization for future growth, and for where the market is headed.”

According to Coogler, “change seems to be the law” of Hollywood, but King is well positioned to succeed.

“From what I’ve seen, people who can be both patient but can also act fearlessly, and people who have good taste and great relationships with talent, seem to always be able to make the moments of transition work best for themselves,” Coogler said. “And Charles is both of those things.”

Whatever the future holds, King lives by a piece of advice from his grandmother: “Go out there and be yourself.” He credits staying true to his principles and vision with guiding him from the agency mailroom to starting Macro and becoming an Oscar-nominated producer.

“I’m just Charles King,” he said. “I’m not changing who I am. And I’ve tried my best to operate with that same compass and treating people the way I would want to be treated.”

“He has a great heart,” Coogler added. “It’s very rare to find somebody who is this talented at business but who’s a good person at the core.”

This article was originally featured onAdweek.com.