WWE Studios chief Mike Pavone ankles

After shepherding the production of eight films, WWE Studios chief Mike Pavone has called it quits. The exec is ankling the company to "pursue other opportunities," according to a corporate filing. He had headed up the film division since 2009, after replacing former Village Roadshow exec Michael Lake. The departure follows remarks this week by WWE topper Vince McMahon that the company was looking to rethink its film strategy after recent releases have struggled to find an audience. Company is narrowing down a list of candidates to replace Pavone. The Samuel Goldwyn Co. has been distribbing WWE's slate since the company began self-financing its own slate in early 2010, after partnering with Fox and Lionsgate in the past. Its most recent release, the drama "That's What I Am," starred Ed Harris and Amy Madigan, earned just $6,400 from 10 theaters in three days at the box office. Its next pic is the comedy "Inside Out," that bows Sept 9., and co-stars HHH, Parker Posey and Michael Rapaport, to be followed by "Family Reunion," "Bending the Rules" and "Barricade." It's also already released "Legendary," "Knucklehead" and the Stephen Herek-helmed comedy "The Chaperone." WWE has opted to give its pics a limited theatrical release in certain markets, using them as promo pushes for the a launch across homevideo platforms shortly thereafter. Walmart is the company's primary retail partner, which has been giving the films prominent displays and shelf space. The pics it produced also didn't star its wrestlers, but featured them in smaller co-starring roles opposite more established thesps like Harris, Patricia Clarkson, Danny Glover, Mark Feuerstein, Dennis Farina, Jamie Kennedy and Eric McCormack. Although WWE Studios generated $4.3 million during the last three months, "I Am What I Am" wound up losing $3.3 million during the second quarter. Moving forward, WWE is looking at pairing up with other production partners for films. It also wants to lower the production budgets on future releases, which currently hover around the $5 million mark. In May, WWE paired up with Pathe U.K. on the horror film "No One Lives," that stars Luke Evans ("The Three Musketeers," "Immortals") and Ryuhei Kitamura ("Midnight Meat Train") is directing. Leaning more toward genre fare might be part of WWE's playbook after Pavone's slate of mostly feel-good dramas and family fare didn't appeal to the company's fanbase. The film division generated $400,000 in profit last year, through previous releases and Pavone's first titles. Either way, WWE is hoping to turn to its own films to use as programming on the WWE Network, a TV channel the company hopes to launch within the next year to 18 months. Company has also been digitizing its vast library of footage, which consists of 100,000 hours, as programming to adapt for the new network when it launches. Contact Marc Graser at marc.graser@variety.com