Universal Pictures, the Hollywood studio arm of NBC Universal, has fired two of its most senior executives after a string of flops made 2009 an abysmal year at the box office.

Marc Shmuger and David Linde, co-chairmen of the studio, were responsible for a slate of films that included Funny People and Land of the Lost. But the releases failed to set the box office alight, leaving the studio trailing its rivals. The management shake-up comes as NBC Universal exerts greater pressure on its studio arm. Earlier this year Jeff Zucker, chief executive of NBC, dispatched Lynn Calpeter, the group’s chief financial officer, to Hollywood from New York to examine the poor performance of the studio.