by SAM TASCH
Lionsgate
Key Executives
Chief Executive Officer: John Feltheimer Vice Chairman: Michael Burns Co-Chief Operating Officer, President, Motion Picture Group: Steve Beeks [1]
Address
2700 Colorado Avenue Santa Monica, CA 90404 310-449-9200 www.lionsgate.com
History
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation was founded on July 3, 1997, by Frank Giustra. [2] It is a world-wide entertainment company specializing in film and television production and distribution based in Santa Monica, California. John Feltheimer took over as CEO in 2000 and has been running the company ever since, overseeing the launch of two of the most successful film franchises in history in The Hunger Games and Twilight. The name was consolidated to Lionsgate in 2005. [3] In television, Lionsgate works in production and distribution for 28 total shows, including Mad Men and Orange is the New Black. Together, their entire entertainment library totals 15,000 unique television and film titles, giving Lionsgate an overbearing presence in the media industry. [4]
Financials
Lionsgate is a publicly traded company. Its share price is a respectable $30.89, up from $27.25 a year ago. [5] In the period from Jan 1st through April 12th, Lionsgate has brought in just over 187 million dollars in box office revenue, which is down 17.8 percent from last year over the same period of time. This disappointing number comes despite the fact that all other film studios as a whole have experienced a 7.2 percent increase in box office revenue over that time period. Lionsgate currently occupies 7.1 percent of the total film studio market share, good for seventh among all American film studios. [6] When factoring in all earnings over the past year, Lionsgate has brought in 2.63 billion dollars in total revenue, down 2.88 percent from the same period a year ago. [2]
Right Here, Right Now
A big trend emerging right now within Lionsgate is their expansion across different platforms. They have been a large player among the television and film industries for quite some time now, and it appears as if they are attempting to break into new markets and demographics with new forms of media. Lionsgate recently invested in Telltale games, a video game developing company that has previously developed games based off of television shows such as The Walking Dead and Games of Thrones. Lionsgate could potentially be looking to develop games off of some of their most successful titles, such as The Hunger Games, in order to heighten awareness for the series and add another revenue stream. A series such as The Hunger Games lends itself to a video game series quite well due to it’s popularity as well as the action-packed nature of the films. [7]
Lionsgate has also recently partnered with Liberty Media, a major television distributer that distributes for companies such as the Discovery Channel, USA, and Starz. This partnership includes John Malone joining the Lionsgate board of directors, which could lead to an increased television presence for the company. [8] John Malone also is the controlling owner of the Atlanta Braves, and has deep ties in sports and sports media. This is important because the chairman of Lionsgate, Mark Rachesky, is currently bidding for the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks. If he is granted majority ownership, this would allow Lionsgate to become the television distributer of the Hawks, giving Lionsgate their first presence in sports media. [9]
In terms of expanding their television and film presence into new markets, it was recently announced that John Feltheimer will join the board of directors for Televisa, a large Mexican media company with one of the largest reaches in Mexico. [10] Lionsgate is also teaming up with Buena Vista for the theatrical release in Russia of Mockingly Part 2 of the Hunger Games series. This partnership will allow the movie to be released in more theaters across Russia, expanding Lionsgate’s reach into international markets while establishing a partnership between Lionsgate and Buena Vista that could be beneficial to both parties. [11]
Lions gate’s recent partnership with the Chinese company Hunan TV demonstrates this intended expansion into international markets as well. The deal includes film financing aspects as well as co-production aspects. This will help Lionsgate tap into the enormous Chinese market, while underscoring their desire to expand globally. [12]
Lionsgate also recently announced that they are partnering with Comic-Con International in order to launch their own subscription video on demand service. This service will feature exclusive short-from content from Lionsgate that is only available to its subscribers as well as other exclusive footage from Comic-Con. The service, set to launch later this year, will expand Lionsgate’s presence across digital platforms. [13]
Content
One of Lionsgate’s most recent releases, and arguably their most talked about release of the year, Insurgent, has been doing well at the box-office. The star-studded action flick has made over 251 million dollars world-wide after four weekends. This will probably soon surpass it’s predecessor in the series, Divergent, which made roughly 288 million dollars in 2014, and has far surpassed its own 110 million dollar production budget. [14]
On the television side, Lionsgate helps produce and distribute Mad Men for AMC. Mad Men has done well in ratings throughout its life on television, however its ratings took a hit this past week. The premier for the show’s final season brought in 2.3 million viewers live plus same day, around one million less than the pervious season averaged. [15]
In terms of digital media, Lionsgate produces two shows for subscription television services. They produce the hit drama Orange is the New Black for Netflix, and the new comedy Deadbeat for Hulu. Rating numbers are not available for both of these subscription video on demand shows. The new season of Orange is the New Black will be available on June 12th, while Deadbeat will premiere on April 20th. [4]
Coming up, Lionsgate is launching what is projected to be one of the biggest movies of the year, Mockingjay Part 2. It is expected to surpass the previous film in the Hunger Games franchise, Mockingjay Part 1, despite that movie bringing in over 752 million dollars worldwide. This will bring an end to the highly profitable Hunger Games franchise, inherently creating some uncertainty for the future of Lionsgate as a whole. [4]
Future
The immediate future of film side Lionsgate is bright, due the continuance of the Divergent franchise and the grand finale of the Hunger Games franchise. After these successful franchises end, however, that side of the company’s future becomes a little murkier. Lionsgate as a whole, however, continues their expansion of content across multiple platforms, infiltration into new markets, and the launching of new subscription services. This sustained growth will go a long way in helping to guide the success of the future of Lionsgate.
Sources
[1] LIONSGATE Governance. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.lionsgate.com/corporate/governance/
[2] Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. LGF. (2015). Retrieved from http://quotes.wsj.com/LGF
[3] Lionsgate Unveils New Corporate Name and Logo. (2014, December 15). Retrieved from http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lionsgate-unveils-new-corporate-name-and-logo-55558967.html
[4] Lionsgate. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.lionsgate.com
[5] Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/lgf
[6] 2015 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view=company&view2=yearly&yr=
[7] McNary, D., & Graser, M. (2015, February 24). Lionsgate Invests in Videogame Publisher Telltale Games as Company Expands Beyond Films, TV., retrieved from http://variety.com/2015/biz/news/lionsgate-invests-in-videogame-publisher-telltale-games-as-company-expands-beyond-films-tv-1201440351/
[8] Liberty Media Corporation. (2011). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.libertymedia.com/
[9] Stein, M. (2015, March 4). Mark Rachesky bidding for Hawks. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12419889/lionsgate-entertainment-chairman-mark-rachesky-bid-atlanta-hawks
[10] Hecht, J. (2015, April 16). Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer to Be Nominated to Televisa Board. Retrieved from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-ceo-jon-feltheimer-be-789356
[11] Tartaglione, N. (2015, March 5). Lionsgate, Buena Vista International Team For ‘Mockingjay 2’ Release In Russia. Retrieved from http://deadline.com/2015/03/lionsgate-buena-vista-international-hunger-games-mockingjay-2-russia-release-1201386658/
[12] Coonan, C. (n.d.). Lionsgate Unveils Film Financing Deal With China’s Hunan TV. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-unveils-film-financing-deal-782776
[13] LIONSGATE Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.lionsgate.com/corporate/press-releases/1655/
[14] The Divergent Series: Insurgent (2015) – Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=insurgent.htm
[15] O’Connell, M. (n.d.). TV Ratings: ‘Mad Men’ Takes a Hit in Return, Fetches 2.3 Million Viewers. Retrieved April 17, 2015, from http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/tv-ratings-mad-men-takes-695940