by Naomi Pinkus
Lionsgate Company Logo [1]
Address: 2700 Colorado Ave Ste 200
Santa Monica, CA, 90404 United States
Phone Number: (310) 449-9200
Website: http://www.lionsgate.com
About Lionsgate:
Lionsgate Entertainment was founded in 1997 by financier Frank Giestra. In 2000 Giestra stepped down as CEO, and the current CEO, John Feltheimer, took charge along with the current Vice Chairman Michael Burns [2]. For a while, Lionsgate was seen as a small studio known for their Tyler Perry comedies and horror flicks such as Saw [3]. Then, in 2012, The Hunger Games came to theaters, and become one of the most successful film franchises in history. Since then, Lionsgate bought Summit Entertainment (Twilight series) and has been speeding up to the major film studios in record time [3]. This particular wiki will focus on Lionsgate’s motion picture production line of business, as it is also involved in television programming, home entertainment, distribution, and new channel platforms [2].
Key Executives:
John Feltheimer, Chief Executive Officer [4]
Michael Burns, Vice Chairman [5]
Since starting in 2000, Feltheimer and Burns have grown Lionsgate from an $80 million company to a nearly $4 billion one today. Lionsgate’s revenue has increased more than 15 times over [4].
Financials:
Lionsgate reported as of September 30th (when the quester ended) their revenue has increased by 11% to $552.9 million. They also had an adjusted EBITDA of $59.0 million. They also had an adjusted net income of $33.0 million or $0.24 adjusted basic net income per share. Additionally, they had a net income of $20.8 million or $0.15 basic net income per share, which is up from $0.00 basic net income per share last quarter [6].
Big Releases:
Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1:
In this portion of the story, Katniss is in District 13 as the face of the rebellion, while trying to save Peeta from the Capitol [8].
John Wick is the story of an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to hunt the gangsters who took everything from him [10].
With the reintroduction of Keanu Reeves, John Wick did surprisingly well as number 2 in the box office opening weekend. With a budget of $20 billion, Lionsgate gained $42 million domestically and $17 million internationally [11].
Smaller Film Releases:
Addicted is a thriller that encompasses a story about a gallerist engaging in an affair, which jeopardizes her family and career [12].
Jessabelle is the story of a girl who returns to her hometown after a car crash, where she’s met with a dark spirit who won’t let her go [14].
Jessabelle is a horror film that came out on November 7th, 2014. As of now, there is no information on the budget, earnings, or number of theaters of this film [15].
Dear White People is a story about four black people struggling with race at a university [16].
The Homesman is the story of a man and woman who must transport 3 insane women across the country [18].
The Homesman came out on November 21st. The film had an estimated budget of $16 millions and has only made $200,000 in the box office thus far [19].
Upcoming Releases:
Mortdecai:
Starring Johnny Depp, Gwenyth Paltrow, Ewan McGregor, and Olivia Munn, Mortdecai is sure to be a success. It is set to be released on January 23rd. The story is an action-comedy who’s premise is an art dealer is given a job to hunt down an art thief and faces an adventure across the world [20]. CEO Feltheimer compares this film to The Pink Panther and considers Depp’s character very “franchisable” [21]. The movie’s release was moved from early February so as to reduce the competition: now it is pinned up against Jennifer Lopez’s thriller The Boy Next Door [22].
Insurgent:
Perhaps the biggest grossing project next to The Hunger Games is the Divergent franchise. Insurgent, the second film of the trilogy, sets to be released to theaters on March 20th [23]. Divergent, the first film, made about $288 million worldwide last spring [24]. This film is estimated to be even more successful because the lead, Shailene Woodley, has escalated in fame since Divergent’s release through the film Fault in Our Stars [25]. Also interesting is the fact that Lionsgate has released a trailer that is a dream of the lead Tris (Woodley)- which has been commented on by news outlets as a risky way to promote the film, especially since they leave out the romance element of the film [25]. Insurgent will also be released in 3D.
The Age of Adeline:
Starring Blake Lively, The Age of Adeline tells a story about a woman who cannot age. It is set to be released on April 24th [26]. This is the first big movie Lively will lead in, so it’s a potentially big opportunity to draw fans in [27].
Spare Parts:
Spare parts is the story of four under-privledged hispanic boys starting a robotics club. It is set to hit theaters on January 16th and is starring George Lopez and Jamie Lee Curtis [28]. This film was a move by Lionsgate to reach out to and widen their Hispanic market. The Hispanic market is the fastest growing demographic in America, comprising 19% of U.S. box office revenue while representing 17.5% of the population [29].
Current Business Ventures:
Lionsgate has been extremely busy in the last few months expanding their company. The way they are doing this is by partnering up with many major companies to add projects to their plate and widen their distribution for the films they already had.
On September 3rd, Lionsgate announced that joined with Entertainment One, they would be renewing their multi-year film agreement in Canada, Australia, and Spain. This renewal will continue to distribute their major movies across the world, giving their company more recognition and money [30].
The last few months have been heavily focused on advertising and marketing The Hunger Games. On October 8th, Lionsgate partnered with Doritos, Mazda, and Whole Food’s, all of which sponsored a new app called “Our Leader, the Mockingjay” [31]. On October 20th, Lionsgate sent out a press release with the partnership between them and Google, where they created a five episode YouTube series about characters in Panem (the setting of The Hunger Games) [32]. Then on November 7th it was announced that Lionsgate would be partnering with Imagine Nations to produce The Hunger Games as a theater production in the UK [33].
As of November 13th, Lionsgate has partnered with CBS Films on up to 12 wide-release films. In this agreement CBS finds and produces the films while Lionsgate deals with distribution. This will allow each company to benefit from each other’s strengths [34].
There are many other examples of Lionsgate using any film success they’ve had to branch out into new media channels. It seems as though they are going to continue moving full speed ahead on their business ventures.
Sources:
[1] Lionsgate Company Logo, Deadline.com, RT 2/5/13
[2] Lionsgate Company Overview, lionsgate.com, RT 12/1/14
[3] Lionsgate Fighting the System, businessinsider.com, RT 1/24/14
[4] CEO Jon Feltheimer, Lionsgate.com, RT 8/17/13
[5] Vice Chairman Michael Burns, Lionsgate.com, RT 8/17/13
[6] Financial Report, lionsgate.com, RT 11/30/14
[7] Google and Lionsgate Team Up, lionsgate.com, RT 10/20/14
[8] Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1, Imbd.com, RT 11/21/14
[9] Hunger Hames: Mockingjay Part 1, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/14
[10] John Wick, imbd.com, RT 11/30/14
[11] John Wick, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/14
[12] Addicted, imbd.com, RT 11/30/14
[13] Addicted, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/14
[14] Jessabelle, imdb.com, RT 11/7/2014
[15] Jessabelle, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/2014
[16] Dear White People, imdb.com, RT 11/30/14
[17] Dear White People, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/14
[18] The Homesman, imdb.com, RT 11/30/14
[19] The Homesman, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/14
[20] Mortdecai, lionsgate.com, RT 11/30/14
[21] Johnny Depp’s New Franchise, thewrap.com, RT 11/30/14
[22] Mortdecai to Hit Theaters Early, hollywoodreporter.com, RT 11/30/14
[23] Insurgent, lionsgate.com, RT 11/30/14
[24] Divergent, boxofficemojo.com, RT 11/30/14
[25] Insurgent Trailer, forbes.com, RT 11/30/14
[26] Age of Adeline, lionsgate.com, RT 11/30/14
[27] Blake Lively, usatoday.com, RT 11/30/14
[28] Spare Parts, lionsgate.com, RT 11/30/14
[29] George Lopez, variety.com, RT 11/30/14
[30] Entertainment One, lionsgate.com, RT 9/3/14
[31] Our Leader, The Mockingjay, lionsgate.com, RT 10/8/14
[32] Google, lionsgate.com, RT 10/20/14
[33] Theater Production, lionsgate.com, RT 11/7/14
[34] CBS Films, lionsgate.com, RT 11/13/14