Lionsgate Entertainment #1

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Lilly Stuecklen

Lilly Stuecklen

Lions Gate Entertainment

2700 Colorado Ave Ste 200

Santa Monica, CA 90404

http://www.lionsgate.com/

Corporate Management

John Feltheimer, Chief Executive Officer | Source: Lionsgate

Michael Burns, Vice Chairman | Source: Lionsgate

Steve Beeks, Co-Chief Operating Officer and Co-President, Motion Picture Group | Source: Lionsgate

Brian Goldsmith, Co-Chief Operating Officer | Source: Lionsgate

Wayne Levin, General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer | Source: Lionsgate

James W. Barge, Chief Financial Officer | Source: Lionsgate

Company Overview

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The Hunger Games | Source: IMDb

While the “Big 6” film studios have reigned for decades at the top of the box office, one “mini major” is quickly working its way into their usual territory, Lionsgate Films. Formed in 1997, Lionsgate stayed mostly under the radar as a producer of independent and niche films such as “American Psycho” and Tyler Perry’s “Madea” films until 2012. This was the year of Lionsgate, where it released “The Hunger Games” and acquired Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the “Twilight” franchise. Since 2012, Lionsgate has mingled at the top of the studio market share with the Big 6, being the youngest and smallest studio (550 employees vs. Warner’s 10,000), to gross over $1 billion in a year. [1]

Orange is the New Black | Source: IMDb

In addition to being Hollywood’s youngest film powerhouse, Lionsgate also operates its own television group. Its shows, such as “Orange is the New Black”, “The Royals”, and “Nashville”, currently dominate the digital, cable, and broadcast platforms. Their television library now contains 30 shows spanning 20 different networks that have brought in nearly 30 Primetime Emmy wins for this on-the-rise company. [5]

RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW

Financially, Lionsgate’s television and film units continue to grow exponentially. Their production revenue from TV increased to $580 million, up 30% from 2014. Television revenue is only expected to increase as all current shows in production have already been renewed for new seasons, and one, “Nashville”, has just been sold into syndication whilst still in production. [7]

Lionsgate owns the rights to these lucrative book-to-screen franchises. From left to right: Twilight, Divergent, The Hunger Games | Source: hypable

So far in 2015, Lionsgate ranks 7th among all studios for the market share of the film industry, and has stayed within the top seven for the past 3 years [3]. This steady success comes mainly thanks to their film franchises, which include the “Hunger Games”, “Twilight”, and “Divergent” series. Together they’ve raked in over $10 billion at the global box office, and this number continues to rise as the final “Hunger Games” installment turns into its third week in theatres. [7]

While still a blockbuster, the final installment of the series “Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” performed under expectations for its opening weekend. The $101 million opening fell roughly $19 million short of expectations, and is the lowest of the four-film series [8]. In response to this, shares have dropped from a three-month high of $42.50 to $34.25 [6]. Despite the slight under-performance, “Mockingjay – Part 2” still held on to first-place for a second week through the Thanksgiving weekend, beating out “The Good Dinosaur” and “Creed” on their opening weekends. [9]

File photo of Liberty Media chairman John Malone talking to reporters as he arrives at the Sun Valley Inn

John Malone has taken significant interest in Lionsgate lately | Source: The New York Post

Lionsgate, however, is confident that a slight dip in shares will not affect them in the long term. Media mogul and billionaire John Malone recently upped his ante in the studio, becoming its second largest shareholder. With this purchase comes the buzz that Malone’s company, Liberty Media (in charge of the Starz channel), may potentially attempt a merger with Lionsgate down the line. As the end of the breadwinning The Hunger Games film series draws near, the studio has been putting more eggs in the television basket than the film one, and Malone wants to capitalize on this. At the beginning of November, Lionsgate dropped $200 million for a controlling stake in Pilgrim Studios, a producer of several successful reality TV shows including “Ghost Hunters“. With this purchase and the potential to shift Lionsgate’s in-house produced shows to Starz, the likelihood that Malone is at Lionsgate to stay is high. [10]

Potential rendering of a Lionsgate/Hunger Games theme park | Source: New York Times

While the initial Hunger Games series may be coming to an end, Lionsgate is looking forward to an extremely long tail for the franchise. Spin-offs films, a theatrical experience, and theme parks are all potential new ways to keep the world of Panem alive and churning out profit. Following in the successful footsteps of Warner Bros., who licenses its characters to existing parks and developers instead of running their own (like Disney and Universal do), Lionsgate has plans for parks in Georgia and China. Meanwhile, a Lionsgate-themed area is already under construction at Motiongate, a soon-to-open park in Dubai that also has the rights to DreamWorks and Sony titles. In addition to utilizing the Hunger Games brand for “location-based entertainment”, “Step Up” dance shows and “Divergent” and “Now You See Me” attractions are in talks as well, all a part of the Lionsgate library. [11]

Gerard Butler as an Egyptian God in “Gods of Egypt” | Source: IMDb

While the long tail of The Hunger Games will continue to profit Lionsgate for years to come, their primary income is in their theatrical film releases. “Gods of Egypt“, planned for a February 26 release, is a fantasy epic concerning the lore of ancient Egypt. Recently though, the film has gotten a backlash of negative press due to a predominantly white casting. Posters released this month featuring lead actors such as Gerard Butler and Geoffrey Rush drew anger from celebrities and consumers alike, claiming it was both wrong and in bad taste, especially among all the recent racial unrest, to cast a film taking place in Egypt with mostly Caucasian people. Both Lionsgate and the director of the film, Alex Proyas, issued apologies immediately. [13]

Aside from the rough patch concerning “Gods of Egypt”, Lionsgate is as optimistic as ever in their endeavors. Approximately 12 films are slated for a 2016 release, including “The Divergent Series: Allegiant” and “Now You See Me 2” [12]. The Divergent series, based on a series of dystopian young adult novels and also featuring a strong female lead similar to “The Hunger Games”, hasn’t been the monstrous success that its predecessor has (the second film had a $130.2 million domestic box office gross vs. the second Hunger Game’s $424.7 million). Yet still, the series is Lionsgate’s lone remaining sure-fire breadwinner once “Mockingjay – Part 2” runs its course in theatres. [14]

In the case of “Now You See Me” in 2013, the original film had no built-in book audience to profit off of, and was a surprise hit for the studio, grossing $117 million domestically against a budget of $75 million. A sequel was immediately greenlit and “Now You See Me 2” is due to be released next summer. “Harry Potter” star Daniel Radcliffe has joined the cast, and his starpower combined with the returning Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, and Woody Harrelson is expected to bring in promising receipts. [15]

Lionsgate is a true underdog. Where much of its competition is celebrating centennials, Lionsgate isn’t even old enough to have a drink at the bar. 2015 was a monumental year as their television properties escalated and their signature Hunger Games series came to an end. 2016 is promising and the Lionsgate name is sure to grace the headlines several times in the coming year.

Sources

[1]

Hollywood Has A New Star Studio With A Different Approach to the Film Business. Retrieved November 29, 2015. http://www.businessinsider.com/lionsgate-fighting-the-system-2014-1

[2]

Company Website. Retrieved November 29, 2015.http://www.lionsgate.com/

[3]

Lionsgate Film’s Yearly Box Office Standing. Retrieved November 29, 2015. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/?view=company&view2=yearly&yr=2015&p=.htm

[4]

Film’s Gross Ranking. Retrieved November 29, 2015. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?view2=ytd&view=company&studio=lions_gate.htm

[5]

Lionsgate Television Website. Retrieved November 29, 2015.https://www.lionsgate.com/tv/

[6]

Company Financial Profile. Retrieved November 29, 2015.://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/lgf

[7]

Fiscal Year 2015 Financial Report. Retrieved November 29, 2015. ://www.lionsgate.com/uploads/assets/2015%20Annual%20Report.pdf

[8]

Lang, Brett. Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 Box Office Predictions Lowered. Retrieved November 29, 2015.://variety.com/2015/film/news/hunger-games-mockingjay-part-2-box-office-predictions-lowered-1201646692/

[9]

Bahr, Lindsey. Hunger Games Beats Good Dinosaur. Retrieved November 29, 2015.http://finance.yahoo.com/news/hunger-games-beats-good-dinosaur-174719447.html

[10]

Lang, Brett. As Hunger Games Ends, John Malone and Lionsgate Grow Closer. Retrieved November 29, 2015. http://variety.com/2015/film/news/hunger-games-lionsgate-john-malone-1201643503/

[11]

Barnes, Brooks. Lionsgate Seeks to Build on Its Library of Film Properties With Theme Parks. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02/business/media/lionsgate-seeks-to-build-on-its-library-of-film-properties-with-theme-parks.html?_r=0

[12]

Lionsgate Upcoming Releases. Retrieved November 30, 2015. http://www.the-numbers.com/market/distributor/Lionsgate

Lionsgate Entertainment

Posted on October 5, 2014 by htfergus

by Naomi Pinkus

Lionsgate Company Logo [1]

Contact Information:

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].

The third movie in the Hunger Game’s franchise which made over $1.5 billion in the box office before this new release [7]. The Hunger Games is by far Lionsgate’s most well-known and lucrative project. This third film came out November 21st, and has spent its two weeks of release being number one in the box office [9]. With a budget of $125 million, it has already made $225 million in the domestic market and $480 in the international market [9]. This franchise is also responsible for the Jennifer Lawrence’s rise to one of the top A-List stars in Hollywood.

John Wick is the story of an ex-hitman who comes out of retirement to hunt the gangsters who took everything from him [10].

John Wick:

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].

Addicted came out on October 10, 2014 and made $17 million. It was in approximately 1,000 theaters for only about 7 weeks [13].

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].

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The Homesman is the story of a man and woman who must transport 3 insane women across the country [18].

Dear White People was released on October 17th and has made about $4 million domestically (it was not released in the international market) [17].

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

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Tag Archives: Mockingjay

Lionsgate Entertainment #1

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Lionsgate Entertainment