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].

MV5BMTQ4NTkxOTEyMl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwOTI1NzcwMzE@-1._V1_SY317_CR0,0,214,317_AL_

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

Lionsgate Entertainment

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Simon Staples-Vangel

By Simon Staples-Vangel

-Courtesy of Destructoid

BREIF HISTORY

Lionsgate Films is a film production and distribution company and is a division of the Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation. Originally known as Cinépix Film Properties, the name was changed to Lionsgate Films in 1998. The founder, Frank Guistra, stepped down two years later in 2000 and was replaced by Jon Feltheimer, formerly of Sony Pictures, who remains the Chief Executive Officer today. Lionsgate’s first film to be successful at the box office was American Psycho, in 2000. For a long time their biggest success was Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, which was recently surpassed by the company’s lucrative franchise, The Hunger Games. [1] [2]

KEY EXECUTIVES

-Courtesy of Lionsgate

Jon Feltheimer — CEO

-Courtesy of Lionsgate

Michael Burns — Vice Chairman

-Courtesy of Lionsgate

Steve Beeks — Co-Chief Operating Officer – President, Motion Picture Group [4]

FINANCIALS

Lionsgate reported their 2013 (although actually fiscal 2014) second quarter revenue to be $498.7 million, with an adjusted net income of $25.4 million, a pure profit of $500,000 and $84.9 million in free cash flow. This is a drop from the previous year, as the same quarter in 2012 saw Lionsgate’s revenue hit $707 million. However, last year’s second quarter saw the release of The Hunger Games on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, as well as three wide feature film releases. This year saw only two wide film releases, as the next installment in the Hunger Games series, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is coming this November, and the rest of the films will follow that pattern for the next few years. Thus, many would say that Lionsgate’s 2013 second quarter earnings were actually better than expected. They were able to make a profit without their major releases and thus are in a position to be very successful during the third quarter and the holiday film season. [5] [6] [7]

RECENT FILMS

Instructions Not Included

-Courtesy of IMDB

Lionsgate released Instructions Not Included on August 30th, 2013. The film is a Spanish language film, directed and starred in by Mexican television and occasional film actor, Eugenio Derbez. It is a comedy/drama about a single dad whose life becomes complicated by the resurfacing of his daughter’s birth mother. It became the highest grossing Spanish language film ever released in the U.S. Made only for $5 million, the film grossed a total of over $85 million worldwide. The film made $44 million in the U.S. and $41 million internationally. It’s limited opening weekend, August 30th, grossed over $7 million, while it’s wide release on September 6th earned over $8 million. The film was able to stay on the box office charts for several weeks. Although critical reviews have been mixed, the film has clearly found success in Spanish language audiences, both in the U.S. and internationally, making it a big box office win for Lionsgate. [8] [9] [10] [11]

Ender’s Game

Courtesy of Collider

Ender’s Game, which was released by Lionsgate in the U.S. on November 1st, 2013. The film, based on the novel of the same name, is a science fiction and action film about a child who enrolls in a military school because he is widely believed to be the last chance for mankind to defend themselves from the inevitable alien invasion. The film stars well known child actor Asa Butterfield in the title role and the even more well known Harrison Ford as the lead support. The film was able to rake in $27 million domestically on opening weekend, however it quickly lost steam. Reviews have been mixed, with still many very positive, and while Ender’s Game has been able to gross a total over $63 million overall, it’s budget of $110 million means that it really lost quite a bit of money. Fortunately for Lionsgate, not all is lost, as the coming months will see the release of the company’s most lucrative franchise right in time for the holiday season… [12] [13] [14]

THE MAJOR UPCOMING RELEASE!

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

-Courtesy of Latino Review

Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, is the sequal to the previous The Hunger Games, released last year, and is also based on the acclaimed novel series. Due to be released on November 22nd, 2013, in the U.S., the film stars last year’s Academy Award winner for Best Actress (albeit not for The Hunger Games), Jennifer Lawrence, alongside the well known Chris Hemsworth, who previously had a small role in the Lionsgate film, The Expendables 2. The film is expecting to be very successful, with some estimating it to gross nearly $400 million worldwide. This would surpass the $325 million earned by the original and would put Lionsgate in position to be one of, if not the biggest winners, of the winter holiday film season. The film benefits from the existing audience from the original novel series, as well as the significant star power of the cast. This isn’t limited to Lawrence and Hemsworth, as Woody Harrelson, Donald Sutherland, and Stanley Tucci, among others, help round out the cast.

-Courtesy of The Washington Post

Furthermore, Lionsgate’s effective marketing campaign for the film consists of the multifaceted website, The Hunger Games Explorer. The site combines many elements of marketing, including social media posts about the film, a reward based competition, traditional fan forums, and official releases such as new trailers or clips. The site can even be used to buy tickets to the film, as it links to ticketing websites such as Fandango. The all encompassing site is an effective design to engage fans of the film and novel series, and even to spark interests from those who are only casually interested. While Lionsgate has also gone for traditional ways of promoting the film, the website shows a forward-thinking marketing strategy, as it allows the company to group together all of its content and social media buzz in one place, while still allowing for traditional fan interactions in fan forums and discussion boards that science-fiction and action fans have typically been drawn to online. The site is the first result if you search “The Hunger Games” on multiple search engines, including Google. [15] [16] [17] [18]

OTHER FUTURE RELEASES

Obviously, The Hunger Games franchise isn’t over yet, as Lionsgate plans for each film to keep its annual November release date, up until The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 in 2015. Furthermore, Lionsgate has purchased the U.S. distribution rights for Hercules: The Legend Begins, which they plan to release in 2014 before and in competition with Paramount’s Hercules, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. A risky move, but it shows that the company has a plan beyond its annual Hunger Games releases and they are clearly continuing to make a profit, becoming arguably the most successful “mini-major” studio to date. [19] [20]