Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation,
doing business as Lionsgate, is a
Canadian-
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
entertainment company. It was formed by
Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered in
Santa Monica, California, United States. In addition to its flagship
Lionsgate Films division, the company contains other divisions such as
Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate Interactive. It owns a variety of subsidiaries such as
Summit Entertainment,
Debmar-Mercury, and
Starz Inc.
History
Early history
Lionsgate was formed in 1997 by
Frank Giustra with a $16 million investment including another $40 million from other investors which included Keyur Patel and Yorkton Securities' executives such as
G. Scott Paterson
Gordon Scott Paterson (born January 11, 1964), better known as G. Scott Paterson, is a Toronto-based technology and media venture capitalist. In the 1990s, Paterson gained notoriety in the Canadian investment and finance world and served as "a p ...
.
Giustra had recently retired as CEO from Yorkton, an investment bank, and Paterson was then president. Giustra then merged Lionsgate with
Toronto Stock Exchange listed Beringer Gold Corp. (founded in 1986) to take the company public. Beringer's mining assets were soon sold off.
["Lionsgate]
Lionsgate Investors
http://investors.lionsgate.com "Retrieved on May 23, 2012"
Acquisitions
Lionsgate then began a series of acquisitions to get into the film industry. The company bought a number of small production facilities and distributors, starting with
Montreal-based
Cinépix Film Properties
Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is an American film production and film distribution studio, headquartered in Santa Monica and founded in Canada, and is the flagship division of Lionsgate Entertainment. It is the larg ...
(renamed as Lions Gate Films) and
North Shore Studios
North Shore Studios is a film company located in the North Vancouver, British Columbia. Acquired by Bosa Developments in 2006, it was previously part of Lions Gate Entertainment and was then known as Lionsgate Studios.
There are 8 stages total ...
(renamed Lions Gate Studios) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Mandalay Television was acquired by Lionsgate from
Peter Guber for a 4% Lionsgate stake. In 1998, Lionsgate helped Guber form
Mandalay Pictures
Mandalay Pictures or Mandalay Vision is an American film production company founded on May 27, 1995, which is part of producer and businessman Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment. From 1997 until 2002, Lionsgate Entertainment owned a stake in M ...
with a 45% investment in Mandalay. Lionsgate followed that up with a June purchase of International Movie Group, Inc. (IMG), a bankrupt film distributor previously invested in by Guber and Yorktown Securities, for its film library. IMG's CEO Peter Strauss became President of Lions Gate Entertainment, Inc. (LGE), the American parent company for Lionsgate's U.S. interests.
The Lions Gate Media subsidiary was also formed to produce for television.
Completing its first year of operation, Lionsgate had a revenue of $42.2 million with a loss of $397,000. The company share price dropped to a low of $1.40. This limited the corporation's ability to make acquisitions via stock swaps. Lionsgate instead made its next acquisition of Termite Art Productions, a reality-based television production company, for $2.75 million by issuing three convertible promissory notes. Giustra had the shareholders vote to move the company's public listing from the Toronto Stock Exchange to the
American Stock Exchange, along with a two-for-one stock consolidation to qualify, for greater exposure that might boost share value.
In January 1999, Roman Doroniuk was named president and chief operating officers of Lionsgate, which led to the corporation's financial operations being moved in April to Doroniuk's offices in
Toronto,
Ontario while corporate headquarters remained in
Vancouver, British Columbia. Lionsgate created US based Avalanche Films and acquired half of
Sterling Home Entertainment, both in video sales. Again, Lionsgate registered losses in its second year of $9.3 million on revenues of $78.3 million with most of the losses from its stake in Mandalay Pictures. Thus in the summer, Lionsgate placed its studios up for sale with no buyers. TV operations were changed to non-network hourlong series over riskier network shows and ended its relationship with Mandalay Television. The corporation sought out more capital and cash with a filing of a preliminary prospectus for the sale of preferred stock and common stock
warrants
Warrant may refer to:
* Warrant (law), a form of specific authorization
** Arrest warrant, authorizing the arrest and detention of an individual
** Search warrant, a court order issued that authorizes law enforcement to conduct a search for eviden ...
and a $13.4 million line of credit.
Lionsgate increases and new CEO
Additional acquisition funding arrived in January 2000 as a $33.1 million investment from an investor group that included
Paul Allen, former
Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
executive
Jon Feltheimer, German broadcasting company Tele-Munchen, and
SBS Broadcasting
SBS Broadcasting Group (SBS), formerly Scandinavian Broadcasting Systems, was a European multinational media group, operating commercial television, premium pay channels, radio stations and related print businesses in Northern, Western and Cen ...
SA. This led to Feltheimer taking over as CEO from Giustra thus the passed over Doroniuk left the company. Feltheimer increased film making including several $1 million films at Avalanche. However, Federgreen still remains one of the major owners of the company and is extremely involved in the making of all their major movies. In June, Lionsgate acquired
Trimark Holdings, Inc. for approximately $50 million in stock and cash including taking on $36 million in debt.
Lionsgate continued making acquisitions during the decade to boost distribution and its film library. On December 15, 2003, Lionsgate acquired
Artisan Entertainment for $220 million. In 2004, Erik Nelson reacquired Termite Art and renamed it to Creative Differences.
Lionsgate partnered with Panamax Films in 2005 to make movies for the Latino market which only produced two films.
On April 13, 2005, Lionsgate spun off its Canadian distribution unit into a new distribution unit called
Maple Pictures under the direction of two former Lionsgate executives, Brad Pelman and Laurie May. On August 1, 2005, Lions Gate Entertainment acquired the entire library of Modern Entertainment, the U.S. film division of the
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
television company
Modern Times Group
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
. On October 17, 2005, Lionsgate acquired UK company
Redbus Film Distribution
Lionsgate UK (formerly Redbus Film Distribution, and briefly known as Helkon SK between 2001 and 2003) is the British subsidiary of the Canadian-American film company, Lionsgate.
Founded in 1997 by Simon Franks and Zygi Kamasa, the company ha ...
for $35 million and became
Lionsgate UK on February 23, 2006.
On March 15, 2006, Lionsgate sold Lionsgate Studios to Bosa Development Corporation. On July 12, Lionsgate purchased
Debmar-Mercury, an independent television distributor, which has continued operations as a Lionsgate subsidiary. The company agreed in August to lease term with
New Mexico State Land Office and the city of Rio Rancho for a new 52.8 acres studio near Rio Rancho's under construction city center and arena.
On July 26, 2007, Lionsgate bought a partial stake in independent film distribution company
Roadside Attractions. Lionsgate started up Lionsgate Music by June 2007. On September 10, 2007, Lionsgate bought
Mandate Pictures for $56.3 million, $44.3 million in cash and $12 million in stock, and taking on $6.6 million of Mandate's debt. Mandate Chief Executive Joe Drake returned to the company as co-chief operating officer of its film unit.
By July 2008, Lionsgate has not made any progress on building its new film studio in Rio Rancho or on setting up the corporation to run the studio per its agreement with New Mexico. In November, Lionsgate Music established a joint venture with music publishing company
Wind-up Records.
In January 2009, Lionsgate purchased
TV Guide Network and
TVGuide.com
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news.
The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008.
Corporate ...
from
Rovi for $255 million cash. In May 2009, Lionsgate sold a 49% stake in
TV Guide Network and website to
One Equity Partners
One Equity Partners is a private equity firm with over $10 billion in assets under management which primarily deals with the industrial, healthcare and technology sectors in North America and Europe. One Equity Partners was the merchant banking a ...
under pressure from shareholder
Carl Icahn.
Lionsgate cut back its slate of films per year by four in February 2009. In April,
Relativity Media signed with Lionsgate for a 5 picture per year multi-year film distribution. In August, Lionsgate signed with
Redbox for a five-year same day release deal worth $158 million. Lionsgate, along with
MGM and
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
/
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
, was also a co-owner of
Epix, a pay TV movie channel which debuted on October 30.
On September 13, 2010, Lionsgate and
Televisa formed a
joint venture,
Pantelion Films
Pantelion Films is an American film production company that was created in 2010 and based in Santa Monica, California. The studio's goal is to bring wider theatrical distribution of movies aimed at Latino audiences. It is backed by TelevisaUnivisi ...
, to produce for the next five years eight to 10 films a year targeted for the U.S. Latin American market.
[
Lionsgate sold off its Canadian distribution unit, Maple Pictures, in September 2011 to ]Alliance Films
Alliance Films (formerly Alliance Entertainment, Alliance Communications, Alliance Atlantis Releasing Ltd, Motion Picture Distribution LP and also known as Alliance Vivafilm in Quebec and also known simply as Alliance) was a Canadian motion pictur ...
.
Lionsgate announced on January 13, 2012, that it had acquired Summit Entertainment, producers and distributors of the '' Twilight Saga'' films, for $412.5 million. The two companies have planned on merging since 2008. On October 6, 2012, Lions Gate Entertainment announced that Brian Goldsmith became the co-COO of the company and joining co-COO Steve Beeks. On November 18, 2012, Lionsgate announced it has passed over the $1 billion mark for the first time with the success of ''The Hunger Games'' and '' The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2''.
On December 23, 2013, Lionsgate announced they have crossed over $1 billion domestically and internationally for the second year in a row with the success of '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'', '' Now You See Me'', '' Instructions Not Included'', and '' Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain''.
On April 14, 2014, Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
acquired the remaining stakes in Fearnet from LGF and Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, ac ...
. On April 21, 2014, Lionsgate announced that they will merge its movie marketing operations. A few days later, on April 30, Lionsgate announced that the studios will expand into the gaming development.[Lionsgate expanding into video games under Nerdist co-founder's lead](_blank)
Alexa Ray Corriea polygon.com April 30, 2014, Retrieved on July 2, 2014
In 2015, Lionsgate took over the distribution functions for CBS Films, the film division of CBS Corporation.
On February 11, 2015, John C. Malone
John Carl Malone (born March 7, 1941) is an American billionaire businessman, landowner and philanthropist. He was chief executive officer (CEO) of Tele-Communications Inc. (TCI), a cable and media giant, for twenty-four years from 1973 to 1996. ...
swapped a 4.5% stake with 14.5% of the voting power in Starz Inc. for 3.4% of Lionsgate's shares while joining the company's board of directors.[Lionsgate, Starz Swap Stock as John Malone Joins Board](_blank)
Brent Lang variety.com February 11, 2015, Retrieved on February 26, 2015 Fourteen days later, Starz CEO Chris Albrecht hinted a possible merger with Lionsgate.[Starz CEO Albrecht Hints at Possible Merger With Lions Gate](_blank)
Jeff Berman thestreet.com February 25, 2015, Retrieved on February 26, 2015
On April 1, 2015, according to '' Deadline'', Lionsgate announced it has created its new label, Lionsgate Premiere
Lionsgate Premiere is the speciality film division of entertainment company Lionsgate Films that specializes in direct-to-video and direct-to-video on demand.
Background
On April 1, 2015, Lionsgate confirmed they had launched
speciality division ...
. This new label will handle up to 15 releases a year, targeting young audiences at theaters and digital outlets. The new label, part of the company's diversification effort, will incorporate Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment titles (including the '' Step Up'' film series and the '' Red'' film series) and then specialize in "innovative multiplatform and other release strategies" to reach "affinity audiences with branded content and targeted marketing." Marketing and Research SVP Jean McDowell will handle marketing, with distribution to be run by Adam Sorensen, who currently manages Western Sales.
On November 10, 2015, Malone's two other companies, Liberty Global
Liberty Global plc is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Plc, Liberty Global B.V. and Liberty Global, Inc., with ...
and Discovery, Inc.
Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual television, factual and lifestyle television bra ...
(now Warner Bros. Discovery), made a joint investment of $195–400 million in Lionsgate and acquired a 3.4% stake in the company. Then on June 30, 2016, Lionsgate agreed to acquire Starz Inc. for $4.4 billion in cash and stock. As of December 2016, it became the parent company of Starz Inc.
On November 12, 2015, Lionsgate created a partnership with Armenian American
Armenian Americans ( hy, ամերիկահայեր, ''amerikahayer'') are citizens or residents of the United States who have total or partial Armenian ancestry. They form the second largest community of the Armenian diaspora after Armenians in ...
television producer Craig Piligian when the studio acquired more than 50% of his Pilgrim Studios company worth $200 million. Piligian retained his position as CEO of the company while Pilgrim will continue to operate independently under Piligian.[Lionsgate Buys Major Stake In Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios For $200 Million](_blank)
Nellie Andreeva deadline.com, Retrieved on April 14, 2016[Lionsgate Buys Stake in Craig Piligian’s Pilgrim Studios](_blank)
Cynthia Littleton variety.com, Retrieved on April 14, 2016[Lionsgate Acquires Stake in Reality Producer Pilgrim Studios](_blank)
Reid Nakamura, thewrap.com, Retrieved on April 14, 2016 The deal made Lionsgate a major unscripted player.
On July 13, 2016, Lionsgate acquired a minority stake in British unscripted television production startup company Primal Media. It was launched by Matt Steiner and Adam Wood, who originally launched Gogglebox Entertainment that was acquired by Sony Pictures Television.
AT&T also owns an approximately 2% stake in Lionsgate.
On December 15, 2017, the weekly US financial newspaper Barron's revealed that Malone was selling nearly 108,000 class B shares in Lionsgate for $3.2 million, or $29.63 each, from December 4 to 13. Malone now owns directly and indirectly 6 million nonvoting class B shares, as well as beneficially about 6 million class A shares, which carry one vote each.
Following the Weinstein effect, Lionsgate was listed as one of 22 potential buyers interested in acquiring The Weinstein Company.
Acquisition target in 2018
In 2018, Lionsgate's newly launched digital content unit, Studio L, announced its first slate. In October 2018, Agapy Kapouranis replaced Peter Iacono as president of international television and digital distribution.
In January 2018, it was reported that Lionsgate was being subject to a bidding war for a possible acquisition, with Amazon.com (which went on to announce its intent to acquire Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on May 26, 2021), Comcast
Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...
, Sony Pictures
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Sony Pictures or SPE, and formerly known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment, Inc.) is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio Conglomerate (company), conglom ...
, Verizon Communications, CBS Corporation, and Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to:
* Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate
* Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom
* Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
(with CBS and Viacom remerging into ViacomCBS in 2019) having made offers.
At the time, Lionsgate Vice Chairman Michael Burns stated in an interview with CNBC that Lionsgate was mostly interested in merging with CBS and Viacom. Viacom and Lionsgate were both interested in acquiring The Weinstein Company.
On February 27, 2018, a month after the bidding war announcement, '' Variety'' reported in a detailed article that toy manufacturing company Hasbro (which had collaborated with the company in the 2017 film '' My Little Pony: The Movie'' via its Allspark Pictures
Allspark, formerly known as Hasbro Studios, LLC, was an American production and distribution company located in Burbank, California. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of the American toy and multimedia company Hasbro. Originally just a TV produc ...
theatrical film financing unit which is in turn owned by its Allspark division) came close to also acquiring Lionsgate, but the deal fell through. Hasbro would later go on to acquire Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
on December 30, 2019.
Recent history
On October 3, 2019, Malone completed the sale of his stake in the studio.
In April 2021, Lionsgate's Starz Inc. division filed an injunction in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico against The Walt Disney Company over the use of the Star+ brand in Latin America. The two companies would reach a settlement in August that same year.
In July 2021, Lionsgate purchased a 20 percent equity stake in Spyglass Media Group and acquired the catalogue of The Weinstein Company from Spyglass.
Distribution
The distribution of selected recent non-in-house films for pay-per-view and on-demand are under the supervision of NBCUniversal Syndication Studios
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios (a.k.a. NUSS), formerly known as NBCUniversal Television Distribution (a.k.a. NUTD), Universal Domestic Television, Studios USA Television Distribution and MCA TV, is the television syndication division of NBCUnive ...
under Universal Pictures (Universal formerly held home video and television rights to many of the early Lionsgate films), while all others (particularly the in-house films) are distributed for both cable and broadcast television through Lionsgate's syndicated division. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
under MGM Television are also distributed in international cable, digital and broadcast television through Lionsgate's syndicated division.
Films
Aside from home video distribution of films sub-licensed from other studios, Lionsgate's library consists of its own in-house productions, as well as films from Summit Entertainment and several defunct studios, including Trimark Pictures (acquired in 2000), Artisan Entertainment (acquired in 2003), Overture Films (Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
's former feature film division whose library Lionsgate acquired after the 2016 Starz merger), Hearst Entertainment
Hearst Communications, Inc., often referred to simply as Hearst, is an American multinational mass media and business information conglomerate based in Hearst Tower in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, televis ...
, Tribune Entertainment, Zoetrope Corporation (with certain exceptions), Vestron Pictures (acquired by Artisan in 1991), The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films
Dimension Films is an American film production company owned by Lantern Entertainment. It was formerly used as Harvey and Bob Weinstein's label within Miramax, which was acquired by The Walt Disney Company on June 30, 1993, to produce and relea ...
(through its 20% stake in Spyglass Media Group). Their complete ownership depends on the worldwide regions of license.
Divisions
Home entertainment
Before Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment was formed, Lions Gate's video releases were distributed by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...
. Lionsgate Films decided to create two home video labels: Avalanche Home Entertainment, which released smaller Canadian B-movies on video and DVD; and Sterling Home Entertainment (a joint venture with Scanbox International, a Danish film company), which released American low-budget movies on video and DVD in the late 1990s.
In June 2000, Lionsgate purchased Trimark Pictures and its in-house home video unit. These three companies: Avalanche, Sterling, and Trimark Home Video were merged into Lions Gate Home Entertainment in 2001. After the acquisition, Sterling Home Entertainment was then renamed to Studio Home Entertainment, which later on folded itself into Lionsgate. In 2003, Lionsgate acquired Artisan Entertainment, thus expanding Lionsgate's home video library.
Its library of more than 8,000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios. Mainly concerned with the distribution of the Lions Gate film library, it also distributed Mattel's Barbie-branded videos, as well as '' Clifford the Big Red Dog'' videos from Scholastic, '' Stickin' Around'' videos from Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
, and MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment Inc. (short for Micro-Games America Entertainment; sometimes referred to as MGA) is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include, Bratz, L.O.L. Surprise!, Num Noms and Rainbow ...
,. Lionsgate Home Entertainment also previously distributed videos from HIT Entertainment and Jim Henson Home Entertainment until 2012 and 2014 respectively when the studios made new deals with Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. Through Artisan, the company also released the back catalog of ITC Entertainment until 2013, when ITC's successor-in-interest ITV Studios Global Entertainment signed a deal with Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
.
In 2001, in Quebec it was renamed Crystal Films, and in Ontario and other provinces, Maple Pictures.
In August 2001, Lions Gate Home Entertainment signed a deal with DIC Entertainment to distribute their back catalogue of animated titles on video and DVD in the United States, replacing DIC's long time partner Buena Vista Home Entertainment. The partnership only lasted a year, as in 2003 DIC started to distribute their shows through the Sterling Entertainment Group (no connection to the ex-Lionsgate subsidiary Sterling Home Entertainment) and later other distribution companies like Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an American home video and music company founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases include previously released feature films, classic and contemporary television series, animation, live music, and comedy ...
, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
and NCircle Entertainment.
Lionsgate's movies are released on DVD and Blu-ray as well as on the PSP through Universal Media Disc.
Since 2012, LGHE started distributing Summit Entertainment releases as a result of Lionsgate acquiring that company.
On August 4, 2008, Lionsgate announced that it had completed a deal with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment to acquire the distribution rights to several ABC Studios/ Touchstone Television shows including '' According to Jim'', '' Reaper'', '' Hope & Faith'', ''8 Simple Rules
''8 Simple Rules'' (originally ''8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter'') is an American sitcom television series originally starring John Ritter and Katey Sagal as middle-class parents Paul and Cate Hennessy, raising their three chi ...
'' and '' Boy Meets World''.
Until 2012, Lionsgate also distributed most of the theatrical properties held by Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
on DVD under license from Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...
. The deal also expanded to include some non-marquee films originally released by Paramount themselves. Recently, with the folding of Republic, Lionsgate's function was transferred to Olive Films (and later Kino Lorber).
In February 2011, Lionsgate and StudioCanal made an agreement to release 550 titles from the Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
film library worldwide. Following ViacomCBS' acquisition of a 49% stake in Miramax, Paramount Home Entertainment took over the home media rights to the Miramax catalog.
On December 8, 2016, Lionsgate acquired Starz Inc. making Lionsgate the parent company of the North American branches of Anchor Bay Entertainment and Manga Entertainment. The former was folded into Lionsgate Home Entertainment shortly after the buyout and the latter is planned to be relaunched in the near future.
On June 30, 2021, Lionsgate's distribution deal with 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment
20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...
expired, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home video distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation.
Background
SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures lib ...
began distributing Lionsgate's releases in North America as of July 1, 2021.
Lionsgate Interactive Ventures and Games
Lionsgate Interactive Ventures and Games is the video game development division of Lionsgate. It was created in April 2014 and is headed by Nerdist Industries co-founder Peter Levin. This division is dedicated to producing and distributing multiplatform games based on Lionsgate franchises, and investing in digital businesses. One of these franchises was '' Blair Witch'', with Lionsgate Games publishing a '' Blair Witch'' game in 2019.
Lionsgate Entertainment World
Lionsgate Entertainment World
Lionsgate Entertainment World, officially abbreviated to LEW, is a theme park found on Hengqin Island, Guangdong Province, China. The park opened on July 31, 2019 as the first Lionsgate Theme Park. Designed by the Thinkwell Group, the park is ...
is an indoor interactive experience centre based on Lionsgate's blockbuster films, such as The Hunger Games, The Divergent Series and Now You See Me, is set to open on Hengqin, Zhuhai
Hengqin (, pt, Ilha da Montanha) is an island in Zhuhai, a prefecture-level city and special economic zone in Guangdong Province of the People's Republic of China. It has a population of about 3,000. Parts of Hengqin were leased to Macau by the ...
, China in the first half of 2019. The Lionsgate project is an investment by Hong Kong conglomerate Lai Sun Group
Lai Sun Group () is a Hong Kong conglomerate. It was founded by garment billionaire and entrepreneur, Lim Por-yen. Its businesses include property development, real estate investment, hotel, telecom, mass media and entertainment. Lai Sun is work ...
and designed and produced by Thinkwell Group.
Studio complexes
Lionsgate Studios Yonkers
On September 5, 2019, Great Point Capital Management signed a deal with Lionsgate to build a new production facility in Yonkers, New York, with Lionsgate becoming a long-term anchor tenant and investor. As the anchor tenant, Lionsgate will have naming rights to the studio. Construction on the site will start in November, and the facility will be running in late autumn 2020. The $100 million complex will include three 20,000-square-feet and two 10,000-square-feet stages, a fully operational back lot and the opportunity to create a location-based entertainment property. The studio, will be built next to the former Otis Elevator Company building in Getty Square and is expected to provide 420 new jobs in Yonkers, the developers said. They received numerous tax breaks and exemptions to build the project.
National Resources will be an investment partner and project developer, responsible for all phases of design and construction of the studio complex.
On April 8, 2020, it was announced that the developers locked down $60 million in financing while the rest of the $40 million in the second phase of the project will be anchored by entertainment firm Lionsgate.
Lionsgate Newark studio
In 2022, the city of Newark, New Jersey announced that a major new film and television production studio overlooking Weequahic Park and Weequahic Golf Course Weequahic Golf Course (pronounced we-QWAY-ik) is an 18-hole public course located in the Dayton neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey.
Designed in 1913 by George Low, it is the oldest public golf course in New Jersey. The word "Weequahic" is from the ...
, "Lionsgate Newark," would open in 2024 on the 15-acre former Seth Boyden housing projects site at 101 Center Terrace in the Dayton
Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Da ...
section of the city near Evergreen Cemetery. Lionsgate Newark will partner on public relations and community affairs with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.
Television
Lionsgate Television produced such series as ''Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
'', '' Anger Management'', '' The Dead Zone'', ''5ive Days to Midnight
Five (stylised as 5ive) are a British boy band from London consisting of members Sean Conlon, Ritchie Neville, and Scott Robinson. They were formed in 1997 by the same team that managed the Spice Girls before they launched their career. The g ...
'', '' Weeds'', '' Nurse Jackie'', ''Boss
Boss may refer to:
Occupations
* Supervisor, often referred to as boss
* Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier
* Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization
* Fire boss, a ...
'', '' Tyler Perry's House of Payne'' and the Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning '' Mad Men''. Lionsgate also acquired TV syndication firm Debmar-Mercury in 2006 with CBS Television Distribution handling ad-sales with the exception for '' Meet the Browns'', as the ad-sales are handled by Disney–ABC Domestic Television and Turner Television / Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution co-distributing the series. In March 2013, Lionsgate signed with Mars One (a Dutch nonprofit with space agency and aerospace backers intent on colonizing Mars) to produce a reality TV show. In August 2018, Lionsgate signed a first-look television development agreement with Universal Music Group.
Media networks
The company owns Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
, a premium-tier cable network, and related channels including Starz Encore
Starz Encore is an American premium television channel owned by Starz Inc. a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States. Launched as Encore ...
, and MoviePlex. In addition, Lionsgate also co-owns Celestial Tiger Entertainment with Saban Capital Group and Celestial Pictures.
Assets
Motion pictures
* Lionsgate Films (Lionsgate Motion Picture Group)
** Lionsgate Premiere
Lionsgate Premiere is the speciality film division of entertainment company Lionsgate Films that specializes in direct-to-video and direct-to-video on demand.
Background
On April 1, 2015, Lionsgate confirmed they had launched
speciality division ...
** Summit Entertainment
*** Summit Premiere
*** Summit Entertainment Records
*** International Distribution Company, LLC (joint venture with Pedro Rodriguez)
** Spyglass Media Group (20%)
** Pantelion Films
Pantelion Films is an American film production company that was created in 2010 and based in Santa Monica, California. The studio's goal is to bring wider theatrical distribution of movies aimed at Latino audiences. It is backed by TelevisaUnivisi ...
(50% with TelevisaUnivision)
** Roadside Attractions (45%)
** Grindstone Entertainment Group
** Studio L
** Globalgate Entertainment (joint venture with Televisa Cine (Mexico), Tobis Film
Tobis Film was a German film production and film distribution company. Founded in the late 1920s as a merger of several companies involved in the switch from silent to sound films, the organisation emerged as a leading German sound studio. Tobis ...
(Germany), Nordisk Film (Denmark), TME Films (Turkey), TF1 Studio (France), Lotte Entertainment
Lotte Cultureworks ( ko, 롯데 컬처웍스), formerly known as Lotte Entertainment ( ko, 롯데 엔터테인먼트) is a South Korean film production and distribution company. Established in the Republic of Korea, the company has distributed fi ...
(South Korea), Belga Films (Belgium), PKDN Films (Japan), Paris Filmes (Brazil), Viva Films (Philippines), Falcon Pictures (Indonesia), Cine Colombia (Colombia) and Rai Cinema
RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana (; commercially styled as Rai since 2000; known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane) is the national public broadcasting company of Italy, owned by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. RAI operates many terr ...
(Italy))
** Good Universe
* Lionsgate Home Entertainment
* Lionsgate UK
** Elevation Sales (joint venture with StudioCanal UK)
** Primal Media
** Potboiler Television (joint venture with Potboiler Productions)
* Lionsgate India
* Lionsgate Interactive Ventures and Games
* Lionsgate Global Franchise Management
* Lionsgate Music
Television production and distribution
* Lionsgate Television
** Debmar-Mercury
** Sea to Sky Entertainment (joint venture with Thunderbird Entertainment)
* Pilgrim Studios
** 1620 Media
* 3 Arts Entertainment
3 Arts Entertainment is an American talent management and television/film production company founded by Erwin Stoff, Michael Rotenberg and Howard Klein in 1991.
The company has gone on to produce TV shows such as ''King of the Hill'', ''The Off ...
(majority stake)
Media networks
* Starz Networks
Starz Entertainment LLC., (doing business as Starz Inc., and founded as Encore Movie Group in 1991) is an American entertainment company that owns U.S. pay television channels, including the namesake Starz network, and a media distribution com ...
** Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
and 5 sister channels
** Starz Encore
Starz Encore is an American premium television channel owned by Starz Inc. a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment and headquartered at the Meridian International Business Center complex in Meridian, Colorado, United States. Launched as Encore ...
and 7 sister channels
** MoviePlex
*** IndiePlex
*** RetroPlex
* Laugh Out Loud (joint venture with HartBeat Digital)
* Tribeca Shortlist (joint venture with Tribeca Enterprises)
* Celestial Tiger Entertainment (joint venture with Celestial Pictures and Saban Capital Group)
** Celestial Movies
Celestial Movies (天映频道) is an Asian 24-hour Chinese movie channel, which screens films from and shows interviews with movie stars and directors, entertainment news and film award ceremonies. The channel is available in 11 territories acr ...
*** Celestial Movies HD
*** Celestial Classic Movies
*** Celestial Movies Pinoy
** cHK
** KIX
** Thrill
** Miao Mi
Former
* Anchor Bay Entertainment
** Anchor Bay Films
** Video Treasures
*** HGV Video Productions
** Starmaker Entertainment
*** Media Home Entertainment
Media Home Entertainment Inc. was a home video company headquartered in Culver City, California, originally established in 1978 by filmmaker Charles Band.
Media Home Entertainment also distributed video product under three additional labels — ...
**** Fox Hills Video
**** The Nostalgia Merchant
**** Hi-Tops Video
** Burbank Video
** Prism Entertainment/Prism Pictures
** Wizard Video
Wizard Video was a home video distribution company formed by B movie producer Charles Band in the early 1980s. It was well-known for its detailed (and often lurid) box art, especially during the time that it sold videocassettes in larger individ ...
** MNTEX Entertainment
** Regal Video
** Strand Home Video
* Artisan Entertainment
** LIVE Entertainment/International Video Entertainment
*** U.S.A. Home Video
*** Family Home Entertainment - Renamed Lionsgate Family Entertainment
*** The Video Late Show
*** Magnum Entertainment
*** Vestron Video
**** Vestron Pictures
**** Lightning Video
**** Lightning Pictures
**** Children's Video Library
*** Carolco Home Video
*** Avid Home Entertainment
*** VCL (Germany)
*** Thiller Video
*** King Bee Video
* Avalanche Home Entertainment
* Codeblack Films
* Comic-Con HQ
* Defy Media (19%)
* Epix - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired Lionsgate's stake in the network in 2017
** Epix2
** Epix Drive-In
** Epix Hits
* Fearnet - NBCUniversal acquired Lionsgate's stake in the network in 2013
* Film Roman
Film Roman, LLC is an American independent animation studio currently based in Woodland Hills, California and formerly in Burbank. It was previously owned by Starz Inc., which is now a division of Lionsgate, and later by Waterman Entertainment, ...
- acquired by Waterman Entertainment in 2015; pre-2015 library retained by Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
* Mandalay Pictures
Mandalay Pictures or Mandalay Vision is an American film production company founded on May 27, 1995, which is part of producer and businessman Peter Guber's Mandalay Entertainment. From 1997 until 2002, Lionsgate Entertainment owned a stake in M ...
(1997–2002)
* Mandate Pictures
* Manga Entertainment (US branch)
* Maple Pictures
* Miramax
Miramax, LLC, also known as Miramax Films, is an American film and television production and distribution company founded on December 19, 1979, by brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, and based in Los Angeles, California.
It was initially a leadi ...
- Paramount Home Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the entire Miramax library on September 22, 2020
* Modern Entertainment-acquired from Modern Times Group
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
in 2005.
** Crown International Pictures library
** New Visions Pictures library
*** New Century Entertainment library
** Continental Film Group library
* Overture Films
* Pacific International Enterprises
Pacific International Enterprises (PIE) was an American film production company and film distributor, founded by Arthur R. Dubs as a producer of family films. Pacific International Enterprises was a privately held company that had been in business ...
* Pantaya
Pantaya is an American OTT streaming service targeted for Hispanic and Spanish-language viewers. Content includes programs and films released in Latin America and original programming, as well as Spanish dubs from Lionsgate's select catalogue.
...
(stake sold in 2021)
* Pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
- 50% stake; sold to co-owner CBS Corporation in March 2019, and part of Paramount Global since Dec 4, 2019
* Redbus Film Distribution
Lionsgate UK (formerly Redbus Film Distribution, and briefly known as Helkon SK between 2001 and 2003) is the British subsidiary of the Canadian-American film company, Lionsgate.
Founded in 1997 by Simon Franks and Zygi Kamasa, the company ha ...
** Redbus Home Entertainment
* Starz Distribution
* Studio Home Entertainment
** Sterling Home Entertainment
* Termite Art Productions
* Trimark Pictures
** Vidmark Entertainment
Corporate governance
Board of Directors as of July 2021:
Chairman of the Board of Directors
* Mark Rachesky, M.D., founder and president of MHR Fund Management
Directors
* Michael Burns, vice-chairman of Lionsgate
* Mignon Clyburn, president of MLC Strategies
* Gordon Crawford, former Capital Research executive
* Jon Feltheimer, CEO of Lionsgate
* Emily Fine, executive at MHR Fund Management
* Michael Fries, CEO and vice-chairman of Liberty Global
Liberty Global plc is a British-Dutch-American multinational telecommunications company with headquarters in London, Amsterdam and Denver. Its respective legal names are Liberty Global Plc, Liberty Global B.V. and Liberty Global, Inc., with ...
* Susan McCaw, president of SRM Capital
* Yvette Ostolaza, partner at Sidley Austin
* Daryl Simm, chairman and CEO of Omnicom
Omnicom Group Inc. is an American global media, marketing and corporate communications holding company, headquartered in New York City.
Omnicom's branded networks and specialty firms provide services in four disciplines: advertising, customer re ...
Media
* Hardwick Simmons, former chairman and CEO of NASDAQ
The Nasdaq Stock Market () (National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations Stock Market) is an American stock exchange based in New York City. It is the most active stock trading venue in the US by volume, and ranked second ...
See also
* Lists of Lionsgate films
This is a list of feature films originally released and/or distributed by Lionsgate.
Lists
The films are divided into lists by decade:
* List of Lionsgate films (1997–1999)
* List of Lionsgate films (2000–2009)
* List of Lionsgate films ...
References
External links
*
Official UK website
Lionsgate Entertainment archives
at the University of Toronto Media Commons
*
{{Authority control
1997 establishments in British Columbia
Companies based in Santa Monica, California
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
Entertainment companies established in 1997
Entertainment companies based in California
Film distributors of the United States
Film production companies of the United States
Mass media companies established in 1997
Television production companies of the United States
Home video companies of the United States