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Lionsgate Films
FormerlyCinépix Film Properties (1962–1998)
Company typeDivision
IndustryMotion pictures
Founded
  • 1962; 62 years ago (1962) (as Cinépix)
  • January 13, 1998; 26 years ago (1998-01-13) (as Lionsgate Films)
FoundersJohn Dunning
Andre Link
Frank Giustra
Headquarters
Santa Monica, California
,
U.S.
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
  • Joe Drake
  • (film group chairman)
  • Adam Fogelson
  • (vice chair)
ProductsMotion pictures
ServicesFilm distribution
ParentLionsgate Studios
DivisionsLionsgate Premiere
Subsidiaries
Websitewww.lionsgate.com/movies/

Lionsgate Films (formerly known as Cinépix Film Properties) is a Canadian-American[2] film production and distribution studio founded in Canada in 1962. It is now a division of Lionsgate Studios and headquartered in Santa Monica.

Lionsgate is the largest and most successful mini-major film studio in North America. The studio focuses on foreign and independent films and has distributed various commercially successful film franchises, including Saw, The Hunger Games, Rambo, Divergent, The Punisher, John Wick, Madea, Blair Witch, Now You See Me, Hostel, The Expendables, Sinister, The Twilight Saga and Step Up.

History

As Cinépix

Cinépix was founded by John Dunning and Andre Link in 1962.[3] Cinépix, based in Montreal, was a Canadian independent motion picture company that released English- and French-language films in Canada and the United States.[4]

Initially a distribution company, Cinépix's first production was the 1969 erotic drama Valérie, which earned $1 million at the box office.[5] Cinépix produced early work by David Cronenberg (Shivers) and Ivan Reitman (Meatballs).[6] The company also distributed art-house films including the grunge rock documentary Hype, Vincent Gallo's Buffalo '66, and SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist.[7]

Cronenberg stated that "Cinépix was the Canadian version of Roger Corman" and "in a way they were modelling themselves after him and also some European producers as well".[8]

From 1989 to 1994, Cinépix was partnered with Famous Players in C/FP Distribution, which was renamed Cinépix Film Properties (C/FP). In 1994, Cinépix bought Famous Players' stake in the organization.[9]

By 1997, Cinépix had a New York–based US distribution arm and owned 56 percent of Ciné-Groupe, an animated film production company.[7]

As Lionsgate Films

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation (LGEC) was formed in 1997 by Frank Giustra, a banker.[10] LGEC purchased Cinépix and kept its leadership.[7] Cinépix was renamed Lions Gate Films on January 13, 1998.[11] LGEC also purchased the Vancouver-based North Shore Studios, which became Lions Gate Studios.[7] In June 1998, LGE purchased International Movie Group, whose film library included Jean-Claude Van Damme's Kickboxer.[7]

Liongate's first major box office success was American Psycho in 2000, which began a trend of producing and distributing films too controversial for the major film studios.[12] Other notable films included Affliction (1998),[13] Gods and Monsters (1998),[14] Dogma (1999),[15] O (2001),[16] Cube 2: Hypercube (2002), Open Water (2003), Saw (2004),[17] The Punisher (2004) and the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), which had been the studio's highest-grossing film until the release of The Hunger Games in 2012.[18]

Giustra left the firm in 2000.[10] That same year, Jon Feltheimer became CEO and Michael Burns became vice chairman.[19] They decided to focus on the profits of videos and DVDs and began buying struggling firms that controlled large libraries. The two most notable acquisitions were Trimark Holdings (650 titles) in 2000[7] and Artisan Entertainment in 2003.[20] The Trimark purchase also included CinemaNow, a broadband streaming website, where Lionsgate could feature its own movies.[7] These two purchases along with others gave Lions Gate a large DVD (and later Blu-Ray) library, which includes Total Recall, Reservoir Dogs, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Young Guns, Dirty Dancing and Apocalypse Now, in some cases via output deals with StudioCanal, American Zoetrope, and Miramax (most of them the result of prior licensing deals with Lions Gate's home video predecessor Artisan).[citation needed]

Lions Gate occasionally co-produces films with major studios. For example, Lions Gate teamed with Miramax Films for the 2004 sequel Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights and with Paramount Pictures for 2002's Narc and 2004's The Prince & Me which was given a studio credit. Lions Gate was also a silent partner in 20th Century Fox's 2004 sci-fi film The Day After Tomorrow. Also in 2004, Lions Gate joined forces with United Artists in producing Hotel Rwanda.[21]

Further acquisitions

On August 1, 2005, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp acquired the entire library of Modern Entertainment.[22][23] On October 17, 2005, Lionsgate acquired Redbus Film Distribution for $35 million[24][25] and became Lionsgate UK on February 23, 2006.[26][27] Following this, Zygi Kamasa, who co-founded Redbus with Simon Franks, became CEO of Lionsgate UK and Europe.

In 2006, Lions Gate Studios was acquired by Bosa Developments, and later reverted back to its original North Shore name.[citation needed]

In 2007, Joe Drake became Lionsgate's co-COO and motion picture group president.[28] Lionsgate cut back its annual production by four in February 2009.[29]

The Hunger Games grossed $68.3 million when it premiered at the US box office on March 23, 2012. At the time, it was the best opening day ever for a non-sequel and the fifth highest of all time. Of that total, $19.7 million was earned via Thursday midnight screenings.[30] In its first weekend, The Hunger Games grossed $152.5 million, making it Lionsgate's highest-grossing film after just three days.[31]

On January 13, 2012, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp acquired Summit Entertainment, the studio behind the Twilight and Step Up series for $412.5 million.[32] On May 3, 2012, Lionsgate Films made an agreement with CodeBlack Enterprises' CEO Jeff Clanagan to create CodeBlack Films, based at Lionsgate.[33] Drake left in 2012 to found Good Universe.[28]

On January 16, 2013, Lionsgate announced a low-budget film division to be led by John Sacchi. The division would release films under $2.5 million. Sacchi recently looked to acquire such films as Rock Bottom Creek (2012) and other independently made films as well.[34]

On November 22, 2013, Lions Gate released The Hunger Games: Catching Fire. In its opening weekend, the movie grossed $158 million at the US box office, surpassing its predecessor, which generated $150 million in its opening weekend.[35] The film had a budget of $130 million, breaking even soon after its opening, and making it profitable. Critics highly praised the film; it received a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 89%.[36] The third Hunger Games film, Mockingjay- Part 1, was released in 2014. The final film, Mockingjay - Part 2, was released in 2015.

On April 1, 2015, according to Deadline, Lions Gate announced it has created its new label, Lionsgate Premiere. 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 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.[37]

On May 2, 2016, according to Deadline Hollywood, Lions Gate announced it has teaming with eight international companies to launch the GlobalGate Entertainment consortium. GlobalGate will produce and distribute local-language films in markets around the world. Lionsgate said Monday it has partnered with international entertainment executives Paul Presburger, William Pfeiffer and Clifford Werber to launch GlobalGate.[38]

Drake returned in October 2017 as Lionsgate's film group chairman. The company laid off staff for theatrical marketing and publicity in its New York office, and moved to end its participation as a partner in CodeBlack Films in January 2019. The cut backs were due to the failures of Robin Hood, and the comedy The Spy Who Dumped Me.[28] In June 2019, Hulu and FX picked up show rights to Lionsgate films released in 2020 and 2021.[39]

In 2022, Adam Fogelson joined the Motion Picture Group as vice chair, after leaving STX Entertainment, reporting to Drake.[40]

Post-Spin-off

In December 2023, Lionsgate closed its acquisition of Entertainment One (now Lionsgate Canada), another Canadian-founded studio business.[41] In Spring 2024, Lionsgate's film and studio businesses (including Lionsgate Films) was spun-off into the newly formed Lionsgate Studios.[42][43]

On June 17, 2024, it was announced that Lionsgate will distribute Francis Ford Coppola's independently made $120 million sci-fi epic Megalopolis in North America (albeit without a marketing deal) after almost every distribution company in the United States declined due to its unconventional storytelling being difficult to promote, with a release date for the film set on September 27, 2024.[44][45] Lionsgate had previously partnered with Coppola for the re-releases of his past films such as The Conversation (1974), Apocalypse Now (1979), One from the Heart (1982) and The Cotton Club (1984).[44]

Film library

Main article: Lists of Lionsgate films

Film series

Title Release date No. Films Notes
Les Boys 1997–98 2 Distribution only
American Psycho 2000–02
Cube 2002–04 Acquired from Trimark Pictures
Leprechaun 2003–present 3
Saw 2004–present 10
The Punisher 2004–08 2 Co-production with Valhalla Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment
Hostel 2005–07 Co-production with Screen Gems
Madea 2005–19 11 Co-production with Tyler Perry Studios
Marvel Animated Features 2006–11 8 Co-production with Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Animation
Happily N'Ever After 2007–09 2
Why Did I Get Married? 2007–10 2 Co-production with Tyler Perry Studios
The Twilight Saga 2008–12 5 Acquired from Summit Entertainment
Rambo 2008–19 2
Alpha and Omega 2010–17; TBA 8
The Expendables 2010–23 4
The Hunger Games 2012–present 5
Step Up 2012–20 3 Acquired from Summit Entertainment
Now You See Me 2013–present 2
Escape Plan 2013–19 3
John Wick 2014–present 4
The Divergent Series 2014–16 3
Sicario 2015–present 1 (2) Co-distributed with Sony Pictures Releasing
Norm of the North 2016–20 4
Rock Dog 2016–23 3 First installment released through Summit Premiere
The Hitman's Bodyguard 2017–present 2
Detective Knight 2022–23 3

Highest-grossing films

Highest-grossing films in North America
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2013 $424,668,047
2 The Hunger Games 2012 $408,010,692
3 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 2014 $337,135,885
4 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse1 2010 $300,531,751
5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon1 2009 $297,816,253
6 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 21 2012 $292,324,737
7 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 2015 $281,723,902
8 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 11 2011 $281,287,133
9 Twilight1 2008 $192,769,854
10 John Wick: Chapter 4 2023 $187,131,806
11 The Day After Tomorrow2 2004 $186,740,799
12 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum 2019 $171,015,687
13 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes 2023 $166,350,594
14 Knives Out 2019 $165,359,751
15 La La Land1 2016 $151,101,803
16 Divergent1 2014 $150,947,895
17 The Blair Witch Project3 1999 $140,539,099
18 Wonder 2017 $132,422,809
19 The Divergent Series: Insurgent1 2015 $130,179,072
20 Fahrenheit 9/11 2004 $119,114,517
21 Now You See Me1 2013 $117,723,989
22 The Expendables 2010 $103,068,524
23 John Wick: Chapter 21 2017 $92,029,184
24 Madea Goes to Jail 2009 $90,508,336
25 Red1 2010 $90,380,162
Highest-grossing films worldwide
Rank Title Year Box office gross
1 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire 2013 $865,011,746
2 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 21 2012 $848,593,948
3 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 2014 $759,159,711
4 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 11 2011 $712,205,856
5 The Twilight Saga: New Moon1 2009 $709,711,008
6 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse1 2010 $698,491,347
7 The Hunger Games 2012 $695,220,619
8 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 2015 $661,456,867
9 The Day After Tomorrow2 2004 $552,639,571
10 La La Land1 2016 $471,991,358
11 John Wick: Chapter 4 2023 $440,157,245
12 Twilight1 2008 $407,187,715
13 Now You See Me1 2013 $351,723,989
14 The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes 2023 $337,371,917
15 Now You See Me 21 2016 $334,897,606
16 John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum 2019 $328,349,908
17 Wonder 2017 $315,025,930
18 The Expendables 2 2012 $314,975,955
19 Knives Out 2019 $312,897,920
20 The Divergent Series: Insurgent1 2015 $297,002,527
21 Divergent1 2014 $288,885,818
22 The Expendables 2010 $274,470,394
23 The Blair Witch Project3 1999 $248,639,099
24 Fahrenheit 9/11 2004 $222,446,882
25 The Expendables 3 2014 $214,657,577

Notes

  1. ^ Distributed by Summit Entertainment
  2. ^ Released by 20th Century Fox
  3. ^ Distributed by Artisan Entertainment

References

  1. ^ Lieberman, David (May 2, 2016). "Lionsgate Partners With Execs At Film Initiative Targeting Global Local Markets". Deadline. Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  2. ^ "LGE Company Snapshot". CorporateInformation. Wright Investors Service. Archived from the original on January 14, 2012. Retrieved October 5, 2011.
  3. ^ Bailey, Patricia. "Andre Link & John Dunning — Feature Film: Maverick producer-distrib team scored at box office". Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  4. ^ "John Dunning dies at 84". Variety. September 23, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  5. ^ "John Dunning, Canadian Film Pioneer, Dies at 84". The Hollywood Reporter. September 22, 2011. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  6. ^ Beel, Philip. "Canuxploitation Article: From Cinépix to Cineplex: The Studios that Dripped Maple Syrup". canuxploitation.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g "Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation – Company History". Funding Universe. Retrieved October 14, 2011.
  8. ^ Cronenberg 2006, p. 22.
  9. ^ Cuthbert, Pamela. "C/FP buy". playbackonline.ca.
  10. ^ a b "Lionsgate Reunites with Founder for TV Venture (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. March 13, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  11. ^ Roman, Monica (January 14, 1998). "Cinepix Film morphs into Lions Gate Ent". Variety. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
  12. ^ Edgerton, Gary (2011). Mad Men: Dream Come True TV. p. 12.
  13. ^ Hindes, Andrew (April 17, 1998). "Lions Gate gets 'Affliction' pic". Variety. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  14. ^ "Sir Ian McKellen Treats Acting as the Province of the 'Gods'". Los Angeles Times. November 4, 1998. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  15. ^ Jones, Oliver (September 9, 1999). "'Dogma' goes to Lions Gate". Variety. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  16. ^ "Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Form S-2/A". Archived from the original on October 9, 2021.
  17. ^ Child, Ben (August 8, 2012). "Original Saw film tipped for remake". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  18. ^ Kilday, Gregg (March 23, 2012). "'Hunger Games' to Pass Michael Moore's 'Fahrenheit 9/11' as Lionsgate's Top-Grossing Movie". The Hollywood Reporter.
  19. ^ McNary, Dave (September 13, 2018). "Lionsgate Vice-Chair Says Studio Needs to Get Bigger". Variety. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  20. ^ Bates, James (October 28, 2003). "Lions Gate to Buy Artisan Entertainment". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  21. ^ "A man in the middle of madness". Los Angeles Times. December 22, 2004. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved April 12, 2019.
  22. ^ "Indiantelevision.com" Lions Gate Entertainment Corp acquires movies from Modern Entertainment indiantelevision.com, Retrieved on June 14, 2012
  23. ^ "Modern Entertainment sells titles to Lions Gate". L.A. Biz. July 14, 2005. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  24. ^ "Strategic Acquisition Enables Lions Gate to Self-Distribute in the UK and Adds to Company's Library and Pipeline". PRNewswire. October 18, 2005.
  25. ^ "Redbus - Sale of Redbus Film Distribution to Lions Gate Entertainment Corp". Slaughter and May. October 17, 2005. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  26. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (February 23, 2006). "Redbus rebranded as Lionsgate UK". Screen Daily.
  27. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (February 23, 2006). "Redbus now Lionsgate". Variety.
  28. ^ a b c Lang, Brent (January 11, 2019). "Lionsgate Laying Off Staff, Ends Codeblack Films Partnership". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  29. ^ "Lions Gate, Relativity ink distribution deal". Seattle Times. April 27, 2009. Retrieved March 4, 2013.
  30. ^ McClintock, Pamela (March 24, 2012). "Box Office Report: 'Hunger Games' Finishes Friday With Massive $68.3 Mil". The Hollywood Reporter.
  31. ^ "Lionsgate The Hunger Games Movies". March 19, 2014. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  32. ^ Fritz, Ben (January 13, 2012). "Lions Gate acquires Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million". Los Angeles Times.
  33. ^ Vlessing, Etan (May 3, 2012). "Lionsgate Pacts With CodeBlack CEO Jeff Clanagan". Hollywood Reporter.
  34. ^ McNary, Dave (January 16, 2013). "Lionsgate taps Sacchi to head even-lower budget films arm". Variety.
  35. ^ Steinberg, Jacob (November 27, 2013). "Hunger Games is a Huge Success, Yet Lions Gate Sells Off". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  36. ^ "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)". Rotten Tomatoes.
  37. ^ Lieberman, David (April 1, 2015). "Lionsgate Introduces Distribution Unit To Target Next-Gen Audiences". Deadline Hollywood.
  38. ^ Lieberman, David (May 2, 2016). "Lionsgate Partners With Execs At Film Initiative Targeting Global Local Markets". Deadine.
  39. ^ McNary, Dave (June 11, 2019). "Lionsgate Pacts With Hulu, FX for Two-Year Output Deal". Variety. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  40. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 25, 2022). "STX's Adam Fogelson Heads To Lionsgate As New Motion Picture Group Vice Chair". Deadline. Retrieved May 9, 2023.
  41. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (December 27, 2023). "Lionsgate Closes Acquisition Of eOne From Hasbro". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  42. ^ Goldsmith, Jill (December 22, 2023). "Lionsgate Studios to Become a New Public Company, Splitting with Starz in SPAC Deal". Deadline. Retrieved January 16, 2024.
  43. ^ Vlessing, Etan (December 22, 2023). "Lionsgate to Spin Off Studio and 20,000-Title Library From Starz in $4.6B Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  44. ^ a b Welk, Brian (June 17, 2024). "Francis Ford Coppola's 'Megalopolis' to Be Released This September by Lionsgate". IndieWire. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved June 18, 2024.
  45. ^ Couch, Aaron; Masters, Kim (June 20, 2024). "How Francis Ford Coppola's Embattled 'Megalopolis' Finally Landed a Distributor". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved June 21, 2024. Lionsgate, it appears, will not be paying for marketing. Instead, [Francis Ford] Coppola is expected to provide the spend himself.

Works cited

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