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Lionsgate Entertainment
Company typePublic (NYSE: LGF)
IndustryEntertainment
FoundedVancouver, British Columbia, Canada (1976)
HeadquartersHollywood, California, USA [1]
Key people
Robert Altman (founder)
Jon Feltheimer (CEO)
Steve Beeks (President)
Michael R. Burns (Vice Chairman)
Joe Drake (President)
ProductsMotion Pictures, Home Entertainment, Family Home Entertainment, CinemaNow, Television
RevenueIncrease $976.74 Million USD [2]
346,800,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
Total assets8,991,200,000 United States dollar (2022) Edit this on Wikidata
Websitewww.lionsgate.com
Lions Gate redirects here, for other meanings see Lions' Gate (disambiguation)‎.

Lions Gate Entertainment, (usually renderred as LIONSGATE), (NYSE: LGF) is an American entertainment company which originated in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.[1][2] As of 2007, it is the most commercially-successful independent film and television distribution company in the United States.[3]

The Name

Lions Gate was named after the Lions' Gate Bridge that crosses the narrows of Burrard Inlet in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is also referenced to a commemorative gate erected by Alexander, upon the death of Hephaestion in 324 BC in Hamadan, Iran (Persia) called the 'Lions Gate' (Hamedan Stone Lion). In 2006 the brand name was changed to THE "LIONSGATE".

Divisions

History

Lionsgate Films is a production-distribution company, a subsidiary of Lions Gate Entertainment. It is currently one of the largest independent film distributors in North America. It focuses mainly on foreign and independent films, and is known for distributing controversial films like Fahrenheit 9/11 and American Psycho. In some cases, films which are distributed by Lions Gate theatrically will have their DVDs distributed by other studios.

The original company was founded by director Robert Altman, who named it after a Vancouver landmark, the Lions' Gate Bridge. Among Lionsgate's first films included 3 Women (1977) and A Wedding (1979). In 1981, Altman sold the company to Jonathan Taplin. During much of the 1990s, the company was known as Cinépix Film Properties Inc. (CFP).

The current incarnation of Lionsgate was initiated in 1997 by Frank Giustra, a Vancouver investment banker hoping to capitalize on the growing film industry in his home town. The company bought a number of small production facilities and distributors. Its first success was American Psycho, which began a trend of producing and distributing films far too controversial for the major American studios. Other successes included Affliction, Gods and Monsters, Dogma, and the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which became the studio's highest grossing film.

In 2000, Guistra left the firm and it was taken over by Jon Feltheimer and Micheal Burns. 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 Pictures Inc. and Artisan Entertainment. These two, along with other firms, gave Lionsgate the second largest DVD library of any company[citation needed], including Total Recall, Reservoir Dogs, On Golden Pond, Young Guns, Dirty Dancing and It's a Wonderful Life, in some cases via output deals with StudioCanal, ITC/Carlton, and Republic Pictures (the result of prior licensing deals with Lionsgate's home video predecessor Artisan).

Occasionally Lionsgate has co-produced films in conjunction with a major studio. For example, Lionsgate (through then-subsidiary Artisan) 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. Lionsgate was also a silent partner in 20th Century Fox's 2004 sci-fi film The Day After Tomorrow. In 2004, Lionsgate joined forces with independent rival United Artists in producing Hotel Rwanda. The company also has a television division that has made shows such as The Dead Zone. The company also recently has launched a record label.[citation needed]

Other notable films include Crash, the studio's first film to receive the Academy Award for Best Picture; Lord of War; and Saw. Another recent franchise is Tyler Perry's Diary of a Mad Black Woman and Madea's Family Reunion, which was the first film of 2006 to be the #1 Movie in America for two weeks in a row.[4]

In 2005, Lionsgate's Canadian distribution business was sold to Maple Pictures, a company founded by two former Lionsgate executives.[citation needed] That same year Lionsgate acquired UK-based distributor Redbus Films, renaming the company Lionsgate UK.

Lionsgate has recently undergone an agreement with WWE Films to distribute movies such as See No Evil and The Condemned.

Lionsgate maintains high profit margins by not financing many films they release. Instead, it either co-produces films with producing partners or acquires rights to the film at festivals, as was the case with Saw, Cabin Fever, and Open Water.

Lionsgate began to self-distribute its titles on home video after acquiring Trimark Pictures and its in-house home video division, allowing them to end a home video distribution agreement with Universal. After the purchase of Artisan Entertainment, whose home video distribution was handled by Fox, Lionsgate picked up Fox as a home-video distributor.

Lionsgate has chosen to distribute exclusively in Blu-ray format.

In 2007, the company announced the inclusion of its film and TV show library to be added to the iTunes Store catalogue. The same year, the company reached an agreement with ReelTime.com to provide pay-per-view content over a streaming peer-to-peer network.[5]

Films

20th Century

21st Century

Note: Metamorphosis: The Alien factor produced by Ted A. Bohus (1990s).

Television

Lionsgate Television produced such series as The Dead Zone and Five Days to Midnight. Lionsgate also recently acquired TV syndication firm Debmar-Mercury.

Studios

  • The Lionsgate studio properties in Canada were sold to a private company and are now called North Shore Studios, and no longer have an affiliation with Lionsgate Entertainment. In 2006, the company acquired land in Rio Rancho, New Mexico for construction of a new studio facility.

Video

Has a home video library of more than 8000 films (many the result of output deals with other studios), including such titles as Dirty Dancing, Joshua Tree (1993 film), Total Recall, On Golden Pond and the Rambo series. Lions Gate also distributes Will & Grace and other NBC programs, Mattel's Barbie-branded videos and Clifford the Big Red Dog videos from the Scholastic Corporation.

Video properties currently owned by Lionsgate Home Entertainment include those from Family Home Entertainment, Vestron Video, Lightning Video (itself a Vestron company), and Magnum Entertainment.

References

  1. ^ "Lionsgate Investors". Lionsgate. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  2. ^ "Lionsgate: The hidden enigma". Variety. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  3. ^ "2007 Market Share and Box Office Results by Movie Studio". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  4. ^ "Tyler Perry's Madea's family reunion". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  5. ^ "ReelTime adds Lionsgate". Variety. Retrieved 2007-11-17.

See also


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