Jon Feltheimer: Last News

Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chair Joe Drake is exiting the company, and handing over executive duties and title to Motion Picture Group Vice Chair Adam Fogelson.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer expressed an optimistic view of the movie business – at least the way it is approached by his cost-conscious executive team.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Lionsgate closed its $375 million acquisition of studio Entertainment One (eOne) from toy company Hasbro Wednesday. The deal adds 6,500 film and television titles to Lionsgate’s existing library, including Showtime hit “Yellowjackets,” ABC’s “The Rookie” and Discovery’s “Naked & Afraid” franchise.

Lionsgate said today its acquisition of global entertainment platform eOne from Hasbro is done.

Lionsgate Studios — the TV studio, motion picture group and film and television libraries —  will merge with Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp., a SPAC, or special purpose acquisition company led by CEO Eli Baker, in a long-anticipated move to split from Starz that’s expected to close this spring.

Lionsgate, which agreed to buy eOne last August, is cutting the production outfit’s already-depleted workforce by a single-digit percentage as the acquisition approaches its official close at the end of the month.

Jon Feltheimer, CEO of the first media company to report quarterly earnings since SAG-AFTRA struck a deal with studios, said Thursday that he’s so pleased that “we can now all get back to making great content for a global audience.”

Brent Lang Executive Editor John Wick continues to be the straw that stirs the drink at Lionsgate. The home entertainment debut of the fourth film of the hit man hit man series and the premiere of its streaming spin-off “The Continental” lifted revenues at Lionsgate to just over $1 billion, beating Wall Street’s estimates.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer‘s compensation rebounded to prior levels in fiscal 2023, reaching $21.5 million.

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said the planned split of Lionsgate and Starz will take place in the first quarter of 2024, a change from the prior outlook for early fall of this year.

Brent Lang Executive Editor Losses narrowed and revenues climbed as film hits such as “John Wick: Chapter 4” helped power Lionsgate’s quarterly earnings. It’s a time of change for the company, which is exploring separating its motion picture and television groups from its Starz streaming and pay TV business, and relaunching them as two publicly traded entities. In the near term, Lionsgate reported revenues of $909 million, a 2% increase from the $893.9 million it logged in the prior-year quarter.

Lionsgate has furnished more details to investors ahead of its planned split into two publicly traded entities — one centered on film and TV production and the other on media networks, principally Starz.

Brent Lang Executive Editor The Bride is back. Lionsgate said it is releasing a new and remastered 4K edition of “Kill Bill” to coincide with the Quentin Tarantino film’s 20th anniversary at the end of the year. No word yet on what kind of extras and added footage that version may or may not include. But it does come as Lionsgate announced on its quarterly earnings call that it has landed distribution rights to both “Kill Bill” films and “Jackie Brown.” That gives the company the largest portfolio of Tarantino movies. Lionsgate also has the rights to “Reservoir Dogs,” “Inglourious Basterds,” “Django Unchained,” “The Hateful Eight” and “Death Proof.” Most of those movies were initially released by The Weinstein Company or Miramax. Some of those movies later became available after the Weinstein Company went bankrupt after its founder Harvey Weinstein was accused by dozens of women of sexual abuse, harassment and assault.

Lionsgate said today it’s partnered with Quentin Tarantino for distribution rights to three of the director’s iconic films – Kill Bill Volumes I & II and Jackie Brown. 

Ethan Shanfeld It’s been nearly four years since we learned that a “Weeds” sequel series was in the works at Starz. When Variety exclusively broke the news of the revival in 2019, Mary-Louise Parker was set to executive produce and reprise her role as Nancy Botwin in the potential new series. But Justin Kirk, who played her charming and unfiltered brother-in-law Andy Botwin, isn’t so sure about it. “Even as a fan, do you really want to see us all old and coming back? By the time of Season 8, I don’t think the general idea was, ‘We should keep doing this!'” he told Variety. “Look, I love those people, I love that character. I probably know as much as you do about any future reboots.”

Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: Spoilers are ahead for “John Wick: Chapter 4,” now playing in theaters. After killing countless High Table henchmen, falling down hundreds of stairs and dueling one blind master swordsman, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick is…dead? “John Wick: Chapter 4” ends with Wick seemingly six feet under, after succumbing to three gunshot wounds he suffered during his final duel with Caine (Donnie Yen). Winston (Ian McShane) and the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburne) even pay their respects at the master assassin’s tombstone, which is located next to his wife’s final resting place.

As it gets set to reveal plans for the likely separation of Starz and the Lionsgate movie and TV studio, Lionsgate has re-upped two key members of its management team: Vice Chairman Michael Burns and COO Brian Goldsmith.

Lionsgate punched through Wall Street forecasts reporting a jump in revenue to $1 billion last quarter on a record $845 million in sales from its 17,000 film and television library.

Sandra Stern has been promoted at Lionsgate TV.

Lionsgate total global subscribers rose to 37.8 million for the fiscal second quarter ended in September, driven by international and domestic streaming, where subs were up 52% year-on-year to 27.3 million. Rebranded Lionsgate+ subscribers grew 97% to 14.8 million.

Jim Packer isn’t leaving Lionsgate any time soon.