Lionsgate’s genre list for 2024 contained everything that Hollywood producers deliberately refused or transferred to streaming services — while the studio made an attempt to fill the void, and it can hardly be called successful.
Box office «achievements» Lionsgate
In fact, Lionsgate had a streak of seven consecutive box office failures this year, which began with the audacious adaptation of «Borderlands» and ended with Francis Coppola’s little-understood «Megalopolis» and the critically acclaimed remake of «The Crow». Here’s a full list of the studio’s films that have grossed less than expected at the global box office:
- Video game adaptation «Borderlands» — $32 million
- Remake «Crow» — $23.7 million
- Historical crime drama «1992» — $2.9 million
- Post-apocalyptic horror movie «The Predatory Forest» — $16.2 million
- Action movie «Hitman’s Game» — $5.9 million
- Science fiction epic «Megalopolis» — $11.2 million
- Coming-of-age drama «White Bird: A New Wonder» — $6.8 million
Matthew Garrigan, a senior analyst at Benchmark Co. research company, told Variety that although the list was quite diverse — almost nothing from it «worked» (except for «Metropolis», in which Coppola invested his own money, so the studio, as a hired distributor, will still make some money). As for «Borderlands», which cost Lionsgate $100 million, the company expects a $30 million write-off.
The decline is more shocking if we go back to the results of 2023, where there was «John Wick 4» ($440 million worldwide), «Saw X» ($111 million) and «The Hunger Games: A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes» ($348 million). All these films were approved by the then chairman of the film group, Joe Drake, who was replaced by Adam Fogelson in January.
Strategy for «filling gaps»
Lionsgate is often recognized by industry experts for serving demographics that are not being served by larger studios — in particular, religious and black audiences. For example, the low-budget Christian drama «Unsung Hero» brought in as much as $21 million in August, and the horror satire «The Blackening» grossed $18 million in 2022.
«Part of their strategy is to fill in the gaps. Strategically, it’s smart,» says Jason Squire, professor emeritus at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. «But it’s an old struggle in the movie business: you just don’t know if the audience will show up».
Wall Street has been skeptical of Lionsgate’s ability to compete in a media business dominated by tech giants and studios that exist in sprawling conglomerates. The company’s shares are currently trading at $7.84, down more than 30% year-to-date.
What’s next?
Next, Lionsgate has potentially good plans — here a biopic about Michael Jackson starring his nephew, another prequel «The Hunger Games» and John Wick’s spinoff with Ana de Armas,that could trigger a recovery in 2025 and beyond.
At the same time, rumors are already circulating about the reshoot of «Ballerinas» (it was allegedly almost «from scratch» re-shot by John Wick’s director Chud Stagelski, although Lionsgate denied this claim), and such changes rarely end in anything good.
It’s worth noting that Lionsgate — is not the only studio that had difficulties in 2024. Even such giants as Warner Bros., Universal, or Apple had «misfires» in the form of second «Joker», «Furiosa» etc.
Based on the materials of the publication Variety
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