Lionsgate Studios

Lionsgate Studios Corp.
Company type	Public
Industry	Film and television production and distribution
Predecessor	Lionsgate (film and television divisions separated from Starz Entertainment)
Founded	May 14, 2024; 2 years ago
Headquarters	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Area served	Canada, United States
Products	Films, television programs, home entertainment distribution
Owner	Lionsgate (approx. 87% ownership)
Parent	Screaming Eagle Corporation (post-SPAC merger)

Lionsgate Studios Corp. is a film and television production and distribution powerhouse operating across Canada and the United States. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, with its main operations situated in Santa Monica, California, the company was established on May 14, 2024. This formation followed the separation of film and television divisions from Starz Entertainment, which was previously known simply as Lionsgate.

The company’s holdings encompass Lionsgate Canada (formerly known as Entertainment One or eOne), 3 Arts Entertainment, Pilgrim Media Group, Lionsgate Films, Lionsgate Television, Lionsgate Alternative Television, Lionsgate Home Entertainment, along with a minority interest in 42, and a stake in the joint venture Amblin Partners. Films are distributed through Lionsgate Films under the banners of Summit Entertainment and eOne Films.

Background

After acquiring Entertainment One from Hasbro on December 27, 2023, Lionsgate declared its intention to separate its film and television assets into an independent entity. The Studios division combined with the special-purpose acquisition firm Screaming Eagle Corporation, resulting in the creation of the publicly listed Lionsgate Studios Corporation, valued at $4.6 billion. This transaction was completed on May 7, 2024.

Trading commenced on May 14 on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker LION, with Lionsgate maintaining approximately 87% ownership. By January 2025, the studio had finalized its complete separation from Starz, which officially closed on May 6 of that year.

Reports surfaced in July 2025 indicating that Legendary Entertainment was exploring a potential acquisition of Lionsgate Studios.

Films

The film division, operating as Lionsgate Films, manages Lionsgate Studios’ cinematic productions. This includes projects developed internally as well as releases under the Summit Entertainment label and through subsidiary Lionsgate Canada (formerly Entertainment One). Lionsgate Canada also oversees extensive film libraries inherited from defunct entities such as Koch Entertainment, Christal Films, Alliance Atlantis, Salter Street Films, Cineplex Odeon Films, and Phase 4 Films.

The company’s vast catalog incorporates titles acquired through purchases of firms like Trimark Pictures (2000), Artisan Entertainment (2003, which included assets from Vestron Pictures), and Starz Distribution (2016). The latter acquisition brought in libraries from Anchor Bay Entertainment, Overture Films, pre-2015 works by Film Roman, as well as original content produced by Starz. Additional holdings include entertainment divisions formerly owned by Hearst Communications, rights obtained via Tribune Entertainment through Debmar-Mercury, distribution agreements with American Zoetrope, Modern Entertainment (acquired in 2005), and post-2005 titles from both The Weinstein Company and Dimension Films through its investment in Spyglass Media Group.

These assets are managed under numerous international licensing arrangements.

Home entertainment

Lionsgate distributes its films across various physical media formats including DVD, Blu-ray, and Ultra HD Blu-ray. Additionally, their content is available on the PSP platform via Universal Media Disc. Since 2021, home video distribution responsibilities have been handled by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, succeeding their previous partnership with 20th Century Home Entertainment.

Early history

At the outset, Lionsgate's audiovisual products were distributed through Universal Studios Home Video and Columbia TriStar Home Video. The company launched two home video labels: Avalanche Home Entertainment, which specialized in smaller Canadian B-movies, and Sterling Home Entertainment—a collaboration with Danish company Scanbox International—focused on releasing low-budget American films during the late 1990s. In June 2000, Lionsgate acquired Trimark Pictures and consolidated its home video operations—including Avalanche and Sterling—under the banner of Lions Gate Home Entertainment by 2001.

Sterling was subsequently rebranded as Studio Home Entertainment before being fully integrated into Lionsgate. The 2003 purchase of Artisan Entertainment significantly broadened Lionsgate's Family Entertainment division within its Home Entertainment sector.

With a catalog surpassing 8,000 titles, Lionsgate Home Entertainment also distributed licensed properties such as Barbie from Mattel, Clifford the Big Red Dog from Scholastic Corporation, Stickin' Around from Nelvana, and productions by MGA Entertainment. They oversaw home video distribution for the Jim Henson Company until 2012, when Henson transitioned its partnership to Gaiam Vivendi Entertainment. After acquiring Artisan, LGHE managed the back catalog of ITC Entertainment until 2013, when rights were transferred to Shout! Factory by ITV Studios Global Entertainment.

In Canada, Lionsgate's home entertainment business operated under the Christal Films brand in Québec and Maple Pictures in Ontario and other provinces.

Further deals

In August 2001, Lionsgate Home Entertainment entered into an agreement with DIC Entertainment to distribute their animated catalog on video and DVD across the U.S., taking over from DIC’s longtime distributor Buena Vista Home Entertainment. This collaboration lasted only one year; by 2003, DIC shifted distribution to Sterling Entertainment Group, later partnering with companies such as Shout! Factory, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, and NCircle Entertainment.

In 2008, Lionsgate secured a U.S. DVD distribution contract with HIT Entertainment following the expiration of HIT’s agreement with 20th Century Fox. This arrangement concluded in 2014 when distribution rights moved to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

On August 4, 2008, Lionsgate acquired distribution rights from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment for several series produced by Touchstone Television/ABC Studios including According to Jim, Reaper, Hope & Faith, 8 Simple Rules, and Boy Meets World.

In 2009, American Greetings formed a partnership with Lionsgate for DVD releases after ending its contract with 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment; however, the Strawberry Shortcake franchise remained under Fox’s previous agreement.

Up until 2012, Lionsgate distributed most theatrical titles from Republic Pictures on DVD under license from Paramount Pictures. After Republic ceased operations, this responsibility passed to Olive Films and subsequently to Kino Lorber.

On February 11, 2011, Lionsgate and StudioCanal agreed to release a collection of 550 films from Miramax worldwide, taking over distribution from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment during Miramax’s ownership by Disney. Distribution shifted again in April 2020 to Paramount Home Entertainment following Paramount Global’s acquisition of a 49% stake in Miramax.

Following its acquisition of Summit Entertainment in 2012, Lionsgate Home Entertainment assumed control over Summit’s home video rights.

In November 2015, both Discovery Communications and Liberty Global acquired a 3.4% ownership stake in Lionsgate Entertainment. As a result, LGHE began distributing Discovery’s content library on home media starting in 2016 until 2022 when distribution transitioned to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment after the WarnerMedia-Discovery merger formed Warner Bros. Discovery.

On December 8, 2016, Lionsgate completed its acquisition of Starz Inc., including North American operations of Manga Entertainment and the original Anchor Bay Entertainment. Anchor Bay was absorbed into Lionsgate Home Entertainment; plans are underway to relaunch Manga. Anchor Bay was independently revived in February 2024 as a production company specializing in genre films and remastered catalog titles.

On June 30, 2021, Lionsgate’s North American distribution agreement with Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment expired and was replaced by a new deal with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, effective July 1, 2021.

After finalizing its acquisition of Entertainment One (now operating as Lionsgate Canada) on December 27, 2023, Lionsgate’s home entertainment division took over global distribution of its physical releases.

On June 24, 2024, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment entered into a distribution partnership with Studio Distribution Services, which now manages physical distribution for titles from Sony Pictures (Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, among others), Lionsgate, Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, and The Criterion Collection, leveraging Sony's existing SPHE agreements.

Television

Founded in July 1997 as the television arm of Lionsgate and Lionsgate Studios, Lionsgate Television has developed and produced notable series including Nashville, Anger Management, The Dead Zone, Weeds, Nurse Jackie, Boss, and Mad Men.

Lionsgate broadened its reach into television syndication in July 2006 by acquiring Debmar-Mercury. While CBS Media Ventures managed the majority of advertising sales, the show Meet the Browns was co-distributed by Turner Television/Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution alongside Disney–ABC Domestic Television.

In March 2013, a collaboration was formed between Lionsgate and Mars One, a Dutch nonprofit organization dedicated to Mars colonization, to create a reality television series centered on this mission.

On August 6, 2018, Lionsgate entered into a first-look deal for television development with Universal Music Group, aimed at expanding its content offerings.

Following the December 27, 2023 acquisition of Entertainment One, Lionsgate reorganized eOne’s television properties under the Lionsgate Television banner and inaugurated Lionsgate Alternative Television on January 14, 2024. This new division specializes in producing and distributing unscripted television content.

Lionsgate Studios Yonkers

On September 5, 2019, Lionsgate teamed up with Great Point Capital Management to build a $100 million production studio in Yonkers, New York. Lionsgate committed as a long-term anchor tenant and investor, securing naming rights for the facility. Construction commenced in November 2019 with an anticipated opening by late 2020. The studio complex comprises three sound stages each measuring 20,000 square feet, two additional stages of 10,000 square feet each, a back lot area, and plans for location-based entertainment attractions.

Situated near the former Otis Elevator Company building in Getty Square, this development is expected to generate approximately 420 jobs locally. The project benefits from substantial tax incentives. National Resources acts as both investment partner and project developer, overseeing design and construction management.

By April 2020, developers had raised $60 million in funding while Lionsgate anchored the remaining $40 million required for the project’s second phase.

Lionsgate Newark studio

In 2022, plans were announced for Lionsgate Newark Studios, a $100 million film and television production facility slated to open in 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. The site spans 15 acres on land formerly occupied by the Seth Boyden housing projects within the Dayton neighborhood. Overlooking Weequahic Park and Golf Course, the studio will collaborate with the New Jersey Performing Arts Center to coordinate public relations efforts and foster community engagement.

Under Liberty Strategic Capital ownership

On September 5, 2023, Liberty Strategic Capital—a private equity firm led by Steven Mnuchin—acquired a 5.5% ownership stake in Lions Gate Entertainment (now operating as Lionsgate Studios) valued at approximately $30.8 million. This acquisition coincided with Lionsgate’s preparation for its $500 million purchase of eOne and plans to separate its studio and streaming divisions. By May 30, 2025, Liberty Strategic Capital had increased its holding to 12.6%, with Mnuchin assuming control over the studio operations.

References