Major studios eye Lions Gate
Filed under: Horror, Deals, Lionsgate Films, MGM, Sony, Box Office, Newsstand
Not only has the massive open of Saw II caused the value of Lions Gate stock to rise,
but it's also made the independent company (which both produced and
distributed the film) a drool-worthy takeover target in the eyes of the
major Hollywood studios. Though rumors have long-swirled about who will
eventually buy Lions Gate,
the recent hiring of former major shareholder and ex-chairman of the
board Harry Sloan as the CEO of MGM (recently, in turn, bought by Sony)
has sent those rumors into overdrive.At the moment, the people at Lions Gate are sitting pretty: Saw II's open was so big that it is already in the black (it made $31 million and cost only $5 million to put together), their overall value is up, and everyone wants to be their friends. Life is good when you're hot - at least until people find out that you agreed to distribute Rambo IV.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-01-2005 @ 12:52PM
Finished.Law.School said...
A major studio will buy them, control all of their decisions after that point, tank them, and then wonder what happened. If someone buys Lions Gate they need to keep it as a subsidiary and leave them to make their own business decisions. Thise big studios also need to realize that one profitable movie does not equate to an overall profitable future. But to be honest no one in the big studios will realize any of this, there is no faith for those who allowed Herbie and Catwoman and the Bad News Bears...
Reply
11-01-2005 @ 2:08PM
The Jeremy said...
NBC Universal will bag this company. Unlike Dreamworks, Lions Gate has some popular titles in their library. Okay, so maybe I liked *The Punisher* (both versions, both in Lions Gate's library) a little more than the average joe. :)
Reply
11-01-2005 @ 4:04PM
Robert said...
I thought Lions Gate was the company that took risks that no one else was willing to take. Remember that "Dogma" and "American Psycho" pretty much put them on the map when no other studio wanted to touch those films. If they get bought, I'm sure they're just going to end up being another Miramax, who ultimately has to answer to Disney.
Reply
11-02-2005 @ 10:23AM
Bryan said...
LGF works on a low budget, low risk strategy that has been working well for them. If someone buys them and starts doing things differently, they may not have the Saw's or Crash's anymore.
Reply