Lionsgate
Film and TV studio founded in 1997 by Frank Giustra; released the $1B biopic Michael, its highest-grossing film ever; split from Starz in 2025.
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- Established
- 1997
- Location
- Santa Monica, California, United States
- Country
- United States
- Full name
- Lionsgate Studios Corp.
- Founded
- 1997, by Canadian financier Frank Giustra in Vancouver
- Base
- Film labels run from Santa Monica, California
- Leadership
- CEO Jon Feltheimer; vice-chairman Michael Burns; Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson
- Corporate status
- Pure-play studio since the May 2025 separation from Starz; film and TV studio plus a 20,000+ title library
- Highest-grossing film
- Michael (2026) — $1.001 billion worldwide, the first biopic ever to cross $1 billion
- Previous record
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire — $865 million worldwide
- Key acquisitions
- Summit Entertainment ($412.5M, 2012); Entertainment One / eOne (~$500M from Hasbro, 2024)
Lionsgate — formally Lionsgate Studios Corp. — is a Canadian-American film and television studio founded in 1997 by financier Frank Giustra, whose film labels operate from Santa Monica, California (TheWrap; Business Standard). It became a pure-play studio in May 2025 when it completed its separation from Starz (Reuters; Lionsgate), and in 2026 its US release Michael — the Michael Jackson biopic — crossed $1 billion worldwide to become the studio’s highest-grossing film of all time (The Economic Times).
Lionsgate’s business model is acquisition-led: rather than being built from a classic Hollywood lot, it grew by buying distributors and their libraries — Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million in 2012, and Entertainment One (eOne) for about $500 million from Hasbro in 2024 (Business Standard; Prolific North). Its marquee franchises include The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga (via Summit), John Wick, and Saw (Business Standard; TheWrap).
From Vancouver startup to Hollywood mini-major
TheWrap’s 2012 reporting on the studio’s founder confirms Giustra founded Lionsgate in 1997 and “helped establish the company with a series of hits such as American Psycho and Gods and Monsters” before stepping down as chairman in 2000 (TheWrap). The early 2000s were defined by hostile attention as much as output: activist investor Carl Icahn accumulated more than 30% of the company and pushed for control until he liquidated his stake in 2011, after which MHR Fund Management — run by a former Icahn associate — became the largest shareholder (TheStreet). The January 2012 Summit deal was the turning point that followed: $412.5 million in cash and stock for the Twilight studio, giving Lionsgate the final installment of the vampire saga plus library rights to the first four films, which had generated $2.5 billion in worldwide ticket sales (Business Standard). The Hunger Games arrived two months later and turned Lionsgate into a franchise studio: the 2012 original grossed $408 million domestically and its 2013 sequel, Catching Fire, reached $424.6 million (TheWrap). On television, the studio produced Emmy-winning series including Mad Men and Nurse Jackie (TheWrap).
The Starz split and the eOne deal
In January 2024 Lionsgate completed its roughly $500 million acquisition of eOne from Hasbro — which had paid £3.3 billion for the same assets in 2019 — adding 6,500 titles including 1917, Atomic Blonde, Green Book, Grey’s Anatomy, Criminal Minds and Designated Survivor, plus film-development rights to Hasbro’s Monopoly (Prolific North). CEO Jon Feltheimer called it a deal that “checks off all the boxes,” strengthening scripted and unscripted television and expanding the studio’s presence in Canada and the UK (Prolific North). The bigger structural change came in 2025: shareholders approved splitting the studio from Starz in April, and the separation was completed in May, leaving two separately traded companies — Lionsgate Studios Corp., holding the Motion Picture Group, the television studio and a library of more than 20,000 film and television titles, and Starz Entertainment Corp., holding the premium subscription platform (Reuters; Lionsgate).
The Michael year and the franchise slate
2026 was the year the acquisition-led strategy finally produced a billion-dollar film. Michael — distributed by Lionsgate in the US with Universal handling most international markets — grossed $371 million domestically and $1.001 billion worldwide, the first biopic ever to enter the billion-dollar club (The Economic Times; TheWrap). The financial picture was mixed: Q1 2026 brought a $70.2 million profit on $906 million in revenue, helped by The Housemaid’s run to nearly $400 million worldwide — but Q2, despite 48% revenue growth to $776.6 million, still ended in a $28.8 million net loss, with net debt at $1.5 billion (TheWrap; TheWrap). A Michael sequel is confirmed: on the August 2026 earnings call, film chair Adam Fogelson targeted production in late 2026 or early 2027 and release in late 2027 or the first half of 2028, reusing shot musical sequences (TheWrap).
Lionsgate’s all-time worldwide box-office leaders
| Rank | Film | Worldwide gross | Reported by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael (2026) | $1.001 billion | The Economic Times (via Variety) |
| 2 | The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) | $865 million | The Economic Times (via Variety) |
| 3 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012) | $850 million | The Economic Times (via Variety) |
Beyond Michael, the 2026–2028 slate stacks franchise bets: the Hunger Games prequel Sunrise on the Reaping (November 2026), Mel Gibson’s The Resurrection of the Christ Part One (May 2027), the John Wick spinoff Caine (Donnie Yen), the First Blood prequel John Rambo (Noah Centineo), The Housemaid’s Secret (Sydney Sweeney), and Naruto (Destin Daniel Cretton) (TheWrap).
Michael’s $1.001 billion worldwide total (The Economic Times) made it Lionsgate’s first film ever to cross $1 billion — which implies the studio’s all-time record jumped roughly 16% in a single release, resetting a ceiling that Catching Fire’s $865 million had held for over a decade.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded Lionsgate? Canadian financier Frank Giustra founded Lionsgate in 1997 in Vancouver. He stepped down as chairman in 2000 and later sold most of his stake, though he returned to the studio’s board in 2010, per trade-press reporting (TheWrap).
Is Lionsgate still part of Starz? No. In May 2025 Lionsgate completed the separation: Lionsgate Studios Corp. holds the Motion Picture Group, the television studio and a 20,000+ title library, while Starz Entertainment Corp. holds the premium subscription platform (Reuters).
What is Lionsgate’s highest-grossing movie? Michael (2026), the Michael Jackson biopic, at $1.001 billion worldwide — Lionsgate’s first billion-dollar film, ahead of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($865 million) and Breaking Dawn – Part 2 ($850 million) (The Economic Times).
Who runs Lionsgate? Jon Feltheimer is CEO and Michael Burns is vice-chairman; Adam Fogelson chairs the Motion Picture Group and leads its earnings calls with analysts (Business Standard; TheWrap).
What this profile does not claim
- It does not assert an exact founding date: only the year 1997 is sourced; July 3 versus July 10 differs across tertiary sources (see openItems).
- It does not assert that the name honors Vancouver’s Lions Gate Bridge — a tertiary-only claim.
- It does not state the 2016 Starz acquisition price, which was not verified in a full-read source.
- It does not repeat the snippet-only report that “25–30% of the Michael sequel is already shot” — only the TheWrap-verified plan to reuse shot sequences.
- It does not treat any single total for Michael as final: $1.001 billion at the crossing point versus $1.028 billion at the end of its run are both recorded (see openItems).
What we could not verify
- The precise day of Lionsgate’s 1997 founding (July 3 vs July 10).
- Whether “Lions Gate Bridge” is the documented origin of the company name.
- The exact month of the eOne deal’s closing (complete by January 2024 per the full-read Prolific North report).
- The final worldwide total of Michael — $1.001 billion at the crossing point versus $1.028 billion at the end of its run.
- The 2016 price Lionsgate paid for Starz.
Sources
- TheWrap — “The Housemaid Fuels Lionsgate to $70 Million Profit” (21 May 2026) — tier2
- TheWrap — “Lionsgate Still in Red Despite 48% Revenue Growth From ‘Michael’” (August 2026) — tier2
- The Economic Times — “Michael makes box office world record” (July 2026) — tier1
- Reuters — “Lions Gate shareholders approve split of studio and Starz business” (23 April 2025) — tier1
- Business Standard — “Two Hollywood studios combine” (15 January 2012) — tier1
- TheStreet — “Hunger Games Not Lions Gate’s Only Blockbuster” (23 March 2012) — tier2
- TheWrap — “Lionsgate Partners with Founder on New TV Joint Venture” (13 March 2012) — tier2
- Prolific North — “Lionsgate acquires Daisybeck Studios owner from Hasbro” (1 January 2024) — tier2
- Lionsgate Q1 FY2026 press release via Quartr (7 August 2025) — tier3/first-party (separation date only)
Timeline
- 1997
- Frank Giustra founds Lionsgate in Vancouver; early hits include American Psycho and Gods and Monsters.
- 2000
- Giustra steps down as chairman; Jon Feltheimer and Michael Burns take over and pivot to library-building acquisitions.
- 2012-01
- Lionsgate acquires Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million in cash and stock, gaining the final Twilight installment and library rights to the first four films.
- 2012-03
- The Hunger Games opens, beginning the franchise run that made Catching Fire ($865M worldwide) the studio's record-holder until 2026.
- 2024-01
- Lionsgate completes the ~$500 million acquisition of Entertainment One (eOne) from Hasbro, adding 6,500 titles and Monopoly film-development rights.
- 2025-04
- Shareholders approve the split of the film and TV studio from the Starz business.
- 2025-05
- The separation is completed: Lionsgate Studios Corp. becomes a pure-play studio; Starz Entertainment Corp. holds the premium subscription platform.
- 2026-05
- Lionsgate reports Q1 2026 profit of $70.2 million on $906 million revenue as Michael passes $300 million domestic.
- 2026
- Michael crosses $1.001 billion worldwide — the first biopic ever to do so and Lionsgate's highest-grossing film of all time, ahead of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
- 2026-08
- On the Q2 2026 earnings call, film chair Adam Fogelson confirms a Michael sequel is in development, targeting production in late 2026/early 2027 and release in late 2027/first half 2028.
What we could not verify
These claims came up in research and could not be confirmed. They are recorded here rather than published as fact or quietly dropped. If you hold a source that settles one, please tell us.
- Exact founding date: tertiary sources differ between July 3 and July 10, 1997; the full-read trade press supports only the year 1997, so only the year is asserted here.
- The claim that the company name honors Vancouver's Lions Gate Bridge appears only in tertiary company-history pages and is not asserted.
- The eOne closing is reported as complete by Prolific North on 1 January 2024; a December 2023 closing date from a snippet-only Deadline report is not independently verified here.
- Michael's worldwide total: $1.001 billion at the crossing point (via Variety, July 2026) versus $1.028 billion reported at the end of its run (ET Now, September 2026) — a cross-source discrepancy flagged rather than silently resolved.
- The reported "25–30% of the Michael sequel already shot" figure appears only in snippet-only entertainment reporting and is not asserted; this profile states only the TheWrap-verified plan to reuse shot sequences.
Sources
9 sources (3 tier 1, 5 tier 2, 1 first-party), each opened and read against the claim it supports. Statements the subject makes about itself are marked as such and are not treated as independent evidence. See the source policy.
Built from nine sources read in full: three tier1 (Reuters, the Economic Times, Business Standard), five tier2 (TheWrap ×3, TheStreet, Prolific North), and one company press release (first-party) used only for the uncontested Starz-separation completion date. Wikipedia, Fandom mirrors, and AI-generated company-history pages were used only as lead indexes and are not cited; search-snippet-only reports (Deadline, Panabee, ComingSoon) were not cited either.
- Supports: $1.001B worldwide ($629.8M international + $371.8M North America) via Variety; first biopic to $1B; Lionsgate's biggest film of all time and first $1B release, ahead of Catching Fire ($865M) and Breaking Dawn – Part 2 ($850M); record $97M/$217M opening; sequel confirmed Open original source
- Supports: Shareholders approved splitting the film and TV studio from Starz; standalone Lionsgate Studios = Motion Picture Group + Television Studio + 20,000+ title library; Anson Funds Management stake and strategic-options push Open original source
- Supports: Summit acquisition $412.5M cash and stock; both film labels 'run from Santa Monica, California'; final Twilight installment plus library rights to the first four ($2.5B worldwide); Lionsgate as maker of Mad Men and Tyler Perry films; Feltheimer as chairman/CEO and Michael Burns as vice-chairman; 13,000-title library in 2012 Open original source
- Supports: Q1 2026 results ($70.2M profit, $906M revenue, film segment profit $187.1M); The Housemaid ~$400M worldwide; library $1B trailing-12-month revenue for three quarters; Michael passing $300M domestic as a top-5 Lionsgate film with Universal handling overseas; Adam Fogelson's May 2026 sequel remarks; Resurrection of the Christ slate move; Jon Feltheimer quotes Open original source
- Supports: Q2 2026 results ($776.6M revenue +48%, $28.8M net loss, net debt $1.5B); Michael $371M US/Canada as Lionsgate's third-highest domestic grosser behind The Hunger Games ($408M) and Catching Fire ($424.6M); first biopic to $1B worldwide; sequel in development with late-2026/early-2027 production target and late-2027/early-2028 release using shot sequences; 2026–27 franchise slate; 13 scripted series renewed; post-Starz-spinoff positioning Open original source
- Supports: Summit deal structure ($55M cash, $50M stock, $45M notes, refinanced $500M term loan); Summit library (The Hurt Locker, RED, Twilight); Carl Icahn's 2011 exit after liquidating his 30%+ stake; MHR Fund Management as largest shareholder Open original source
- Supports: Frank Giustra founded Lionsgate in 1997; built it with American Psycho and Gods and Monsters; stepped down as chairman in 2000; sold most of his stake; TV success with Mad Men and Nurse Jackie Open original source
- Supports: eOne acquired from Hasbro in a $500M deal (Hasbro paid £3.3B in 2019); 6,500 titles including 1917, Atomic Blonde, Green Book, Grey's Anatomy, Criminal Minds, Designated Survivor; Monopoly film-development rights; Jon Feltheimer quote on library and TV strengthening; UK/Canada expansion Open original source
- Supports: Supporting only: confirmation that Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. 'fully separated its Lionsgate and STARZ businesses' during the quarter — used solely for the May 2025 separation completion date Open original source
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