No doubt, Lionsgate suffered some big losses last year, with the big budget “Moonfall” bombing badly, for example. But then we have stuff like “Clerks III” which, under the radar, performed well for the studio. And more to the point, the only reason that movie got made is because “Jay and Silent Bob Reboot” sold so many Blu-rays – a market much of the industry is almost ignoring at this point. Plus, “Shotgun Wedding” was sold to Amazon for a premium. Lionsgate is taking smaller bets that are paying off. That, in turn, adds value to its ever-growing library, which has become incredibly valuable. Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer had this to say in a statement:
“We reported a strong financial quarter with record trailing 12-month library revenues affirming the value of our intellectual properties. We enter our fourth quarter with encouraging signs across all of our businesses: a rebounding domestic box office just as we bring our biggest slate in years to theatres; renewals of six key Lionsgate Television series during or immediately after the close of the quarter; and improved STARZ economics due to its international reorganization.”
The outlook also looks quite good for 2023, with “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” “The Expendables 4,” “Saw 10,” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” headed to theaters, not to mention the “Dirty Dancing” sequel that Lionsgate has in the works. Most, if not all of these, are sure bets in some capacity, and should give the studio a steady presence at the box office this year, which is what was missing in 2022.
But what about Lionsgate’s streaming business? What about Starz?