SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Nov. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Propelled by its blockbuster TWILIGHT SAGA and HUNGER GAMES young adult franchises, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, has become the first studio outside the traditional majors to eclipse the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office in a single calendar year, the Company reported today.
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The Company also expects to roar across the $1 billion mark at the international box office and the $2 billion mark at the worldwide box office (domestic and international combined) in the next few weeks as THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 continues to build on its franchise record-shattering opening weekend of $340.9 million at the worldwide box office, outpacing the best previous TWILIGHT installment by approximately 40 percent to date.
A commercially powerful Lionsgate slate including the blockbuster first film in THE HUNGER GAMES franchise, which grossed $408 million at the domestic box office and is the 13th highest-grossing domestic release of all time, and TWILIGHT SAGA BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 have combined to push Lionsgate's domestic box office total to $1.08 billion with nearly two months remaining in the calendar year and TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 just beginning its theatrical run.
The Company will also open the critically-acclaimed drama THE IMPOSSIBLE on December 21st. THE IMPOSSIBLE has already launched in Spain with a mammoth box office haul of nearly $50 million, ranking second all time at the Spanish box office behind AVATAR.
THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 achieved the best opening weekend worldwide box office performance in TWILIGHT franchise history with franchise bests in numerous major territories around the world, including –
Latin America, where the film has delivered $43 million in its first five days and is 57% ahead of the opening of BREAKING DAWN – PART 1. Lionsgate distributes in Latin America through its recently expanded joint venture partnership with IDC.
France, with $16.4 million in its opening weekend, achieving the best opening weekend of the year
Spain, where BREAKING DAWN PART 2 is the top-grossing three-day opening weekend of all time
The UK, with $23.4 million in its opening weekend, up 10% from BREAKING DAWN—PART 1 and
Russia and the other CIS nations, which set a new franchise record with an opening weekend of $20.3 million.
"Every member of our Motion Picture Group should take tremendous pride in this singular accomplishment," said Lionsgate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer and Vice Chairman Michael Burns. "The strength of our theatrical slate, both domestically and internationally, reflects the critical mass we've built throughout all of our businesses. Led by the next three installments of our HUNGER GAMES franchise and new and emerging brands like ENDER'S GAME and DIVERGENT, our pipeline going forward continues to be strong."
"We're thrilled that THE TWILIGHT SAGA BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 is off to such a great start worldwide, and we owe a tremendous debt of thanks to Stephenie Meyer and the entire TWILIGHT team," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairmen Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger. "Our results reflect not only the global appeal of our HUNGER GAMES and TWILIGHT franchises but our portfolio approach to our slate, which has already generated eight different films this year that have grossed more than $40 million at the domestic box office. Our slate going forward will continue to be driven by the same powerful mix of franchise tentpoles, strong brands and critically exciting films."
ABOUT LIONSGATE:
Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 25 shows on 18 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men, the critically acclaimed series Weeds, Nurse Jackie and Boss, the new comedy Anger Management, which has been picked up for another 90 episodes by FX, the network series Nashville, picked up for a full season of 22 episodes by ABC, the syndication successes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black, an original series for Netflix.
Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, which grossed nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, which achieved the best worldwide opening in Twilight franchise history, The Possession, Sinister, The Expendables 2, Cabin in the Woods, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection and Arbitrage. With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company has now added the blockbuster Twilight Saga, which has grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, to its current slate, giving the Company the two premier young adult franchises in the world. Recent Summit hits include Red, Letters to Juliet, Knowing and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, The Hurt Locker.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.
For further information, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
310-255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com
Kinley Cross
310-255-5114
kcross@lionsgate.com
SOURCE Lionsgate
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