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Lionsgate cannot catch a break this year. While several studios have continued to struggle at thebox officein the post-COVID landscape, Lionsgate, the home of beloved franchises likeJohn Wick,The Hunger Games, andSaw, has had an uncharacteristically poor 2024, and it’s had a massive effect on their box office haul.
Hollywood mythology is filled with tales of studios going bankrupt after a single failed project.Battlefield Earthflat-lined Franchise Pictures, New Line Cinema couldn’t recover afterThe Golden Compass, and evenIt’s a Wonderful Life(yes,the beloved Christmas classic) forced Liberty Films to be bought out by Paramount Pictures. But what happens when a studio has 13 financial duds in a single year? If you’ve spent more than five minutes among online movie fan circles, you undoubtedly know aboutMegalopolis,The Crow, andBorderlandshaving horrendous box office resultsand being pulled from theaters early. But, sadly for Lionsgate, that’s just the beginning.
Lionsgate began 2024 fighting an uphill battle.Miller’s Girl, starring Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega, failed to make back half of its budget, grossing under $2 million against a $4 million production budget. While $1.5 million barely covers the catering budget for a major motion picture, it was the start of a debilitating trend for the studio. In the first half of 2024,Imaginary,Arthur the King,The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare,Unsung Hero, andOrdinary Angelsall underperformed against projections at the box office, even if some were profitable. Aside fromThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare(Guy Ritchie’s latest, starring Henry Cavill and Alan Ritchson), the rest had comparatively small budgets.
But the latter half of 2024 saw Lionsgate enter studio-ending territory, as the projects that they predicted to be their tentpole blockbusters performed even worse than their original horror and indie flicks. The aforementionedBorderlands,The Crow, andMegalopolishave all had disastrous theatrical runs. Add to that1992,The Killer’s Game, andNever Let Goand, to paraphrase Joe Exotic, “Lionsgate will never financially recover from this.”
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Yes, you read that right.
Lionsgate’s highest-grossing movie of 2024 (so far) has surprisingly beenThe Strangers: Chapter 1— a poorly reviewed horror film directed by Renny Harlin and starring Madelaine Petsch.The Strangers: Chapter 1grossed $47.8 million worldwide. To put that into wider context, it means thatnone of Lionsgate’s 2024 releases have passed the $50 million dollar mark at the international box office!
What Does This Mean for Lionsgate?
So, is Lionsgate really in trouble? Well, yes, and no.Lionsgate is considered to be a “mini-major studio” within the industry. While it doesn’t have a Scrooge McDuck-esque vault filled with money like Disney or Warner Bros., it also doesn’t have to beg its grandma for finance like the owner of a small indie studio.
Lionsgate’s 2024 Box Office
Box Office Haul (Worldwide):
Miller’s Girl
$4,000,000
$1,714,512
Ordinary Angels
$13,000,000
$20,571,534
$43,781,680
Arthur the King
$19,000,000
$40,829,349
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare
$60,000,000
$26,974,933
Unsung Hero
$6,000,000
$21,222,038
The Strangers: Chapter 1
$8,500,000
$47,803,285
Borderlands
$120,000,000
$32,978,510
$50,000,000
$23,799,336
Megalopolis
$136,000,000 (Lionsgate only covered distribution fees)
$11,147,389 (ongoing)
The Killer’s Game
$30,000,000
$5,931,154
Never Let Go
$20,000,000
$21,750,508
$2,906,073
The studio does have a financial backlog from its 2023 hits for security. Last year, the studio releasedSaw X,John Wick: Chapter 4, andThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes(which is such a long title) to incredible box office results. But, having funded major productions likeThe CrowandBorderlands, that financial security can run out very quickly.
For Lionsgate to survive its disastrous 2024, it needs to hold the fort until next year. 2025 could see Lionsgate earn back its abysmal box office earnings this year, thanks to its biggest franchises. As well as the eagerly anticipatedMichael Jackson biopic,Michael, the studio will also be releasingFrom the World of John Wick: Ballerina(another unnecessarily long title),Saw XI, andNow You See Me 3next year.
