‘School of Magical Animals 2,’ ‘John Wick: Chapter 4′ Boost Leonine Studios’ Distribution Business

Brent Lang Executive Editor The return of John Wick, its popular hit man franchise, helped lift quarterly earnings at Lionsgate, enabling the company to best expectations. For the three-month period ending on March 31, revenues at Lionsgate increased 16.7% to $1.1 billion. The company also reported an operating loss of $49.6 million, which was slightly better than the $50.4 million in losses it logged in the year-ago period.  There was also a net loss attributable to Lionsgate shareholders of $96.8 million or 42 cents net loss per share. Adjusted net income attributable to Lionsgate shareholders in the quarter was $49.2 million or 21 cents in adjusted earnings per share. Lionsgate’s film business did much of the heavy lifting. The studio segment reported revenue of $823.6 million, an increase of 25% from the prior-year quarter, with the movie portion of that haul increasing by 85%. That was due to the success of “John Wick: Chapter 4,” a blockbuster sequel starring Keanu Reeves as the titular avenger, as well as the release of two modest hits in the faith-based drama “Jesus Revolution” and the Gerard Butler action-thriller “Plane.” It also helped off-set declines in Lionsgate’s television business, which the company said was the result of “timing” of when its shows are licensed or hit the airwaves.

Lionsgate again came in above market expectations as it reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter Thursday. It once more topped $1.1 billion in revenue, a 17% year-to-year jump, with $17 million in net income, for adjusted earnings per share of $0.21.

A former Brookside star has admitted causing serious injury to 12-year-old girls after he ran them down last year.

Warwick Thornton is no stranger to La Croisette. His debut feature, “Samson and Delilah,” won the Camera d’Or at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, where his latest feature, “The New Boy,” just had its premiere.  READ MORE: 2023 Cannes Film Festival: 21 Must-See Movies To Watch “The New Boy” never gives its protagonist, the titular New Boy, a name.

EXCLUSIVE: Shout! Studios and Convoke Media have set Ron Perlman (Nightmare Alley), Rosanna Arquette (Signs of Love) and Brendan Bradley (A Tale Told by an Idiot) to star in Succubus, a new horror thriller written and directed by R.J. Daniel Hanna (Hard Miles), which Shout! will distribute in North America.

Aussie filmmaker Warwick Thornton joked that Cate Blanchett “elbowed” her way into his crafty sixth feature, The New Boy, as he introduced the pic at Deadline’s Cannes Studio shortly before its festival premiere.

The John Wick movie franchise has officially reached the billion mark!

Warwick Thornton is a master maker of images. The first frames of The New Boy – a sweep of dusty ground; a flash of a small boy on a policeman’s back, strangling him; a pre-war telegraph pole, all drenched in the searing white midday light of the desert – create a collage of inland Australia, a world of open spaces. The boy is duly pulled off of the policeman, put in a sack and delivered in the dark to a mission; a nun opens the door to receive the delivery. At that point, the gallery of Thornton’s frame becomes a series of golden brown interiors that could have come from Rembrandt, except that they are peopled with Indigenous boys – Lost Boys, as Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett) describes them to God – and the trio of adults who look after them. 

Fueled by the strong performance of John Wick: Chapter 4, Lionsgate’s John Wick franchise has crossed the $1B mark at the worldwide box office. The Keanu Reeves-led series’ total take to date now stands at $1,011,319,297 global.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “John Wick” is officially a billion-dollar franchise. Ticket sales for Lionsgate’s Keanu Reeves-led action series have surpassed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, with its tally standing at $1.011 billion across four films. It was carried across the coveted milestone by “John Wick: Chapter 4,” which is now the highest grossing with $425 million to date. The latest entry, which is the most expensive with its $100 million price tag, opened in March to $73.5 million, notching a new domestic franchise record. “John Wick” is one of the rare franchises that has gotten more successful with each installment. The first movie tapped out with $86.1 million in 2014 but it became a sleeper hit on home entertainment, while the 2017 sequel ended its run with $174.3 million. 2019’s “Parabellum,” which is the highest grossing entry prior to “Chapter 4,” left the big screen with $328.3 million globally.

Dakota Johnson, Jodie Turner-Smith and Elizabeth Olsen were just a few of the stars to attend the Gucci 2024 Cruise fashion show at the Gyeongbokgung Palace on Tuesday (May 16) in Seoul, South Korea.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Variety and Gotham Film and Media Institute kicked off the Cannes Film Festival in style, bringing together entertainment industry insiders and festival attendees for a welcome party at the newly revamped Carlton Hotel. The outdoor courtyard was filled with producers, executives and financiers and other Hollywood players, including Tom Bernard and Michael Barker, Martin Scorsese’s daughter Francesca, FilmNation’s founder Glen Basner, Cinetic Media boss John Sloss, CAA’s Ben Kramer and Black Bear International’s John Friedberg.  At the event, Leonine Studios was honored with the International Achievement in Film Award, a recognition designed to spotlight the honoree’s recent achievements. The German production, licensing and distribution company was formed by Fred Kogel in 2019 and established itself as one of Europe’s biggest movie buyers. It’s picked up more than 40 feature films, such as “Hunger Games,” “John Wick: Chapter 4,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Knives Out.”

Naman Ramachandran The London Action Festival has revealed a packed program for its second edition. Highlights of the first round of programming that has been unveiled include: Anatomy Of A Set Piece where The Raid franchise creator Gareth Evans and others to be announced will break down chosen set pieces from their works; a screening of “The Raid 2” + Q&A with Evans; The Showrunner’s Story, where, in association with World Productions, “Bodyguard” and ‘Line of Duty” Jed Mercurio creator will explore the work of a showrunner in the creation and production of shows; and The Villains of John Wick, in association with Lionsgate, where Mark Dacascos (Zero in “John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum”) and Scott Adkins (Killa in “John Wick: Chapter 4”) – two of the most memorable villains from across the $425 million box office smash-hit John Wick franchise will discuss their work.

Naman Ramachandran Indian multiplex chains PVR and Inox, which merged earlier this year, have launched a combined distribution arm PVR Inox Pictures, formerly PVR Pictures, “to increase investments in content acquisition to streamline high quality content for the Indian market, generate further opportunity for underrepresented storytellers and independent creators, and deliver a robust content slate to the Indian audience.” PVR Inox operates a network of 1689 cinema screens in 361 properties across 115 cities in India and Sri Lanka, and holds 43% share of multiplex screens in India. PVR Inox Pictures is the largest independent distributor of foreign language films and a prominent distributor of Indian films, in India.

EXCLUSIVE: Actors Scott Adkins and Marko Zaror, best known for their martial arts work in John Wick: Chapter 4, have signed on to star in the action pic Diablo from director Ernesto Díaz Espinoza (The Fist of the Condor, Redeemer).

Dakota Johnson provided a masterclass on wearing double denim while running errands on Saturday (May 13) in Los Angeles.

EXCLUSIVE: While the title character ended John Wick: Chapter 4 under a headstone, the John Wick franchise is alive and kicking for Lionsgate. This week, Universal brass got a first look at Ballerina, the Len Wiseman-helmed spinoff film that stars Ana de Armas and brings back Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, the late Lance Reddick and Anjelica Huston. The big question is, after the last film grossed over $400 million on a $90 million budget, what right minded studio would retire a franchise that just turned in its highest gross and best reviews?

Ed Meza @edmezavar With some of Germany’s most successful production companies in its stable, Leonine Studios is reaping the rewards with such feature film and television hits as “School of Magical Animals,” “Nightlife,” “Dark” and “Pagan Peak.” Leonine’s production division includes such well-established companies as Wiedemann & Berg Film, which focuses on theatrical features, W&B Television and Odeon Fiction, which produce movies and series for all broadcasters and streaming platforms in Germany, documentary outfit Gebrueder Beetz and format maker I&U TV. “We are in for high creative quality and commercial success,” explains Quirin Berg, who, along with Max Wiedemann, serves as Leonine’s chief production officer and managing director of Wiedemann & Berg Film.

Ed Meza @edmezavar In the four years since roaring to life, Leonine Studios has reshaped Germany’s film and television landscape, becoming a leading player in Europe’s biggest and most competitive market. The company is receiving Variety’s International Achievement in Film Award at the Cannes Film Festival. Built by industry veteran Fred Kogel with financing from U.S. private equity group KKR, Leonine Studios is an entertainment conglomerate that has brought together some of Germany’s most successful production and distribution companies under one roof. “I always wanted to establish and create a company as a home of talents – the best people in the German business and then internationally – and create a new company for the digital age,” says Kogel, Leonine’s CEO. “That was the reality behind bringing Leonine to life in 2019 as that was the first time that German content could travel the world. That was the rationale.” 

Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy for a spin-off film in the John Wick universe.The fourth instalment of the action movie was released back in March, and despite the shocking ending, Stahleski is scouting his next cast for a fifth movie.The John Wick franchise is also expanding with two spin-off projects underway. Ana de Armas is set to star in Ballerina, the first sequel film of the John Wick franchise, which will be released in 2024. In addition, the prequel show The Continental recently shared the trailer for the three-event series ahead of its September 2023 release.In an interview with The Direct, Stahleski revealed some of the actors he is interested in collaborating with.