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Lionsgate’s Future & The ‘John Wick’ Effect

A candid conversation with studio motion picture chair Joe Drake about the fate of the Wick franchise, the challenge of making mid-budget movies, and whether the studio could sell in 2023.

Lionsgate’s Joe Drake and Keanu Reeves.
Lionsgate’s Joe Drake and Keanu Reeves. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Lionsgate
Matthew Belloni
March 27, 2023

It’s gonna be a big and potentially existential year for Lionsgate. MGM sold to Amazon, and I’m still not quite sure what’s happening with STX Entertainment, so Lionsgate is pretty much the last of the so-called “mini-major” studios that release a wide slate of small-budget originals and quasi-franchise fare. Plus, it’s planning to spin off Starz later this year, leaving the film and TV studio as a pure-play production unit, which presumably will be more attractive for a buyer.