LONDON and SANTA MONICA, Calif., Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Underscoring the globalization of Lionsgate's (NYSE: LGF) business, Lionsgate UK will assume responsibility for the distribution of all Summit label films and will integrate them with the Lionsgate, third-party and locally-produced films it already distributes, it was announced today by Lionsgate UK Chief Executive Officer Zygi Kamasa.  The expanded distribution will begin with Summit label films produced after July 2015.

The move follows last month's announcement that Lionsgate has moved its international sales headquarters to London to be closer to its key international markets.  Lionsgate UK's distribution of Summit releases will include such films as Allegiant Part 2, the fourth film in the Divergent franchise, which is slated to begin production in 2016 for worldwide release on March 24, 2017.

"We're delighted to bring the distribution of our diverse portfolio of films under one roof, increasing our operating efficiencies, unifying our strategic focus and giving us greater control over our content," said Kamasa. "Assuming responsibility for our Summit titles continues to enhance the critical mass of product we offer to our audiences and our buyers."

"Under the leadership of Zygi and his team, Lionsgate UK has become a vibrant and diversified company, and the expansion of its distribution business increases our opportunities for further growth in that key market," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. "Combined with the recent relocation of our international sales operations to London, we are bringing significantly more content, resources and executive manpower to focus on our European markets."

Distribution of Summit titles in the UK was previously handled by eOne Entertainment.  eOne and Lionsgate announced last week that they are extending and expanding their partnership in three territories, with eOne continuing to distribute Lionsgate and Summit films in Canada and Spain and Summit titles in Australia through 2018.

Lionsgate UK is coming off several straight years of record revenue and profits as the company continues to diversify its slate and broaden its relationships. Mr. Kamasa and his team have overseen the investment, production and distribution of more than 350 films and have launched over 150 Top Ten box office hits in the UK, including the first two installments of Lionsgate's global blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, the Saw horror franchise, Olympus Has Fallen, Cabin in the Woods and Steven Soderbergh's acclaimed hit Magic Mike.

The company has also developed a strong track record in investing in local UK projects including the worldwide hit Bend it Like Beckham, George Clooney's multiple Oscar-nominated Good Night, and Good Luck, Lasse Hallstrom's Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt, the adaptation of Eric Lomax's autobiography The Railway Man, starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman, and the upcoming A Little Chaos, directed by Alan Rickman and starring Kate Winslet, Stanley Tucci and Matthias Schoenaerts, which will close this year's Toronto International Film Festival.

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.  Lionsgate currently has more than 30 television shows on over 20 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men and Nurse Jackie, the comedy Anger Management, which debuts in syndication this fall, the broadcast network series Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show and the critically-acclaimed hit Orange is the New Black.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first and second installments of The Hunger Games franchise, the first installment of the Divergent franchise, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, Now You See Me, Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain, Warm Bodies, The Expendables franchise, The Possession, Sinister, Roadside Attractions' A Most Wanted Man and Pantelion Films' breakout hit Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.

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
Lionsgate
310-255-3726
pwilkes@lionsgate.com

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SOURCE Lionsgate