movies

Imaginary. Borderlands. The Crow. Megalopolis. 2024 has been a colossally bad year for Lionsgate Films. Whether it’s critical ratings or box office take, there’s not a lot to be optimistic about if you’re a fan or shareholder. This is too bad as Lionsgate has always been the studio I’ve always rooted for. As distributors of the Saw, John Wick, and Rambo they’ve always had an edge to them, giving smaller films a chance to reach larger audiences. And franchises like Twilight (purchased from Summit), Divergent, and Hunger Games showed their ability to make/acquire broadly appealing films. Then they’ve even gotten into the Oscar space with releases like La La Land, Knives Out, and Sicario. But it’s getting to the point where I groan every time the Lionsgate logo comes up as it’s no longer a sign of quality or fun.

It’s hard not to blame Lionsgate at least a little bit for this. Borderlands, The Crow, and Megalopolis were largely considered to be bad ideas from the start. Another adaptation of the graphic novel which hasn’t had a good film since the original? A film based on a video game completely miscast and coming from a horror director? And finally, a passion project from a once great filmmaker who hasn’t made a good movie in 32 years? Each of these was a clear failure and largely made fun of when announced. So the fact that they threw so much cash at them is baffling. The Crow was always going to be a tough sell, and to be sure, Lionsgate is only the distributor, not the producer (same with Megalopolis). But it still begs the question as to why they would acquire a film with such a low upside. Another head-scratcher is the release of White Bird this weekend, which is a prequel/sequel to their 2017 hit Wonder. That movie sat on the shelf for a few years (despite perfectly respectable reviews), but was released in a very low-key way for a film related to one of their biggest word-of-mouth hits.

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As far as big releases to save the year, Lionsgate doesn’t have much of anything left. With a small Cillian Murphy drama and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, the chances of recovering their losses don’t seem great. But 2025 should be a little better with the return of the Saw franchise with XI, the John Wick spinoff Ballerina, and the popular magic series Now You See Me 3. But then again, they are producing a Dirty Dancing sequel so I’m not sure if they’ve learned their lesson yet. Especially with the rumors that much of Ballerina had to be reshot, as the original cut was such a mess. Whatever happens, Lionsgate is in need of some major changes going forward as the studio has become a shell of its former self. Hopefully, they take inspiration from other mini-majors like A24 and start focusing on quality and creativity. But who knows, maybe some Lionsgate exec just got a great idea for The Crow 2. shudders