LIONSGATE FORMS OUTPUT DEAL WITH METROPOLITAN FILMEXPORT IN FRANCE

Company Adds Key Territory To International Distribution Network With Leading Partners In Major Territories Around The World

SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 31, 2012 /CNW/ - Continuing its strategy of establishing output agreements with leading distributors around the world, Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), a leading global entertainment company, has established an output deal with Metropolitan Filmexport for distribution of Lionsgate titles in France, the two companies announced today.

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"We're pleased to continue our longstanding relationship with Metropolitan by creating an output agreement in this key territory," said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Co-Chairs Patrick Wachsberger and Rob Friedman. "Lionsgate has collaborated successfully with Metropolitan in France in releasing all of our major titles in recent years, including the first film in the blockbuster HUNGER GAMES franchise. We look forward to continuing that partnership with the entire Lionsgate slate, increasing the longterm visibility of our international theatrical business."

"We're delighted to be working with Patrick, Rob and the entire Lionsgate team," said Metropolitan founders Samuel and Victor Hadida. "Lionsgate has emerged as a major force in the global marketplace, and we are proud to have handled most Lionsgate films in France for the past several years. This agreement assures our audiences of a continuing steady pipeline of some of the most commercially exciting films in the world."

In recent months, Lionsgate has also forged output deals with StudioCanal in Germany, Nordisk Films in Scandinavia, Alliance's Aurum Producciones S.A. in Spain and Roadshow Pictures in Australia while extending its self-distribution partnership with IDC in Latin America.

The deal was orchestrated for Lionsgate by Wachsberger and Lionsgate Executive Vice President International Legal & Business Affairs Michael Meyer.

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. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 25 shows on 18 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men, the critically acclaimed series Weeds, Nurse Jackie and Boss, the new comedy Anger Management, which has been picked up for another 90 episodes by FX, the network series Nashville, the syndication successes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, For Better Or Worse, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black, an original series for Netflix.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, which has already grossed nearly $700 million at the worldwide box office, The Possession, Sinister, The Expendables 2, Cabin in the Woods, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection and Arbitrage. With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company has now added the blockbuster Twilight Saga, which has grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, to its current slate, giving the Company the two premier young adult franchises in the world. Recent Summit hits include Red, Letters to Juliet, Knowing and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, The Hurt Locker.

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.

ABOUT METROPOLITAN FILMEXPORT:

Metropolitan is a leading European film distribution and production company. Founded in 1978, it has long been established as the leading English language independent film distributor in France, and has handled many of the biggest independent films of the past two decades, from THE LORD OF THE RINGS through HUNGER GAMES, and including recent fare as diverse as IDES OF MARCH, EXPENDABLES 1 and 2, THE MASTER, HUGO CABRET, KILLING THEM SOFTLY, and LAWLESS.

On the production side, Metropolitan's production label, Davis Films, has produced a wide range of films ranging from Tony Scott's TRUE ROMANCE through the RESIDENT EVIL films (co-produced with Constantin), Christophe Gans' BROTHERHOD OF THE WOLF, Terry Gilliam's THE IMAGINARIUM OF DR. PARNASSUS, and the SILENT HILL films, and has co-financed such films as David Cronenberg's SPIDER and George Clooney's GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK.

Metropolitan is owned and managed by Samuel and Victor Hadida. The company is generally considered to be one of the strongest companies in the international film business, and was recently ranked as the top European independent film distribution company by the European Audiovisual Observatory's study of the financial performance of European and US controlled companies.

Victor Hadida also serves as President of the European Union's International Federation of Film Distributors, and as President of the National Federation of Film Distributors in France. He is a leading spokesman for the commercial, political, and legal interests of film distribution in France and the European Union.

For Lionsgate corporate inquiries, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
310.255.3726
[email protected]

Kinley L. Cross
310.255.5114
[email protected]

For further information:
http://www.lionsgate.com

SOURCE: Lionsgate

http://www.lionsgate.com

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