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Friday
02Jan2009

Wall Street Not Kind to Lionsgate

DateFriday, January 2, 2009 at 12:27PM
Some interesting reading about the future of Lionsgate after back to back dull thuds at the box office. First, Punisher: War Zone tanked and was unceremoniously pulled from theaters after only three weeks and $8 million earned. Then came The Spirit, which opened to resoundingly negative reviews and had only made $12 million through its first six days.

On Tuesday, analysts from the investment bank Caris & Co. painted a less-than-rosy picture for Lionsgate, downgraded the stock to "above average" from "buy." Said the company's David Miller in a message to his clients, "Explanation for the weakness came primarily from a smattering of negative reviews, coupled with heavy competition from Marley & Me, which opened with a stellar $37.0 million in gross receipts."

Miller said that a lot is riding on the studio's next major release, My Bloody Valentine 3-D. If it's a dud, the studio would suffer a third major shelacking in less than 60 days. And if you look at 2008, both as a production company and a distributor, Lionsgate had a less-than-distinguised output. Really only Saw V, Religulous, and Rambo could be deemed "hits," with nearly a dozen movies that had very mediocre to poor box office performance.

I wouldn't say the company is doomed or anything - they still have the Tyler Perry and Saw franchises, plus they don't pour a lot into projects as a general rule - but it could be telling that Wall Street is giving investors this kind of notice.

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AuthorColin Boyd | | in , , , | Print ArticlePrint Article | | Comment2 Comments |

Reader Comments (2)

They're also bleeding money after failing to shake Showtime down for a renewal of their exclusive cable output deal. They, along with MGM and Paramount, are starting a new (most say doomed) pay channel which is also requiring some serious upstart money.

Friday, January 2, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterNed

The Saw franchise is all Lionsgate has going for them. Who knows when that series is finally going to run dry, but until then they better plan on banking on those films heavily...

Wednesday, January 14, 2009 | Unregistered CommenterSean

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