Lionsgate and Relativity Sign Multi-Picture Deal

Anticipated 2009 Release of Brothers Movie Launches Relationship

Apr 28, 2009

Releases of the films Season of the Witch and The Spy Next Door will soon follow.

In a multi-year, multi-picture deal, the entertainment studio Lionsgate recently acquired U.S. distribution rights for up to five Relativity Media productions per year. The agreement expands upon the previous two-year relationship between the companies during which they partnered on the films The Forbidden Kingdom, 3:10 to Yuma, and The Bank Job.

Upcoming Movie Releases from Lionsgate and Relativity Media

Under the new agreement, the first title scheduled for release is Brothers, a drama directed by six-time Academy Award-nominee Jim Sheridan. The film stars Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman in the story of two brothers in love with the same woman.

Brothers will be followed by two more films currently in postproduction and slated for 2009 release. The supernatural 14th century thriller Season of the Witch stars Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman in the story of knights who must transport a witch suspected of spreading the Black Plague. The comedy The Spy Next Door stars Jackie Chan as a secret agent posing as a mild-mannered neighbor until his cover is blown while babysitting. Additional titles to be released as part of the new deal will be announced at a later date.

About Lionsgate

This studio produces and distributes motion pictures, home entertainment, video-on-demand, and digitally delivered content. Recent box office successes include Tyler Perry’s Madea Goes to Jail, My Bloody Valentine 3D, The Haunting of Connecticut, Saw V, Religulous, The Forbidden Kingdom, Rambo, and The Bank Job.

The company also positioned itself in the television market with production of critically acclaimed series including Weeds, Mad Men, and Crash. In addition, Lionsgate distributes Tyler Perry’s House of Payne, Family Feud, South Park, and the upcoming television shows The Wendy Williams Show and Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns.

About Relativity Media

This media and entertainment company finances, creates, and distributes studio-quality entertainment content and intellectual property. To date, the company has produced and/or financed more than 60 widely released movies generating $7.4 billion in worldwide box office revenue. Fifty of those films were Top 10 box office releases.

Recent Relativity films include Step Brothers, Fast and Furious, Hancock, Wanted, Death Race, Burn After Reading, The House Bunny, Mamma Mia!, Pineapple Express, and You Don’t Mess With the Zohan.

Relativity Media also owns and operates Rogue, a company specializing in producing and distributing lower-budget genre films. Recent Rogue releases include The Unborn, The Last House on the Left, and the current release Fighting, starring Channing Tatum and Terrence Howard.

Another subsidiary, RelativityREAL is a joint venture with television producer Tom Foreman (9/11 and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition) with 20 reality shows in pilot or series scheduled during the next year.

The copyright of the article Lionsgate and Relativity Sign Multi-Picture Deal in Film/TV Industry is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish Lionsgate and Relativity Sign Multi-Picture Deal in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.