Lionsgate Films

History

In 1962, John Dunning and Andre Link founded Cinépix in Montreal as an independent film company that handled both English and French releases across Canada and the U.S. It started as a distributor, then produced its first film, the 1969 erotic drama Valérie, which made $1 million. The company backed early projects from David Cronenberg (Shivers) and Ivan Reitman (Meatballs), and also distributed art-house titles like Hype, Buffalo '66, and SICK: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist. Cronenberg called Cinépix the Canadian equivalent of Roger Corman. Between 1989 and 1994, Cinépix partnered with Famous Players in a venture called C/FP Distribution, later renamed Cinépix Film Properties, and bought out Famous Players’ share in 1994. By 1997, Cinépix had a New York distribution arm and owned 56% of the animation studio Ciné-Groupe. That same year, banker Frank Giustra formed Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, which bought Cinépix and kept its management. On January 13, 1998, Cinépix became Lions Gate Films. LGEC also acquired Vancouver’s North Shore Studios, rebranded as Lions Gate Studios, and in June 1998 bought International Movie Group, whose library included Kickboxer. Lionsgate’s first big hit was American Psycho in 2000, setting a pattern for releasing edgy, controversial films. Other notable releases were Affliction, Gods and Monsters, Dogma, O, Cube 2: Hypercube, Open Water, Saw, The Punisher, and Fahrenheit 9/11, which held the studio’s top-grossing spot until The Hunger Games in 2012.