Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer Says Avoiding “Crazy Risk” Will Help Film Studio Weather Stormy Box Office After Starz Split

deadline.com:

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer expressed an optimistic view of the movie business – at least the way it is approached by his cost-conscious executive team.

During a conference call with Wall Street analysts to discuss the forthcoming split of the company’s film and TV operations from Starz, Feltheimer said the key is to avoid “crazy risk” that can cause financial pain in a volatile marketplace.

One analyst asked how Lionsgate would manage through a period of sustained theatrical revenue decline, with ticket sales continuing to lag well behind pre-Covid levels. “You can’t talk about the film business as a box office business, OK?” Feltheimer said, adding that the analyst’s “premise is a little bit off” concerning theatrical moviegoing, which is expected to slump in 2024 due to multiple factors. “I’m not really concerned about it.

I’m bullish on it,” the CEO said. “Box office is the driver of the business,” the exec acknowledged, “but while I can’t speak for all studios, I think if you asked folks overall how they think about the business right now, I’m hearing really when people start putting together all of the revenue streams, I think it’s a pretty positive business.” The wide releases put out by Lionsgate, whose stable includes John Wick, Hunger Games, Saw and other franchises, are handled “a little differently” than major studios, Feltheimer noted. “I like our profile.