Lionsgate, the studio behind some of the world’s most iconic movie and television franchises, has announced it has appointed licensing leader IMG as its new and exclusive global agency for consumer products.
In a multi-year agreement, IMG will work with Lionsgate to develop and expand strategic, multi-category consumer product programs for its blockbuster feature film franchises, including upcoming iterations of John Wick, The Hunger Games, Dirty Dancing, Expendables, and more. They will also focus on Lionsgate’s rich catalogue of television properties including Mad Men, Power, Orange is the New Black and Weeds. Lionsgate partners with Millennium Media on The Expendables franchise and Twisted Pictures on the Saw franchise.
This new partnership comes as Lionsgate’s Consumer Products business strategically merges with its Global Live, Interactive, and Location Based Entertainment into the newly-formed Global Products and Experiences. The combined divisions will be run by Executive Vice President & Head of Global Products & Experiences, Jenefer Brown. By uniting all of these businesses into one segment, the studio will be well positioned to provide global audiences with unrivaled products and experiences across its iconic franchises. Ms. Brown will report into Jen Hollingsworth, Chief Operating Officer of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
“We are excited to work with licensing powerhouse IMG to strategically build and extend our consumer products business around the world,” said Ryan Gallego, Lionsgate’s Executive Director of Consumer Products. “We can’t wait to deliver innovative and diverse product offerings to our fans in partnership with top retailers and licensing partners.”
Gary Krakower, Vice President of Licensing, IMG, said: “Lionsgate has one of the world’s largest libraries of iconic film and TV franchises that span every genre and continue to resonate with audiences everywhere. With a slate of new titles and iterations of its most popular blockbusters on the way, we see enormous opportunity to creatively bring the movies fans know and love to life in new ways.”
Lionsgate is the studio behind global film and television franchises including The Hunger Games, The Twilight Saga, John Wick, Mad Men, Orange is the New Black, Now You See Me, La La Land, Saw, Dirty Dancing, Blair Witch, and Power, among many others. Films released by Lionsgate and its affiliated companies have earned 129 Academy Award nominations with 32 Academy Award wins, garnered 241 Emmy nominations winning 38 Emmys, 157 Golden Globe nominations, and 25 Golden Globe wins.