Lionsgate has merged its production and acquisitions groups under motion picture group president Nathan Kahane.
The mini-major’s Jason Constantine has been named co-president of the motion picture group and will report directly to Kahane and oversee creative strategy in both production and acquisitions. During his tenure Constantine has driven acquisitions of the John Wick, Expendables and Saw franchises.
Charlotte Koh is joining as EVP, acquisitions and co-productions and will lead the acquisitions team for the wide-release theatrical slate.
Koh joins Lionsgate from Confluential Films and previously served as head of digital media & unscripted for Hello Sunshine, head of video for the Huffington Post, head of original productions for GoPro, and head of originals at Hulu, as well as fulfilling business development and creative roles at Marvel, Fox Searchlight, and other companies.
Lauren Bixby has been promoted to SVP, acquisitions and co-productions, and will continue to lead the studio’s acquisitions team for multi-platform and streaming titles as well as oversee the targeted theatrical business.
Erin Westerman will continue in her role as president of production, overseeing the development and production of all of Lionsgate’s home-grown titles and will continue to report to Kahane.
“Lionsgate has grown aggressively over the last few years,” said Joe Drake, chair of Lionsgate’s motion picture group. “We now release approximately 50 new films every year across our wide theatrical release business, from our tentpoles like John Wick: Chapter 4 and The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes to our more targeted theatrical business with movies like Sisu and Fall, including a vibrant multi-platform release pipeline that debuts over 30 films annually.
“In a business where content is more valuable than ever, our strategy is to meet audiences across the globe wherever they consume entertainment with the movies they want to see. Bringing internal development, acquisitions, and co-productions together in one unit enables us to reach the full potential of our philosophy and strategy as a studio.”
Kahane added: “As Cannes gets underway next week, we’re thrilled to welcome Charlotte to the Lionsgate family. She is a great addition to Lauren’s team. Lauren has been instrumental in setting up an expanding streaming business, and her expertise in creating multi-platform titles continues to grow. This is an exciting time for the company and I couldn’t ask for a better collaborator and partner than Jason Constantine as we guide the motion picture group.”
Screen International at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival
