Film Production
Lionsgate launches new specialty distribution label
MUMBAI: As part of the continued diversification of its portfolio of films, Lionsgate has launched a new specialty film distribution label called Lionsgate Premiere.
Marketing initiatives for the new label will be headed by Lionsgate senior vice president of marketing and research Jean McDowell under the supervision of Lionsgate chief marketing officer Tim Palen. Adam Sorensen, currently manager of western sales at Lionsgate, will oversee Lionsgate Premiere’s distribution operations.
Lionsgate Premiere, which will release films from both the Lionsgate and Summit Entertainment labels, will extend the reach of the company’s motion picture group to new audiences and platforms. It will encompass a diverse slate of up to 15 films annually that will be released in theatres as well as across a broad spectrum of digital platforms.
Lionsgate Premiere will focus on customizing innovative multiplatform and other release strategies for its slate of films in order to capitalize on the fast-changing motion picture environment, reach affinity audiences with branded content and targeted marketing and enhance the profitability of individual films.
Lionsgate Premiere’s slate will kick off this fall with the Chinese hit Dragon Blade, whose all-star cast includes Jackie Chan, Adrien Brody and John Cusack. Next up will be the offbeat zom-com and Sundance Film Festival sensation Cooties, starring Rainn Wilson and Elijah Wood and written by Saw franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. Other Premiere titles will include the comedy Don Verdean, starring Sam Rockwell, Danny McBride and Will Forte; horror/thriller Knock Knock, from Cabin Fever and Hostelwriter/director Eli Roth, starring John Wick’sKeanu Reeves, and the action thriller Extraction, featuring Bruce Willis, Kellen Lutz and MMA fighter-turned-actress Gina Carano.
“Lionsgate Premiere embodies the unique attributes of our motion picture business – our diversity, our focus on audiences in our sweet spot and ability to create release strategies attuned to next generation moviegoers. We’re thrilled to launch our newest label with a wide-ranging slate that features films from horror maestros, star-driven action thrillers as well as a blockbuster that has already conquered the Chinese box office,” said Lionsgate Motion Picture Group co-chairs Rob Friedman and Patrick Wachsberger.
“Our new Lionsgate Premiere brand positions us to further expand our portfolio of releases and capitalize on opportunities to deliver an exciting slate of films to next generation audiences. We have put in place a dynamic marketing and distribution team that will ensure that the Lionsgate Premiere brand is distinguished by provocative and original storytelling, innovative marketing campaigns and forward-looking multiplatform and other release strategies that maintain our leadership at the cutting edge of industry innovation,” said Lionsgate co-chief operating officer and Motion Picture Group president Steve Beeks.
Before his recent promotion, McDowell served as vice president of research for the studio.
Film Production
Disney to cut 1,000 jobs under new chief executive
The entertainment giant’s freshly installed boss inherits a restructuring already in motion, with marketing and corporate roles bearing the brunt
CALIFORNIA: Walt Disney is preparing to slash up to 1,000 jobs in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, as the entertainment giant’s freshly installed chief executive moves swiftly to trim fat and tighten the ship.
The cuts, less than 1 per cent of Disney’s global workforce of 231,000, will fall hardest on marketing and corporate roles. The planning, notably, began before D’Amaro formally took the top job in March, suggesting the new boss inherited a restructuring already in motion rather than one of his own making.
Driving the push is Asad Ayaz, Disney’s newly appointed chief marketing officer, who in January assumed command of a unified, company-wide marketing operation spanning film, television and streaming. His consolidation drive has been given a suitably cinematic internal name: Project Imagine.
The move is modest by Disney’s recent standards. Between 2023 and 2025, under former chief executive Bob Iger, the company eliminated roughly 8,000 positions across several brutal rounds of cuts, saving $7.5 billion, comfortably exceeding its own targets. As recently as June 2025, several hundred more jobs were axed across Disney Entertainment, hitting film and television marketing, publicity, casting, development and corporate finance.
Disney’s structural headaches are well-documented: shrinking streaming margins, a weakened box office, and fierce competition from Amazon and YouTube gnawing at its flanks. The company is merging its Disney+ and Hulu teams into a single app, has brought in consultants from Bain & Co to guide its broader cost strategy, and is betting heavily on digital growth.
The wider entertainment industry offers little comfort. Sony Pictures, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery have all taken the knife to their workforces in recent years, and further cuts loom if Paramount’s acquisition of Warner goes through.
For D’Amaro, the message is clear: there will be no honeymoon period. The magic kingdom still has some cost-cutting spells left to cast.
