Lionsgate is one if the largest filming companies in the world, rising to prominence after the release after 2013’s highest-grossing movie was shown in cinemas, produced by the major corporation. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire is the second instalment in The Hinger Games saga, reaping almost half a billion dollars at the box office. This revolutionary production made by Lionsgate featured Hollywood stars such as Jennifer Lawrence, as well as Josh Hutchinson, who rose to fame in his childhood after starring in the heart-wrenching children's film, The Bridge to Teribitha back in 2007. However, despite the revolutionary release of the new film in the franchise, with fans adoring the sequel after the incredible successes of The Hunger Games, an issue has occurred regarding the credit given to the film. It cannot strictly be classed as a ‘Hollywood film, due to production rights and Lionsgate being deemed as a ‘mini-major’ company, opposed to bring categorised as a Hollywood-certified film, produced by one of the dominating movie giants. Lionsgate has fluctuated amongst the kings of the filming industry for many years, with three global contenders forming the most established, global studios, being 20th century Fox, one of the most iconic Hollywood studios, accompanied by Paramount Pictures and Lionsgate respectively. The Walt Disney Company is one of the largest media conglomerates worldwide, owning companies such as Pixar, Marvel and the media network ABC News. Despite Lionsgate not being a media conglomerate (owning several other companies under one dominant corporation), the media content Lionsgate publishes are known as ‘pick ups’, where they take films made by other sources and advert them under the brand of Lionsgate. Furthermore, it can be argued that Lionsgate is incomparable to Disney, based on the financial magnitude of the two companies; Disney’s market capitalisation as of August 2014 equated to approximately $155 billion, but Lionsgate accumulated to only $4.5 billion, significantly less than the likes of Hollywood-renowned Disney. Nevertheless, the low budget of Lionsgate has not hindered their success. Releases such as The Hunger Games series and multiple other franchises has been transformative for the company, with profitability levels soaring as a result of their low-cost runnings but extremely high profit margins. Conversely, Lionsgate initially struggled with making The Hunger Games, appearing in the film industry as a ‘low-key, hit or miss’ company. Once the books by Suzanne Collins had taken off and millions of copies had started to sell very quickly, the movie was not as victorious. After pressure increasing by fans and the first book reaching its climax, Lionsgate widened their budget up to $80 million, leading to the company falling into debt. As the yeas and fandom progressed, Lionsgate quickly converted their debt into profit, announcing themselves onto the global stage of producing the next generation of blockbuster films.
This article may apply to my studies, by noting how competitors may try to replicate their rivals when it comes to selling media products. Steve Neale’s genre theory shows us how newspapers, film and media content use similar materials or completely different concepts when creating a newspaper cover or film poster. Therefore, you could potentially link the emulations of similar designs in films, such as using red and weapons to present horror movies with companies trying to repeatedly use the ‘blockbuster strategy’, enabling producers to form closely linked ideas together into their films. The use of this method aims for media businesses to enhance their profitability, whilst reducing any costs made during manufacturing or production. This can be applied to our media studies, by identifying how genres have evolved over time, with Psycho being an initiator for horror movies. Over time, other companies have used the basis of Psycho to create their own film elements, incorporating changes into their designs (e.g. a cliffhanger or plot twist) to intrigue and captivate their audiences.
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