Central Partnership previously distributed only Summit titles in the territory, including box office successes such as the worldwide smash Now You See Me, Now You See Me 2, the Divergent franchise, the hit action sequel John Wick: Chapter Two and the global box office phenomenon La La Land, winner of six Academy Awards®. The deal was announced by Lionsgate Motion Picture Group Chairman Patrick Wachsberger and International COO Andrew Kramer along with GPM KIT's CEO Rafael Minasbekyan and Central Partnership's CEO Pavel Stepanov.
The new agreement will encompass both Lionsgate and Summit titles including Otto Bathhurst's Robin Hood, the contemporary retelling of the classic legend starring Jamie Foxx and Taron Egerton, and the action thriller Granite Mountain, featuring Josh Brolin, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges and Taylor Kitsch. Other films include Lionsgate/CBS Films' American Assassin with stars Michael Keaton and Dylan O'Brien, the supernatural crime thriller Kin starring Jack Reynor, Academy Award® nominee James Franco and Zoë Kravitz, and Chaos Walking, based on the award-winning young adult book trilogy and starring Daisy Ridley and Tom Holland.
"We're proud to expand our longstanding relationship with our friends at Central Partnership, a world-class distributor who has done a terrific job of distributing our Summit titles in Russia and the CIS for years," said Wachsberger and Kramer. "We look forward to bringing them one of our strongest and most commercially exciting slates ever."
"This agreement is an important milestone in Gazprom-media's strategy for delivering Russian viewers high-quality content across various platforms. I am glad that the global film leader Lionsgate can count on Central Partnership's experience and expertise. Partnering with Lionsgate will allow Central Partnership to expand the library of titles and to further strengthen its position in film distribution," commented Gazprom-media's CEO Dmitry Chernyshenko.
"Lionsgate is a major creative force around the globe and continues to deliver a strong, reliable and diverse pipeline of blockbuster hits," said Stepanov.
"We're very excited to be working with Patrick and the rest of the Lionsgate family in taking our partnership to the next level by offering our audiences an even deeper slate of star-driven event films," said CEO Group of Companies KIT Film and Television Rafael Minasbekyan.
"This extension of our relationship with Lionsgate is strategically significant for our company. It will encompass both Lionsgate and Summit titles and strengthen our distribution capacity by offering the market an even wider array of high-profile, commercially exciting films," said Central Partnership's EVP International Armen Dishdishyan.
The agreement was negotiated by Lionsgate Executive Vice President of International Sales Crystal Bourbeau and Central Partnership's EVP International Armen Dishdishyan.
ABOUT LIONSGATE
Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF.A, LGF.B) is a vertically integrated next generation global content leader with a diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, premium pay television networks, home entertainment, global distribution and sales, interactive ventures and games and location-based entertainment.
With the acquisition of Starz, Lionsgate adds to its portfolio of businesses the flagship STARZ premium pay network serving 24.3 million subscribers and the STARZ ENCORE platform with 31 million subscribers. The combined company will operate five over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and the STARZ app delivering content directly to consumers.
The Company's feature film business spans eight labels and includes the blockbuster The Hunger Games franchise, the Now You See Me series, the box office smash La La Land, which won six Academy Awards®, the hit franchise sequel John Wick: Chapter Two, double Oscar winner Hacksaw Ridge, Tyler Perry's Boo! A Madea Halloween, The Shack, Saban's Power Rangers, CBS Films/Lionsgate's Hell or High Water, Roadside Attractions' critically-acclaimed Manchester by the Sea, Codeblack Films' breakout concert film Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain and Pantelion Films' Instructions Not Included, the highest-grossing Spanish-language film ever released in the U.S.
One of the largest independent television businesses in the world, Lionsgate's slate of premium quality series encompasses nearly 90 shows on more than 40 different networks. These include the ground-breaking Orange is the New Black, the fan favorite Nashville, the syndication success The Wendy Williams Show, the hit drama The Royals, the acclaimed Casual, the breakout success Greenleaf, the network reality shows Kicking & Screaming and the eagerly-anticipated Candy Crush, and hit STARZ series including Outlander, Black Sails, Survivor's Remorse and Power, the second highest-rated premium pay television series of 2016.
Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rates. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of more than 16,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate, Summit Entertainment and Starz brands are synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world. www.lionsgate.com
ABOUT CENTRAL PARTNERSHIP
CENTRAL PARTNERSHIP Film Company was established in 1996 in Moscow, Russia. It incorporates Central Partnership Sales House distributing Theatrical and TV rights.
Central Partnership owns the largest library in Russia comprising over 1500 features and TV series. Central Partnership is an exclusive distributor of Paramount Pictures and Summit Entertainment in Russia.
Since 2014 Central Partnership is a structure of Gazprom–Media Holding.
ABOUT GAZPROM-MEDIA
Gazprom-Media is the leading diversified media group in Russia and Eastern Europe, which owns and operates a wide-ranging portfolio of renowned news and entertainment television brands, radio and print press assets, online resources, as well as film production and distribution companies. For more information, visit www.gazprom-media.com.
ABOUT GPM "KIT"
GPM "KIT", The Group of Companies (Cinema and TV. Production and Distribution), being a part of the Gazprom-Media Holding is a leading media company in Russia and Eastern Europe. GPM KIT consists of various media companies, which have leading positions in their respective markets. These companies are:
Studio "KIT" –Production of TV series, movies, documentary and animation films.
"Central Partnership" – Distribution of movies and it has an extensive library of media content, which it uses in order to expand to the international markets.
Red Media - production and distribution of forty (40) special-interest TV channels.
For more information, please contact:
Cristina Castañeda
Lionsgate
CCastaneda@lionsgate.com
(310) 255-5114
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http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lionsgate-expands-output-deal-with-central-partnership-in-russia-to-include-distribution-of-lionsgate-and-summit-entertainment-films-300447271.html
