Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Encyclopedia
Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the home video
and DVD
distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment
and most former Artisan Entertainment releases. Its library of more than 8000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios. Mainly concerned with the distribution of the Lions Gate film library, it also distributes Mattel
's Barbie
-branded videos, as well as Clifford the Big Red Dog
videos from Scholastic and Stickin' Around
videos from Nelvana
. Lionsgate Home Entertainment also currently distributes videos from HIT Entertainment
, MGA Entertainment
, and Jim Henson Home Entertainment
.
It was previously named Cinépix Film Properties Inc. (CFP). In 2001, in Quebec, it was renamed Crystal Films, and in Ontario and other provinces, Maple Pictures
.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment also operated two subsidiaries in its early heydays: Avalanche Home Entertainment, which released smaller Canadian B-movies on video and DVD; and Sterling Home Entertainment (a joint venture with Scanbox International, a Danish film company), which released American low-budget movies, as well as DiC Entertainment
's back catalogue (before distribution of this library is shifted to Shout! Factory
in 2005), on video and DVD. Both subsidiaries were dissolved in 2005.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment movies are released on Blu-ray Disc
, Blu-ray 3DHD, Blu-ray 4DHD.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment titles are currently distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
.
On August 4, 2008, Lionsgate announced that it had completed a deal with ABC Studios to acquire the distribution rights to several shows including According to Jim
, Reaper
, Hope & Faith
, 8 Simple Rules
and Boy Meets World
.
Lions Gate also distributes most of the theatrical properties currently held by Republic Pictures
on DVD under license from Paramount Pictures
. Recently, this deal expanded to include some non-marquee films originally released by Paramount themselves.
On February 11, 2011, Lionsgate, in conjunction with StudioCanal
, made a deal with Miramax Films
to distribute over 550 titles from the Miramax film library worldwide.
on DVD in 2004, the DVDs contained the edited-for-syndication versions of the episodes. These ran almost 22 minutes, whereas the original NBC broadcasts were over 24 minutes without commercials. Lionsgate insisted that they used the syndication versions because the NBC versions were poorer in video quality, but two years earlier, the Video Service Corporation released a Canada only "The ALF Files" on DVD, with a single disc with 3 uncut episodes with no quality issues reported. Shortly after the release of the first season, tvshowsondvd.com posted a news item in response, and Lions Gate requested that they remove the news item so they could give a better explanation. However, the better explanation they promised never came. Even though hundreds of fans complained to Lions Gate about the edited episodes on the first season set, they ignored them and released all the remaining episodes edited as well. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/sd-dvd-tv-shows-tv-movies/207713-syndicated-alf-better-condition-lions-gate-fos.htmlhttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/sd-dvd-tv-shows-tv-movies/196645-alf-season-2-when.html Additionally, some of the episodes on seasons two and three contained episodes that ran under 20 minutes. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/alfseason2dvdreview.html http://www.sitcomsonline.com/alfseason3dvdreview.html
Since then, Warner Home Video
has released the first season of ALF in Germany and Japan in the uncut versions. http://www.whv.jp/database/database.cgi?cmd=dp&num=9069&UserNum=&Pass=&AdminPass=&dp=
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
and DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment
Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California...
and most former Artisan Entertainment releases. Its library of more than 8000 films owes some of its size to output deals with other studios. Mainly concerned with the distribution of the Lions Gate film library, it also distributes Mattel
Mattel
Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company based on revenue. The products it produces include Fisher Price, Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and Matchbox toys, Masters of the Universe, American Girl dolls, board games, and, in the early 1980s, video game consoles. The company's name is derived from...
's Barbie
Barbie
Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American businesswoman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration....
-branded videos, as well as Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford the Big Red Dog
Clifford the Big Red Dog is an American children's book series first published in 1963. Written by Norman Bridwell, the series helped establish Scholastic Books as a premier publishing company....
videos from Scholastic and Stickin' Around
Stickin' Around
Stickin' Around is a Canadian animated children's television series from Nelvana, which originally aired on YTV in Canada and on ABC in Australia. In Latin America, it was broadcast by Nickelodeon under the title Los Grafitos...
videos from Nelvana
Nelvana
Nelvana Limited is a Canadian entertainment company founded in 1971 known for its work in children's animation. It was named by founders Michael Hirsh, Patrick Loubert and Clive A. Smith after a Canadian comic book superheroine created by Adrian Dingle in the 1940s...
. Lionsgate Home Entertainment also currently distributes videos from HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment
Hit Entertainment is a British-American entertainment distribution company established in 1989, and originally the international distribution arm of Jim Henson Productions called Henson International Television...
, MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment
MGA Entertainment is a manufacturer of children's toys and entertainment products founded in 1979. Its products include the Bratz fashion doll line, Lalaloopsy, Kachooz!, Moxie Girlz, Moxie Teenz, Hugwallas, BFC, Ink. and Rescue Pets. MGAE also owns The Little Tikes Company...
, and Jim Henson Home Entertainment
Jim Henson Home Entertainment
Jim Henson Home Entertainment is a home video company founded in 1984. It is a division of The Jim Henson Company.The video label was produced by Buena Vista Home Video until Columbia Tristar Home Video then Hit Entertainment bought the rights to the video label...
.
It was previously named Cinépix Film Properties Inc. (CFP). In 2001, in Quebec, it was renamed Crystal Films, and in Ontario and other provinces, Maple Pictures
Maple pictures
Maple Pictures Corporation is the distribution arm of Alliance Films. It was formed on April 25, 2005 when Lions Gate Entertainment demerged to two companies -- Lions Gate Entertainment and Maple Pictures...
.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment also operated two subsidiaries in its early heydays: Avalanche Home Entertainment, which released smaller Canadian B-movies on video and DVD; and Sterling Home Entertainment (a joint venture with Scanbox International, a Danish film company), which released American low-budget movies, as well as DiC Entertainment
DiC Entertainment
DIC Entertainment was an international film and television production company. In addition to animated television shows such as Ulysses 31 , Inspector Gadget , The Littles , The Real Ghostbusters , Captain Planet and the Planeteers , and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of...
's back catalogue (before distribution of this library is shifted to Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory
Shout! Factory is an entertainment company founded in 2003 that was started by Richard Foos , Bob Emmer and Garson Foos initially as a specialty music label...
in 2005), on video and DVD. Both subsidiaries were dissolved in 2005.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment movies are released on Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Blu-ray Disc is an optical disc storage medium designed to supersede the DVD format. The plastic disc is 120 mm in diameter and 1.2 mm thick, the same size as DVDs and CDs. Blu-ray Discs contain 25 GB per layer, with dual layer discs being the norm for feature-length video discs...
, Blu-ray 3DHD, Blu-ray 4DHD.
Lionsgate Home Entertainment titles are currently distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in November 1979 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment, releasing 20 titles: The Anderson Tapes, Bell, Book and Candle, Born Free, Breakout,...
, Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Universal Studios Home Entertainment is the home video division of Universal Pictures...
and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and FoxVideo, Inc....
.
On August 4, 2008, Lionsgate announced that it had completed a deal with ABC Studios to acquire the distribution rights to several shows including According to Jim
According to Jim
According to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father...
, Reaper
Reaper (TV series)
Reaper is an American television series that focuses on Sam Oliver, a "reaper" who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.The series originally ran on the CW from September 25, 2007 to May 26, 2009....
, Hope & Faith
Hope & Faith
Hope & Faith is an American sitcom that aired for three seasons on ABC from September 26, 2003, to May 2, 2006. For its first two seasons the show was part of a revived TGIF comedy block....
, 8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules
8 Simple Rules is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 17, 2002, to April 15, 2005, with 76 episodes produced over three seasons. It is based on the self-improvement book of the same name. The show starred John Ritter until his death on September 11, 2003...
and Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World
Boy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
.
Lions Gate also distributes most of the theatrical properties currently held by Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959, and was best known for specializing in westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action....
on DVD under license from Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. Recently, this deal expanded to include some non-marquee films originally released by Paramount themselves.
On February 11, 2011, Lionsgate, in conjunction with StudioCanal
StudioCanal
StudioCanal is a French-based production and distribution company that owns the third-largest film library in the world...
, made a deal with Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...
to distribute over 550 titles from the Miramax film library worldwide.
Lionsgate Television
- ALFALF (TV series)ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
- The Dead ZoneThe Dead Zone (TV series)The Dead Zone, aka Stephen King's Dead Zone is an American-Canadian science fiction/suspense series starring Anthony Michael Hall as Johnny Smith, who discovers he has developed psychic abilities after a coma...
- The Dresden FilesThe Dresden Files (TV series)The Dresden Files is an American television series based on the books by Jim Butcher. It premiered January 21, 2007 on the Sci Fi Channel in the United States and on Space in Canada. It was picked up by Sky One in the UK and began airing on February 14, 2007.The series ran for a single season of...
- House of PayneTyler Perry's House of PayneTyler Perry's House of Payne is an American comedy-drama television series created and produced by playwright, director, and producer Tyler Perry. The show revolves around a multi-generational family living under one roof in Atlanta, Georgia led by patriarch Curtis Payne and his wife Ella...
- Mad MenMad MenMad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
- Meet the BrownsMeet the Browns (TV series)Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns is an American sitcom created and produced by playwright, director, and producer Tyler Perry. The show revolves around a senior family living under one roof in Decatur, Georgia led by patriarch Mr. Brown and his daughter Cora Simmons. The show premiered on Wednesday,...
- Nurse JackieNurse JackieNurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City...
- WeedsWeeds (TV series)Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
ABC Studios
- 8 Simple Rules8 Simple Rules8 Simple Rules is an American sitcom that originally aired on ABC from September 17, 2002, to April 15, 2005, with 76 episodes produced over three seasons. It is based on the self-improvement book of the same name. The show starred John Ritter until his death on September 11, 2003...
- According to JimAccording to JimAccording to Jim is an American sitcom television series starring Jim Belushi in the title role as a suburban father of three children. It originally ran on ABC from October 3, 2001 to June 2, 2009.-Synopsis:Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father...
- Boy Meets WorldBoy Meets WorldBoy Meets World is an American comedy-drama series that chronicles the events and everyday life lessons of Cory Matthews, played by Ben Savage, a kid from suburban Philadelphia who grows up from a young boy to a married man. The show aired for seven seasons from 1993 to 2000 on ABC, part of the...
- Detroit 1-8-7Detroit 1-8-7Detroit 1-8-7 is an American crime drama series about Detroit's leading homicide unit, created by Jason Richman for ABC. It features an ensemble cast of actors including Michael Imperioli and James McDaniel...
- Hope & FaithHope & FaithHope & Faith is an American sitcom that aired for three seasons on ABC from September 26, 2003, to May 2, 2006. For its first two seasons the show was part of a revived TGIF comedy block....
- Less Than PerfectLess Than PerfectLess Than Perfect is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 6, 2006. The show was about a young female office employee and her co-workers...
- My Wife and KidsMy Wife and KidsMy Wife and Kids is an American television family sitcom that ran on ABC from March 28, 2001 until May 17, 2005. Produced by Touchstone Television , it starred Damon Wayans and Tisha Campbell-Martin, and centers on the character of Michael Kyle, a loving husband and modern-day patriarch who rules...
- MoonlightingMoonlighting (TV series)Moonlighting is an American television series that aired on ABC from March 3, 1985, to May 14, 1989. The network aired a total of 66 episodes...
- ReaperReaper (TV series)Reaper is an American television series that focuses on Sam Oliver, a "reaper" who works for the Devil by retrieving souls that have escaped from Hell.The series originally ran on the CW from September 25, 2007 to May 26, 2009....
- WildfireWildfire (TV series)Wildfire is a US television series that aired on ABC Family, which was produced by Lions Gate Television, Piller2 and The Segan Company . The show premiered June 20, 2005; its fourth and final season ended May 16, 2008 due to low ratings...
E!
- Kimora: Life in the Fab LaneKimora: Life in the Fab LaneKimora: Life in the Fab Lane is an American reality series that airs on the Style Network. The show premiered on the Style Network on August 5, 2007...
- Keeping Up with the KardashiansKeeping Up with the KardashiansKeeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series that airs on E!. The series premiered in October 2007. It focuses on the personal and professional lives of the members of the Kardashian and Jenner family. There will be a 7th Season to premiere in 2012.As of September 2011,...
- Sunset TanSunset TanSunset Tan was an American reality television program that aired on the E! cable television network. The series chronicles the lives of the managers and employees of a tanning salon in Los Angeles called Sunset Tan. Season Two finished September 28, 2008...
HIT Entertainment
- Barney & FriendsBarney & FriendsBarney and Friends, also referred to by HiT Entertainment as Barney the Friendly Dinosaur, is an independent children's television show produced in the United States, aimed at children from ages 1-8...
- Bob the BuilderBob the BuilderBob the Builder is a British children's animated television show created by Keith Chapman. In the original series Bob appears as a building contractor specialising in masonry in a stop motion animated programme with his colleague Wendy, various neighbours and friends, and their gang of...
- Fireman SamFireman SamFireman Sam is a Welsh animated children's television series about a fireman called Sam, his fellow firefighters, and other townspeople in the Welsh town of Pontypandy . The original idea for the show came from two ex-firemen from Kent...
- Fraggle RockFraggle RockFraggle Rock is a children's live action puppet television program series created by Jim Henson. The central characters were a set of "Muppet" creatures called Fraggles. The show ran from January 10, 1983, to March 30, 1987, on CBC Television in Canada, ITV in the UK, HBO in the United States,...
- PinguPinguPingu is a British-Swiss stop-motion claymated television series created by Otmar Gutmann. The series was produced by The Pygos Group and Trickfilmstudio for Swiss television. The show is about a family of anthropomorphic penguins at the South Pole. The main character is the family's son and title...
- Thomas The Tank Engine & Friends
Universal Television
- Boomtown
- Little House on the PrairieLittle House on the Prairie (TV series)Little House on the Prairie is an American Western drama television series, starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert, about a family living on a farm in Walnut Grove, Minnesota, in the 1870s and 1880s. The show was an adaptation of Laura Ingalls Wilder's best-selling series of Little House books...
- Saved by the BellSaved by the BellSaved by the Bell is an American television sitcom that aired between 1989 and 1993. The series is a retooled version of the 1988 series Good Morning, Miss Bliss, which was itself later folded into the history of Saved by the Bell...
- Will & GraceWill & GraceWill & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
Other series
- Fifi & the FlowertotsFifi & the FlowertotsFifi and the Flowertots is a British stop-motion animated children's television series first broadcast in May 2005, which is shown on Channel 5, and on Nick Jr, in the United States. It has also been translated into Welsh as Fifi a'i Ffrindau and is shown on S4C...
- Miss Spider's Sunny Patch FriendsMiss Spider's Sunny Patch FriendsMiss Spider's Sunny Patch Friends is an animated program based on the children's books by David Kirk, which airs on Nick Jr. in the United States, on Treehouse TV in Canada, and on Discovery Kids in Brazil...
- 1-800-Missing
- Roary the Racing CarRoary the Racing CarRoary the Racing Car is an animated children's television show that currently airs on Milkshake! on Five and Nick Jr. in the United Kingdom, PBS Kids Sprout in the United States, Treehouse TV in Canada, Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Nick Jr. and ABC2 in Australia...
- Secret Diary of a Call GirlSecret Diary of a Call GirlSecret Diary of a Call Girl is a British television drama broadcast on ITV2 from 2007-2011 based on the blog and books by the pseudonymous "Belle de Jour," starring Billie Piper as Belle, a high-class London call girl. The series was written by Lucy Prebble, who is also known as the author of The...
- Speed RacerSpeed RacerSpeed Racer is an English adaptation name of the Japanese manga and anime, which centered on automobile racing. Mach GoGoGo was originally serialized in print form in Shueisha's 1958 Shōnen Book, and was released in tankōbon book form by Sun Wide Comics, re-released in Japan by Fusosha...
- Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1987 TV series)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an American animated television series produced by Murakami-Wolf-Swenson. The pilot was shown during the week of December 28, 1987 in syndication as a five part miniseries and began its official run on October 1, 1988...
Controversy
When Lions Gate Home Entertainment released the first season of ALFALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that originally aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990, created by Paul Fusco. The title character was Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF , who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.The series starred Max...
on DVD in 2004, the DVDs contained the edited-for-syndication versions of the episodes. These ran almost 22 minutes, whereas the original NBC broadcasts were over 24 minutes without commercials. Lionsgate insisted that they used the syndication versions because the NBC versions were poorer in video quality, but two years earlier, the Video Service Corporation released a Canada only "The ALF Files" on DVD, with a single disc with 3 uncut episodes with no quality issues reported. Shortly after the release of the first season, tvshowsondvd.com posted a news item in response, and Lions Gate requested that they remove the news item so they could give a better explanation. However, the better explanation they promised never came. Even though hundreds of fans complained to Lions Gate about the edited episodes on the first season set, they ignored them and released all the remaining episodes edited as well. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/sd-dvd-tv-shows-tv-movies/207713-syndicated-alf-better-condition-lions-gate-fos.htmlhttp://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/sd-dvd-tv-shows-tv-movies/196645-alf-season-2-when.html Additionally, some of the episodes on seasons two and three contained episodes that ran under 20 minutes. http://www.sitcomsonline.com/alfseason2dvdreview.html http://www.sitcomsonline.com/alfseason3dvdreview.html
Since then, Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
has released the first season of ALF in Germany and Japan in the uncut versions. http://www.whv.jp/database/database.cgi?cmd=dp&num=9069&UserNum=&Pass=&AdminPass=&dp=