Joe Drake will step down as chair of Lionsgate motion picture group and Adam Fogelson will assume the reins at the company, which just recorded its first billion-dollar year at the box office since 2019.
The company said in a press release that Drake, who renewed his contract in late 2022, initiated the transition and will work with Fogelson over the coming months to ensure a smooth succession. Fogelson currently serves as vice chair of the motion picture group.
The move came as a surprise to industry sources on Wednesday morning and is amicable as Lionsgate celebrates a banner 2023 on $1.08bn box office with theatrical hits like John Wick 4 on more than $766m at the global box office and The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes on $340m and counting.
Drake rejoined Lionsgate in 2017 after Good Universe Pictures, the second company acquired by Lionsgate from Drake after Mandate Pictures in 2007.
His close-knit executive team includes longtime colleague Helen Lee-Kim, Lionsgate’s president of international at the motion picture group, who worked with Drake at Good Universe, Mandate, and previously at Lionsgate.
During Drake’s current Lionsgate tenure, the motion picture group’s recent highlights include Knives Out on $312m global box office and the latest instalment in the Saw franchise on $111m worldwide.
Drake and team are responsible for expanding the Lionsgate motion picture business across multiple platforms, including tripling the size of its multiplatform business with titles like Shotgun Wedding, Silent Night, Sisu and the upcoming Simple Favor 2, championing the theatrical faith space with hits like Jesus Revolution, and growing its library through production and strategic acquisitions.
Upcoming early 2024 releases include Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega comedy drama Miller’s Girl on January 26, drama Ordinary Angels with Hilary Swank on February 23, adventure Arthur The King with Mark Wahlberg and Simu Liu on March 22, and Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare on April 19.
“Joe has been a great partner and a respected team leader, a truly entrepreneurial executive with one of the best business minds in the industry,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “We are very fortunate to have Adam Fogelson, one of Hollywood’s most accomplished and innovative film executives, to succeed him. Adam has the leadership experience at both the major studio and independent level as well as the strategic vision to keep our Motion Picture Group strong and vibrant in a fast-changing environment.”
“Despite unprecedented disruption over the last few years, we built a team that thrived throughout and achieved everything I could have imagined at Lionsgate,’ said Drake. “I am very proud we were able to reinvigorate our Hunger Games and Saw franchises, grow the John Wick Universe, and successfully expand every aspect of our motion picture business.
“When Jon and I engaged in succession planning, our goal was to build on the momentum and success we’d experienced over the last few years. Having worked side by side with Adam for the past 18 months, he is the perfect choice to lead the motion picture group forward to even greater heights.”
“I deeply appreciate the trust and confidence that Jon, Michael, Joe and the rest of the management team have placed in me and I look forward to embarking on this next chapter together,” said Fogelson. “Lionsgate unifies the two primary threads of my career: the scale and talent relationships of a major studio with the renegade, resourceful spirit of a start-up. I am dedicated to building and extending our extensive library of films and top-tier franchises which, as the last year has proved, still have lots of room to grow. I’m particularly grateful for the chance to continue working alongside this passionate and innovative team in a culture that is creatively audacious, entrepreneurial and supportive.”
Fogelson previously served as chairman of both Universal Pictures and the STX motion picture group, overseeing the likes of the Fast & Furious franchise, Jurassic World, Hustlers, Bad Moms, and Greenland, among others.
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