Lionsgate Acquires Mandate Pictures

COLUMBIA/SANTA MONICA, September 10: Lionsgate has acquired
the independent production and distribution company Mandate Pictures, whose
credits include Stranger Than Fiction,
starring Will Ferrell; the upcoming Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium with Dustin Hoffman and Natalie Portman; and Harold
& Kumar 2, for $56.3 million.

Through Ghost House Pictures, Mandate's joint venture with
Sam Raimi and Rob Tapert, the company has also produced four number-one box
office releases in a row, including The Grudge, Boogeyman, The
Grudge 2 and The Messengers.

With the deal, Mandate’s CEO Joe Drake returns to the
Lionsgate family as co-COO and president of Lionsgate's Motion Picture Group,
with oversight of all areas of the company's theatrical production,
distribution, marketing, acquisition and international theatrical operations.
Drake established Mandate with partners Nathan Kahane and Brian Goldsmith six
years ago after leaving his role as the head of Lionsgate's international
distribution division.

"We're very excited to be bringing Joe back to
Lionsgate," said Lionsgate’s co-chairman and CEO, Jon Feltheimer.
"This acquisition reunites an entrepreneurial executive with an
entrepreneurial company as well as adding a third party domestic and
international profit center to our diverse business operations."

Mandate will continue to operate under its existing brand as
an autonomous entity with newly named president Nathan Kahane. It will maintain
its distribution relationships with other major studios and will continue to
operate from its current Beverly Hills, California offices with its creative
team in place.

"No company is as well positioned for growth in the entertainment
space as Lionsgate, and I'm excited by the opportunity to help further shape
the vision Jon and his team are building," said Drake. "This new
partnership also allows Nathan to continue running Mandate in the
entrepreneurial spirit with which we have been successful over the past six
years."