SUMMIT ENTERTAINMENT'S THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 2 SELLS AN ESTIMATED 3.85 MILLION UNITS IN ITS DEBUT WEEKEND OF HOME ENTERTAINMENT RELEASE

DVD and Blu-ray Sales for the Fifth Film in The Franchise Increase From Breaking Dawn - Part 1's Opening Weekend

SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 5, 2013 /CNW/ - Continuing Lionsgate's (NYSE: LGF) home entertainment and box office leadership in young adult franchises, Summit Entertainment's global blockbuster THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 sold an estimated 3.85 million combined DVD and Blu-ray units in its home entertainment launch over the weekend, an increase over the debut weekend of THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN - PART 1 last year, the Company announced today. THE HUNGER GAMES and THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 ranked as two of the top four home entertainment releases of 2012. Lionsgate acquired Summit Entertainment in January 2012.

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The Company noted that Blu-ray sales accounted for an estimated 27% of first weekend sales, up from 22% of the first weekend sales of BREAKING DAWN – PART 1, reflecting continued penetration of the Blu-ray format. Opening weekend estimates for BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 also underscored the franchise's continued growth trajectory on digital and on demand platforms, with the film recording approximately 20% more electronic sell through transactions than BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 and showing early indications of a robust VOD performance as well.

"We're particularly pleased that THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 opened even stronger than BREAKING DAWN – PART 1, which launched on Valentine's Day weekend last year," said Lionsgate Executive Vice President and General Manager of Home Entertainment Ron Schwartz. "Consumer demand for THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 reflects strength in all segments of the home entertainment marketplace – packaged media, digital and on demand. This is further proof that author Stephenie Meyer has created a timeless classic that moviegoers want to enjoy over and over in a wide variety of formats."

THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 2 launched at 12:01 A.M. on Saturday, March 2 with midnight retail events at more than 3,000 stores across the country.

THE film has grossed $829 million at the worldwide box office, a franchise best, bringing THE TWILIGHT SAGA's overall worldwide box office to more than $3.3 billion. The astonishing fifth film in the franchise illuminates the secrets and mysteries of this spellbinding romantic epic that has entranced tens of millions. Academy Award® winner Bill Condon directed both the first and second parts of the two-part finale starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner. The film, based on the fourth novel in author Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" series, was written by Melissa Rosenberg and produced by Wyck Godfrey, Karen Rosenfelt and Stephenie Meyer.

About THE TWILIGHT SAGA film series

THE TWILIGHT SAGA film series stars Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner and tells the story of 17-year-old Bella Swan who moves to the small town of Forks, Washington to live with her father, and becomes drawn to Edward Cullen, a pale, mysterious classmate who seems determined to push her away. But neither can deny the attraction that pulls them together...even when Edward confides that he and his family are vampires. The action-packed, modern day vampire love story TWILIGHT, the first film in the series, was released in theatres on November 21, 2008 to a blockbuster reception. The second installment of the film franchise, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON was released November 20, 2009, the third installment, THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE was released June 30, 2010, and THE TWILIGHT SAGA: BREAKING DAWN – PART 1 was released on November 18, 2011.

About Lionsgate

Lionsgate is a leading global entertainment company with a strong and diversified presence in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, family entertainment, digital distribution, new channel platforms and international distribution and sales. The Company has built a strong television presence in production of primetime cable and broadcast network series, distribution and syndication of programming and an array of channel assets. Lionsgate currently has 27 shows on 18 networks spanning its primetime production, distribution and syndication businesses, including such critically-acclaimed hits as the multiple Emmy Award-winning Mad Men, Weeds and Nurse Jackie, the new comedy Anger Management, the network series Nashville, the syndication successes Tyler Perry's House of Payne, its spinoff Meet the Browns, For Better Or Worse, The Wendy Williams Show, Are We There Yet? and the upcoming Orange Is The New Black, an original series for Netflix.

Its feature film business has been fueled by such recent successes as the blockbuster first installment of The Hunger Games franchise, the 13th highest-grossing North American release of all time, The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn – Part 2, which has grossed more than $800 million at the worldwide box office, Warm Bodies, Texas Chainsaw 3D, The Expendables 2, The Possession, Sinister, The Cabin in the Woods, Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection and Arbitrage. With the January 2012 acquisition of Summit Entertainment, the Company has now added the blockbuster Twilight Saga, which has grossed more than $3.3 billion at the worldwide box office, to its current slate, giving the Company the two premier young adult franchises in the world. Recent Summit hits include Red, Letters to Juliet, Knowing, the Step Up franchise and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture, The Hurt Locker.

Lionsgate's home entertainment business is an industry leader in box office-to-DVD and box office-to-VOD revenue conversion rate. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 15,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate and Summit brands remain synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the world.

For Lionsgate corporate inquiries, please contact:
Peter D. Wilkes
Lionsgate
310-255-3726
[email protected]

For further information, please contact:
Paul Pflug / Hans-Dieter Kopal
Summit Entertainment
323-658-1555
[email protected] / [email protected]

SOURCE: Lionsgate

http://www.lionsgate.com

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