Joe Drake - Variety500 - Top 500 Entertainment Business Leaders

Drake, chairman of Lionsgate’s motion picture group, rejoined the studio in 2017 and has focused on multiplatform strategies and maximizing familiar franchises. In 2023, he oversaw the release of “John Wick: Chapter 4,” the franchise’s highest-grossing installment. The studio shifted gears for high-profile prequel “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes,” as the film received a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement so stars Rachel Zegler, Tom Blyth, Viola Davis and Peter Dinklage promote it despite the strike. This fall’s “Saw X” and “Expendables 4″ each expanded on its franchise’s potential, and in 2024, the Ana de Armas starrer “Ballerina” will grow the John Wick universe. Drake also guides the distribution of approximately 50 multiplatform titles a year, making Lionsgate one of the largest suppliers of films for global independent releases. Looking ahead to 2025, Lionsgate is underway on a “Dirty Dancing” sequel and the Michael Jackson biopic directed by Antoine Fuqua. 

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