Lionsgate CEO: Screw It, We’re Only Making Sequels From Now On

Well thanks a lot, everybody. Because you all started downloading movies for free instead of paying for them, the movie industry isn't raking in quite as much money as they used to. Hell, they can barely pay actors $20 million per picture anymore. As a result, the poor studios have had to make a tough choice: make interesting original films and earn less money, or make blockbuster franchise sequels and earn gobs and gobs of money.

Well, on a Friday morning conference call with industry analysts (like the folks at Variety), Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer just came right out and said it: given the fact that the second instalment of the Hunger Games franchise grossed a whopping $860 million worldwide, they are really going to focus all their efforts into developing more of these profitable movie franchises.

He wasn't even pretending like they had to figure out which franchises to pursue, either. This dude does not work for Warner Brothers, Marvel, or Disney. He doesn't beat around the bush. First up will be the sequel for Now You See Me starring Jesse Eisenberg, which starts shooting in September. Meanwhile, the sequel to Divergent, which doesn't even open until March, has a sequel called Insurgent that will begin shooting this summer.

Then there's Gods of Egypt starring Gerrard Butler, which starts shooting next month, and Mortdecai, which stars Johnny Depp and just finished filming. Oh, and a Robert Zemeckis movie called Chaos Walking, and a Vin Diesel flick called The Last Witch Hunter. Felheimer figures they'll probably make sequels for all those, too.

So I hope you like franchises. If Lionsgate has their way, because that's all you're going to get from Lionsgate anymore.