Lionsgate gets DVD rights for Wolverine

Marvel to debut series on Nicktoons in January

By Danny King -- Video Business, 7/30/2008

JULY 30 | Lionsgate has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to the new Marvel Entertainment animated series Wolverine & The X-Men, expanding its four-year relationship with Marvel as part of its effort to build DVD sales in the family market.

The Wolverine series is scheduled to debut on Viacom’s Nicktoons Network early next year. Lionsgate will distribute DVD versions of the 26 half-hour episodes.

In the past four months, Lionsgate has inked distribution agreements for MGA Entertainment’s new Animated Little Tikes Entertainment label and U.K. publisher Hit Entertainment, whose series include Barney, Bob the Builder and Thomas & Friends. With such agreements in place, Lionsgate has the third-largest U.S. non-theatrical family market share, with about 15%, and is the No. 2 DVD distributor in the preschool segment, with about 20% of the market.

Since 2004, Lionsgate has released direct-to-DVD titles based on Marvel concepts such as Ultimate Avengers and The Invincible Iron Man, with the next animated feature, Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow, scheduled for a Sept. 2 release. Last month, Lionsgate said it was looking to build further upon its children’s DVD sales with titles such as Speed Racer: The Next Generation, which has sold more than 200,000 units since its release last month, while expanding its selection of Hulk-related titles from Marvel as well as its titles from the Bratz franchise.

“We have had tremendous results with our Marvel animated features, and this deal reflects the next chapter in our ongoing relationship,” said Anne Parducci, Lionsgate’s executive VP of marketing and family entertainment, in a statement. “These series are based upon proven entities on the big screen and DVD, and they will feature a similar animation style to the Marvel DVDs we are currently releasing.”

Overall, Lionsgate, which also is known for its fitness and Latino titles, had the seventh-largest share of DVD spending through the first half of the year, taking about 8% of the U.S. market, according to data compiled by Rentrak and Video Business.

Last December, Lionsgate became the exclusive U.S. distributor of MGA’s Bratz DVDs and video-on-demand and electronics titles, expanding on a more limited theatrical and DVD output deal that began in 2006. Lionsgate also releases on DVD Scholastic’s Clifford the Big Red Dog, American Greetings’ The Care Bears, Cookie Jar Entertainment’s The Doodlebops, Nelvana’s Miss Spider’s Sunny Patch Friends as well as Speed Racer.