Lionsgate Extends Longtime CEO Jon Feltheimer’s Contract Through 2031

Jon Feltheimer, who has run Lionsgate for more than a quarter-century, has had his contract as CEO extended through July 2031.

The two-year extension, disclosed Wednesday in an SEC filing, follows a previous extension in 2024. The move ensures yet more continuity in the executive suite of the media company, which is conducting business in an industry roiled by change, M&A and executive turnover.

Feltheimer will be paid an annual base salary of $1.5 million, with a target bonus of $7.5 million, up to as much as 200% of the target amount. He is also being granted the option to purchase up to an aggregate of 4.5 million of the company’s common shares at an exercise price of $11.07 per share. Lionsgate stock slipped 4% Wednesday to close at $10.66, though it has risen almost 17% in 2026 to date.

Lionsgate, which Feltheimer joined in 2000, last year split from Starz and has become a more streamlined production outfit. As a film distributor, it also remains a force with franchises like John Wick and Hunger Games. With his tag-team partner Michael Burns, vice chair of the company, Feltheimer has steered Lionsgate through a series of M&A deals, adding thousands of titles to its library, boosting its capabilities and increasing its value into the billions from far humbler beginnings.

Prior to Lionsgate, Feltheimer spent nine years at Sony Pictures Entertainment as head of Columbia TriStar Television Group, shepherding a number of hit series and leading the launch of nearly 30 branded channels around the world. He also helped engineer Sony’s 1997 acquisition of Spanish-language broadcaster Telemundo Group along with partners Liberty Media and Apollo Management.