Lionsgate Play is expanding into cinemas with a star-driven slate and is returning Heated Rivalry for a 2027 season
The streaming service Lionsgate Play has announced a two-pronged move that changes its content path in Asia: a broad theatrical-first distribution plan for premium Hollywood films and a renewal of the popular romance-meets-sports serial Heated Rivalry for season 2 in 2027. Leadership frames the approach as a way to restore the cinematic scale to select titles before they flow to the platform, while continuing a heavy schedule of new releases across the year. This pivot mixes traditional exhibition with digital windows in a deliberate attempt to capture both box office attention and streaming audiences.
The streaming arm is planning more than 100 premieres in 2026 and specifically intends to open 10–12 films in Indian cinemas ahead of their platform debuts beginning in September 2026. The slate is described as star-driven and genre-led, built around high-impact thrillers and action pieces that benefit from theatrical visibility. Executives point to audience appetite for Hollywood spectacle as the strategic rationale, while keeping a steady stream of regional originals and TV titles on the service.
The label theatrical-first denotes films that will have a cinematic release before they are available on the streamer. In practice, Lionsgate Play plans to treat certain productions as dual-platform projects that begin life on the big screen to maximize publicity and box office potential, then migrate to the platform for wider reach. This hybrid approach aims to capture the advantage of theatrical marketing—reviews, event screenings and word-of-mouth—while preserving the longer-tail subscriber benefit that streaming provides. For rights management and scheduling, the move will rely on careful windows and promotional coordination.
For audiences, the change creates opportunities to see premium Hollywood films in theaters first and then on the same branded service. For talent and producers, a theatrical rollout can increase visibility and perceived prestige, especially for action and star-fronted projects. The company emphasizes collaboration with well-known actors and filmmakers to ensure that these films receive the scale they need. At the same time, Lionsgate Play keeps investing in series and regional content to retain local subscribers and balance the global library with homegrown storytelling.
The first phase of the theatrical program slated to begin in September 2026 lists a number of headline names and properties scheduled to open in cinemas before streaming. Announced titles include Billion Dollar Spy with Russell Crowe, Gerard Butler’s Empire City, Robert Pattinson’s Primetime, Mark Wahlberg’s By Any Means, and the creature feature Titan. Beyond those debuts, the wider 2026 rollout highlights returning franchises and high-profile projects such as Greenland 2: Migration, Mutiny starring Jason Statham, Couture with Angelina Jolie, and franchise installments like Apollo Has Fallen and Vigil season 3.
The service already carries established properties—everything from the John Wick series to titles like Den of Thieves 2 and The Beekeeper—as well as acclaimed TV series such as Normal People and regionally produced dramas. Lionsgate Play operates across eight Asian markets and reaches more than 40 million viewers in India through a B2B2C distribution model with partners including JioHotstar, Airtel Xstream and Amazon Prime Video Channels. That ecosystem gives the service a combined exhibition and subscriber footprint that underpins the theatrical-first experiment.
Rohit Jain, who spent eight years building the platform as president of Lionsgate Play Asia, completed an acquisition of the service from Lionsgate earlier in the year and now leads the renewed strategy. The agreement retains a multiyear licensing arrangement that allows continued use of the Lionsgate Play brand and access to the U.S. studio’s film and television library. Executives characterize the current phase as an ambition to offer integrated experiences—big-screen events followed by premium streaming—while backing projects with recognizable talent and strong storytelling.
In sum, Lionsgate Play’s dual emphasis on a theatrical-first slate and a robust slate of premieres, plus the confirmation of Heated Rivalry season 2, signals a deliberate bet that Indian audiences are increasingly open to Hollywood fare presented both in theaters and at home. The plan seeks to marry the immediacy of cinema with the retention power of streaming, offering a unified pipeline from premieres to platform availability while continuing investment in regional and serialized content.