Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation or Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), is a North American entertainment company. The company was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia on July 3, 1997, and is headquartered in Santa Monica, California. As of 2012, it is the most commercially successful independent film and television distribution company in North America and the third most profitable movie studio.

Lionsgate was originally known as IMI Computer Corp. on May 26, 1986 and later known as Beringer Gold Corp. Beringer Gold later was incorporated as Lions Gate Films under the Business Corporation Act in British Columbia and was founded on July 3, 1997 by Frank Giustra, a Canadian investment banker hoping to capitalize on the growing film industry in his home town. The company bought a number of small production facilities and distributors, including Montreal-based Cinépix Film Properties (also known as Cinéxus-Famous Players Distribution), Trimark Pictures, Mandate Pictures and, most notably, Artisan Entertainment (which itself had formerly been LIVE Entertainment, and before that, Vestron Pictures).