Hasbro Entertainment

Hasbro Entertainment
Company typeDivision
IndustryEntertainment
Predecessors
FoundedAugust 16, 2023; 14 months ago (2023-08-16)
Founders
  • Olivier Dumont
  • Zev Foreman
  • Gabriel Marano
Headquarters
Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Burbank, California
,
United States
ProductsFilm production
Television series
Animated series
OwnerHasbro
Subsidiaries
Websitecorporate.hasbro.com/en-us

Hasbro Entertainment is a production and distribution company owned and operated by American toy and multimedia company Hasbro and launched on August 16, 2023.[1] It succeeds Allspark, previously known as Hasbro Studios, as Hasbro's primary media production and distribution company and Entertainment One (or eOne for short). Hasbro acquired the latter on December 30, 2019,[2] had its family brands division absorbed into this division[3] and sold it to Lionsgate on December 27, 2023.[4] Lionsgate then rebranded Entertainment One as Lionsgate Canada on June 7, 2024 according to the Canadian publication, Playback.[5]

History

[edit]

Background

[edit]

Under the leadership of Brian Goldner as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), American toy company Hasbro was expanding into the audiovisual media industry, especially theatrical feature film productions.[6][7] On August 22, 2019, Hasbro announced its purchase of the Canadian company Entertainment One (eOne) for about US$4 billion;[8] Goldner led the acquisition.[6] The deal was completed on December 30, 2019.[2] Following the acquisition of eOne, Hasbro's own media production and distribution company Allspark (formerly known as Hasbro Studios) was folded into the acquired Canadian subsidiary,[9] which was under the leadership of Darren Throop, president of family brands Olivier Dumont, and former HBO head of programming Michael Lombardo.[2][10]

However, following the death of Goldner on October 12, 2021,[6][7] the subsequent promotion of Chris Cocks (who was previously with another Hasbro division, Wizards of the Coast) as the CEO in early-2022,[11] and after defeating a board challenge from a hedge fund company in June 2022 over the management of WotC,[12][13] Hasbro announced in late-2022 their intent to sell most eOne assets with companies such as Fremantle (who dropped out of the bid), Lionsgate, Legendary, CVC Capital Partners and GoDigital Media Group bidding for the acquisition, a transaction that would place the distribution rights to the Hasbro Studios/Allspark library and newer Hasbro-related content back to Hasbro. It was ultimately decided that on August 3, 2023, Lionsgate would acquire the eOne assets for $500 million. The deal closed on December 27, 2023.[4]

Development

[edit]

During its 2023 Q2 Earnings Conference Call in August 2023, Hasbro announced a new banner titled Hasbro Entertainment. The studio is being overseen by former Entertainment One executives Olivier Dumont as president, Zev Foreman as head of film, and Gabriel Marano as head of television. Dumont was quoted as saying, "We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter, building upon our rich heritage of storytelling to continue delighting audiences across generations. Gabe, Zev, and I look forward to working with the industry's best creative talent, studios, and distribution platforms to push the envelope with innovative storytelling that will let fans engage with their favorite brands like never before, while also building exciting new worlds and the next wave of Hasbro franchises for a growing audience."[14]

Additionally, Tim Kilpin, President of Toy Licensing and Entertainment for Hasbro, was quoted as saying, "Entertainment is core to Hasbro's strategy and its mission to entertain and connect generations of fans through the wonder of storytelling and exhilaration of play. Audiences can count on Hasbro to keep creating compelling and fun entertainment that brings to life our wide array of iconic brands, including Peppa Pig, My Little Pony, and Transformers, reaching audiences through varied platforms in ways that resonate in today's fast-paced world."[14]

On October 3, 2024, in the same day of the premieres of its revival versions of the Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit game shows on The CW, Hasbro Entertainment launched an unscripted division, which is headed by Zach Edwin, who reports to head of television Gabriel Marano.[15]

Staff

[edit]
  • Olivier Dumont (president)
  • Zev Foreman (head of film)
  • Gabriel Marano (head of television)
    • Cort Lane (kids' television VP)
    • Zach Edwin (head of unscripted)

Subsidiaries

[edit]

Television

[edit]

Current

[edit]
Title Original run Network Co-production with Note(s)
Inherited from Entertainment One, now Lionsgate Canada
Peppa Pig 2004–present Channel 5
Nick Jr. 		Astley Baker Davies Ltd (Series 1–8)[a]
Karrot Animation (Series 7–present)[b] 		Series 8 onward
My Little Pony: Tell Your Tale 2022–2024 YouTube Lil Critter Workshop Season 2 onward
Transformers: EarthSpark 2022–present Paramount+
Nickelodeon 		Nickelodeon Animation Studio
Odd-Paw Vet 2023–present YouTube Amuse Studios
Scrabble 2024–present The CW Mattel Television
Lionsgate Alternative Television 		[16]
Trivial Pursuit LeVar Burton Entertainment
Talpa Studios
Lionsgate Alternative Television

Upcoming

[edit]
Title Network Co-production with Note(s)
Magic: The Gathering Netflix Wizards of the Coast [17]

Films

[edit]

Films

[edit]
Title Release date Production by Distributed by Note(s)
Transformers One September 20, 2024 Paramount Animation
Di Bonaventura Pictures
New Republic Pictures
Bayhem Films 		Paramount Pictures [18][19][20]

Upcoming films

[edit]
Title Production by Distributed by Note
Monopoly Lionsgate Films
LuckyChap Entertainment
eOne Films 		Lionsgate Films [21]
Clue TriStar Pictures
Blink Wink Productions
Maximum Effort
Aggregate Films 		Sony Pictures Releasing [22][23][24]
G.I. Joe: Ever Vigilant Skydance Media
Di Bonaventura Pictures 		Paramount Pictures [25][26]
Play-Doh Electric Somewhere [27][23]
Untitled G.I. Joe/Transformers crossover film Di Bonaventura Pictures
Bayhem Films 		[28][29]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Alongside The Elf Factory Limited for Series 5 and Gaston's Cave Ltd for Series 6–8; did not animate the last four episodes of Series 7, but did animate the first four episodes of Series 8
  2. ^ Animated the last four episodes of Series 7, but did not animate the first four episodes of Series 8

Reference

[edit]
  1. ^ Otterson, Joe (August 16, 2023). "Hasbro Launches Entertainment Division Led by eOne Executives Olivier Dumont, Zev Foreman, Gabriel Marano". Variety. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Vlessing, Etan (December 30, 2019). "Hasbro Closes $3.8B Entertainment One Takeover". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  3. ^ Low, Elaine (August 22, 2019). "Hasbro Acquires Entertainment One in $4 Billion All-Cash Deal". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Archived from the original on January 26, 2021. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Goldbart, Max (August 3, 2023). "Hasbro Confirms Sale Of eOne To Lionsgate For $500M". Deadline. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  5. ^ Townsend, Kelly (June 7, 2024). "Entertainment One rebrands to Lionsgate Canada". Playback. Retrieved June 8, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c Saperstein, Pat (October 12, 2021). "Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner, Producer on 'Transformers' Movies, Dies at 58". Variety. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  7. ^ a b McLean, Rob (October 13, 2021). "Hasbro CEO Brian Goldner has died". CNN. Retrieved October 13, 2021.
  8. ^ "Hasbro to buy Entertainment One for $4B US". Thomson Reuters. August 22, 2019. Retrieved August 22, 2019 – via CBC News.
  9. ^ Foster, Elizabeth (October 9, 2020). "eOne takes the reins on Hasbro's content efforts". KidScreen. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Kanter, Jake (February 17, 2020). "Entertainment One Begins Delving Into Hasbro's "Treasure Chest" Of Brands". Deadline. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  11. ^ Eckhouse, Brian (January 5, 2022). "Hasbro Names Chris Cocks CEO Following Death of Longtime Head Goldner". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  12. ^ "Hasbro Fends Off Activist Alta Fox's Push for Board Shake-Up". Bloomberg.com. June 7, 2022. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  13. ^ Whitten, Sarah (June 8, 2022). "Dungeons & Dragons maker Hasbro wins board battle against activist investor Alta Fox". CNBC. Retrieved June 8, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Otterson, Joe (August 16, 2023). "Hasbro Launches Entertainment Division Led by eOne Executives Olivier Dumont, Zev Foreman, Gabriel Marano". Variety. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  15. ^ Batey, Neil (October 3, 2024). "Sony Pictures TV alum Zach Edwin to head Hasbro Entertainment's new unscripted arm". C21 Media.
  16. ^ Zee, Michaela (February 14, 2024). "Scrabble and Trivial Pursuit Game Shows Picked Up by The CW". Variety.
  17. ^ White, Peter (September 19, 2024). "'Magic: The Gathering': Netflix Starts Animated Adaptation From Scratch With Terry Matalas As New Showrunner". Deadline. Retrieved September 19, 2024.
  18. ^ Hersko, Tyler (April 30, 2020). "Josh Cooley to Follow 'Toy Story 4' Oscar Win With Animated 'Transformers' Prequel". IndieWire. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  19. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (April 30, 2020). "Animated 'Transformers' Prequel Activated; 'Toy Story 4's Josh Cooley To Direct For Hasbro/eOne & Paramount". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  20. ^ Grobar, Matt (May 24, 2023). "'Transformers One': Paramount Pushes Date For Animated Feature". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  21. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy; D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 10, 2024). "'Barbie' Producer LuckyChap Rolls Dice On 'Monopoly' With Lionsgate & Hasbro – CinemaCon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 11, 2024.
  22. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 22, 2018). "Ryan Reynolds' Maximum Effort Makes 3-Year Fox Deal; First Up Is 'Clue' With 'Deadpool' Scribes Reese & Wernick". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  23. ^ a b Welk, Brian (September 25, 2019). "Jason Bateman in Talks to Direct and Star in 'Clue' Reboot With Ryan Reynolds". TheWrap. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  24. ^ Hipes, Patrick (February 11, 2020). "James Bobin In Talks To Direct 'Clue' Movie At 20th Century". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  25. ^ Ng, David (March 21, 2017). "Looking beyond 'Transformers,' Hasbro wants to create its own Marvel-sized movie universe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  26. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (December 18, 2017). "Paramount Dates Future Franchises For 2020 & 2021: 'G.I. Joe', 'Micronauts' & More". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  27. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (March 17, 2022). "'Play-Doh': Emily V. Gordon To Write, Jon M. Chu Circling To Direct Animated Pic For eOne & Hasbro About Colorful Clay". Deadline. Retrieved August 18, 2023.
  28. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 11, 2024). "Transformers-G.I. Joe Crossover Movie Made Official By Paramount – CinemaCon". Deadline Hollywood.
  29. ^ Bankhurst, Adam (April 11, 2024). "Transformers and G.I. Joe Crossover Movie Is Officially Happening". IGN. crossover movie will be released in theaters in 2025 or 2026.
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