Monopoly Movie Rights, eOne Acquired by Lionsgate

A board game icon is now part of the Lionsgate family after the finalizing of Lionsgate's acquisition of eOne. Today Lionsgate announced it has closed the acquisition of eOne from former parent company Hasbro, which Lionsgate acquired for $375 million in cashing the assumption of production financing loans. The acquisition brings 6,500 films and shows to the Lionsgate library, but also includes the film development rights to Hasbro's Monopoly brand, which is also represented by the now iconic Mr. Monopoly.

The Monopoly movie has been in development for quite some time, with reports first surfacing in 2015. At one time or another directors like Tim Story and Ridley Scott were attached, as well as star Kevin Hart, but it's not known who is attached at the present time. Hopefully, now that the project has a new home, it can start to move forward in a more substantial way.

"The eOne acquisition concludes a busy year in which we continued to execute our strategy of strengthening our studio business as we prepare for the separation of Lionsgate and STARZ into pure play standalone companies," said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. "As we've conducted our integration planning, our analysis has reaffirmed our conviction that eOne will be a valuable and highly accretive addition to our business. We are pleased to welcome eOne's talented group of employees to our Lionsgate family."

In a previous press release, Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said, "This sale fully aligns with our strategy, and we are pleased to bring the process to a successful close. Lionsgate's management team is experienced in entertainment and adept at driving value, and we're glad to have found such a good home for our eOne film & TV business. We look forward to partnering with them, especially on a movie adaptation of Monopoly."

"Entertainment remains a priority for Hasbro. Hasbro will continue to develop and produce entertainment based on the rich vault of Hasbro-owned brands. We will also bring to life new original ideas designed to fuel all areas of Hasbro's blueprint including toys, publishing, gaming, licensed consumer products, and location-based entertainment. As part of the sale, we expect to move to an asset-lite model for future live action entertainment, relying on licensing and partnerships with select co-productions."

Other properties now under the Lionsgate banner include ABC's hit franchise The Rookie, Showtime's acclaimed Yellowjackets series, and Discovery's hit series Naked & Afraid.