Lionsgate has upped Erin Westerman to president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
This was to be expected in the wake of the news that Lionsgate Motion Picture Group president Nathan Kahane is departing at year’s end for a producing deal with the studio. Westerman was previously president of Motion Picture Production.
In her role, Westerman will oversee all aspects of the development and production of Lionsgate’s theatrical slate. She will report to Adam Fogelson, chair, Lionsgate Motion Picture Group.
Fogelson said, “Erin’s profound impact on our studio cannot be overstated. She has earned the respect of her peers and talent through hard work, incredible story sense, and great choices, whether related to cast or the direction of some of our most important IP. However, it is her fierce intelligence, passion for theatrical moviegoing, and ease of manner that have made Lionsgate an attractive home for filmmakers who continue to do their most creative work here. She is a true leader, and I’m looking forward to shaping our slate together.”
Westerman is currently shepherding Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk, which will hit theaters September 12. She’s also overseeing the Ruben Fleischer-directed third installment of the nearly $700 million box office-grossing Now You See Me franchise, Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (November 14); the Paul Feig-directed thriller The Housemaid (out December 25) starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried in the adaptation of the bestselling novel; the Michael Jackson biopic Michael produced by Graham King and directed by Antoine Fuqua; Marc Webb’s Day Drinker starring Johnny Depp and Penélope Cruz; and Kingdom Story Company’s I Can Only Imagine 2 (due out February 20, 2026).
Major films in development under her leadership include Luca Guadagnino’s re-imagining of the studio’s American Psycho; Monopoly, based on the globally beloved Hasbro brand and produced by Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Productions; Naruto, based on one of the world’s most popular manga properties, to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton; the re-imagining of the iconic Blair Witch Project in partnership with horror leader Blumhouse; and the continued expansion of the John Wick Universe with an animated prequel, an action spinoff and John Wick: Chapter Five all in the works.
Westerman has had a heavy hand in putting together to the casts for the studio’s upcoming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, led by Glenn Close, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning and Billy Porter. The prequel reteams franchise director Lawrence and producer Nina Jacobson and is dated to open in cinemas on November 20, 2026.
Westerman joined Lionsgate in 2017 and has shepherded such tentpoles as John Wick: Parabellum and John Wick: Chapter 4; The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes, which took in nearly $350 million at the worldwide box office; Rian Johnson’s sleeper hit Knives Out, which earned an Oscar nomination for Original Screenplay; and the Academy Award nominee Bombshell.
Prior to joining Lionsgate, Westerman was head of development at Good Universe, where she produced such hit films as The Disaster Artist, Neighbors 2, Always Be My Maybe and Don’t Breathe. She began her career as a production executive at Walt Disney Studios, where she oversaw production on such films as Cinderella directed by Kenneth Branagh and Into the Woods directed by Rob Marshall.
