Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment Launch Render Road Horror Banner Led by Luke Maxwell and Will Rowbotham

Lionsgate and its subsidiary 3 Arts Entertainment are launching Render Road, a horror production banner led by Luke Maxwell and Will Rowbotham, Yahoo reported on November 6, 2026. The banner will develop, produce and finance projects for digital and traditional films and television series.

How Render Road Will Operate

Render Road will work with up-and-coming and established artists, shepherding some projects independently alongside those artists and guiding others in partnership with other studios and production companies. Maxwell and Rowbotham will remain managers at 3 Arts Entertainment while at the helm of Render Road, which will be open to all rather than collaborating exclusively with 3 Arts talent. The pair will take their clients' lead on the destination for their own projects.

Lionsgate CEO John Feltheimer alluded to the initiative on the company's Q2 earnings call, referring to something to come "soon" from 3 Arts in the horror space. The banner allows Lionsgate to benefit more directly from 3 Arts' talent pipeline, building on the studio's horror properties including Saw, Blair Witch and House of 1000 Corpses.

3 Arts client Kane Parsons' Backrooms grossed over $400 million, the highest grossing film in A24 history, and Curry Barker's Obsession reached $523 million worldwide, according to Yahoo. 3 Arts also represents Ian Tuason, who is directing the next Paranormal Activity installment, and Nic Curcio, whose Play House was made for little more than $100,000 before landing distribution through Focus Features. Dylan Clark is directing Lionsgate and Blumhouse Atomic's new Blair Witch and Lionsgate's Portrait of God, starring Chase Infiniti, with Sam Raimi and Jordan Peele producing.

Lionsgate's Studio Expansion

Lionsgate broke ground in December 2025 on a $125 million film production studio in Newark's South Ward under New Jersey's Film and Digital Media Tax Credit Program, according to akta.pro company records. In January 2026 the studio sold its Lionsgate Play streaming service in India and Southeast Asia to former Asia head Rohit Jain for approximately $30 million, retaining content licensing under a multi-year agreement. Lionsgate announced in February 2026 that a AAA John Wick video game is in development with Saber Interactive, with Keanu Reeves returning to voice the character and lend his likeness.

Earlier Lionsgate Deals

On November 5, 2026, Variety reported that Lionsgate's Q2 fiscal 2026 revenue rose 41% year over year to $668.8 million, with operating income of $29.1 million. On November 3, 2026, Yahoo reported that Sony Pictures and Lionsgate partnered to co-finance and distribute the live-action Naruto film, directed by Destin Daniel Cretton, with production slated for spring 2027. On November 2, 2026, The Hollywood Reporter reported that Lionsgate and Meta agreed to bring The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping to Meta's VR glasses after its November 20 theatrical release, with the glasses launching in spring 2027.