Erin Westerman has been formally named president of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, replacing Nathan Kahane after he recently announced plans to step down by the end of the year.
Kahane’s pending move back to film producing opened the way for Westerman, most recently president of production and development, to take over all studio production under Motion Picture Group chair Adam Fogelson.
Kahane has been Motion Picture Group president since May 2018, when Lionsgate acquired Good Universe, the production company he founded with Joe Drake. Drake stepped down from Lionsgate in early 2024 to pave the way for Fogelson, which in a way foreshadowed Kahane’s eventual exit.
Westerman, a former Good Universe and Disney exec, joined Lionsgate in 2017 as executive vp of production, overseeing the studio’s creative film production team, before moving up the ranks. In her new role, she will oversee all development and production of Lionsgate’s theatrical film release slate.
Westerman will report to Adam Fogelson, chair of the Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, who said in a statement on Thursday: “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 overseeing production or post production on Francis Lawrence’s The Long Walk; Ruben Fleischer’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t franchise sequel; the Paul Feig thriller The Housemaid; the in-flux Michael Jackson biopic Michael directed by Antoine Fuqua and which could become two movies after additional shooting days; and Marc Webb’s Day Drinker, among other projects.
Movies in development under her watch include Luca Guadagnino’s re-imagining of American Psycho; the Hasbro brand-inspired Monopoly from Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Productions; and the manga property-inspired Naruto, to be directed by Destin Daniel Cretton.
There’s also the re-imagining of the Blair Witch Project, and from the John Wick universe an animated prequel, an action spinoff and John Wick: Chapter Five. Lionsgate in recent years has sought to make more John Wick action movies and has relaunched and recapitalize on The Hunger Games franchise.
That includes the upcoming The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping, led by Glenn Close, Jesse Plemons, Ralph Fiennes, Kieran Culkin, Elle Fanning, and Billy Porter, and for which Westerman helped assemble the A-list cast.