iTunes Adds Lionsgate Movies

Apple has added Lionsgate films to its iTunes digital media store, making titles like Terminator 2, Saw, and Basic Instinct available to iTunes, iPod, and (soon) AppleTV owners.

Apple has announced that films from Lionsgate are available for purchase and download today from Apple’s iTunes store, with more Lionsgate titles on the way in coming weeks. iTunes launched a video download service with films from the Disney catalog available for purchase; so far, only Paramount has added material to the iTunes lineup, experimenting with offering a small selection of titles for purchase and download. Adding the Lionsgate library to iTunes not online increases iTunes’ clout in the video download marketplace, but also offers some popular titles to Apple’s download service.

“We’re delighted to offer these incredibly popular Lionsgate films on iTunes, and look forward to adding even more films in the future,” said Steve Beeks, president of Lionsgate, in a statement. “iTunes lets users download these wonderful films to watch on their computer, TV or iPod, so movie fans can take their favorite Lionsgate films with them anywhere.”

Lionsgate films like Terminator 2,L.A. Story,Basic Instinct,The Blair Witch Project, and Dirty Dancing are available immediately, with more than 150 Lionsgate titles scheduled to hit iTunes this month. (Additional titles include action films like Total Recall and Rambo, along with indie fare like Reservoir Dogs and Monster’s Ball, and perennial favorites like Chaplin, and The Boys from Brazil.)

Most of the Lionsgate titles will be priced at $9.99 each, and are offered at 640 by up-to-480 resolution, depending on the film’s aspect ratio.