EXCLUSIVE: Fan-owned studio Legion M has closed its 10th fundraising round, raising $2.93 million from 5,840 investors, with nearly 70% coming from new investors, Deadline has learned.
The results underscore the company’s continuing growth at a time when equity crowdfunding is being looked at more closely in Hollywood.
Since its founding in 2016, Legion M has raised over $25M from more than 58,000 investors, making it one of the largest equity crowdfunded communities in history. Notable credits for the company include the films My Dead Friend Zoe, William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill, and Fade to Black — which is currently in post — as well as Defiant: The Robert Smalls Story, a bestselling graphic novel.
In addition to the $25M Legion M has raised as a studio — where fans buy stock in the hopes of an eventual IPO) — the company has raised over $4M for three films via “Fan-First-Financing,” in which people invest directly in the royalty stream of an individual film. To date, the company is said to have paid out over $1M in royalties to these investors.
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Proceeds from this round will accelerate the growth of Legion M’s community and expand the company’s capabilities across the board, strengthening its ability to support, champion and elevate independent film at every stage of the process.
“Legion M started with nothing and has grown to the point where we develop, finance, produce and release our own films, but we’re just scratching the surface,” said co-founder and president, Jeff Annison. “Our community grew faster in Round 10 than it ever has before – our eyes are on the future as we keep levelling up and marching towards 1,000,000 shareholders.”
Paul Scanlan, the company’s co-founder and CEO, added, “We’re excited to continue expanding our community and our capabilities. From development and production to financing and now even publishing a bestselling graphic novel like Defiant, we’re building an entertainment company driven by a vibrant and engaged community movement unlike anything else in the industry. While others are expressing concern about the future of entertainment, we’re more confident than ever in ours.”
