The Onion Is Getting Into The Movie Business

Like so many great comedians before it, The Onion is packing its bags and heading to Hollywood, at least metaphorically speaking.

The digital media company announced Monday that it would partner with Lionsgate and the production company Serious Business to put out three films over the next two years.

“We’ve plotted our takeover of the film industry for some time,” Kyle Ryan, vice president of Onion Studios, said in a statement. “With the help of Serious Business and Lionsgate, we’ll make room on our award shelf for some Oscars. To the basement you go, Pulitzers.”

The people at Onion Studios, The Onion’s video arm, will team up with the three people behind Comedy Central’s”@Midnight” to create the films. One of those three people, Serious Business’s Jason U. Nadler, said in a statement that he is excited to help extend The Onion’s comedic chops into the movie realm. “The Onion has always been one of our favorite comedic institutions, and we’re excited to help them do to the film industry what they’ve already done to publishing. In a good way,” Nadler said.

As The Hollywood Reporter noted in their exclusive, it’s yet to be seen whether the films will be released digitally or theatrically. But regardless, it shows a an increasingly deep commitment on the part of The Onion to video.

The deal comes roughly a year after Univision bought a large minority stake in The Onion. Univision additionally purchased various Gawker properties last year.