Avi Lerner

Avi Lerner’s name pretty much pops up everywhere in the world of action flicks and big-budget thrillers. Born in Haifa, Israel, the guy got his start as a drive-in manager—old-school, right? By the late ‘70s, he’d already sniffed out the home video boom before it was cool, setting up Israel’s biggest specialty video distributor. He didn’t stop there, either. Lerner jumped into Israel’s top theatrical distributor, then took his hustle to Johannesburg. There, he built Nu Metro Entertainment Group from the ground up—movie theaters, video distribution, cranking out sixty-plus films that landed worldwide. Not too shabby. After selling off Nu Metro and a stint with MGM/United Artists, Lerner hit LA in the early ‘90s and fired up Nu Image, Inc. He locked in on the home entertainment market, but soon enough, he wanted bigger fish. So, in ’96, Millennium Films was born. That move? Total game-changer. Under Millennium, Lerner rolled out blockbuster after blockbuster—think Expendables 1, 2, and 3, Rambo IV, Olympus Has Fallen, London Has Fallen, Brooklyn’s Finest, The Mechanic, and, honestly, the list just keeps going. With 350 films under his belt (yeah, really), Lerner’s reputation is all about going big and not slowing down. He’s not just prolific; he’s relentless, shaping the action genre for decades. From humble drive-ins to Hollywood’s heavy-hitter, Lerner’s story is basically a masterclass in spotting trends and going all-in.