Lionsgate was able to cut its losses in the final quarter of 2024 thanks in good part to revenue from its film and television library while it tries to ramp up its post-strike TV production and recover from a deep box-office slump.
Earnings loss: Lionsgate reported a net loss attributable to shareholders of $21.9 million, or 9 cents per share. That’s an 80% drop from the $107.4 million loss reported in the prior year quarter, during which SAG-AFTRA reached a deal with studios to end the industry work stoppage in 2023.
Revenue beats projections: Overall revenue for Lionsgate came in at $970.5 million, slightly down from the $975 million from a year prior but well above projections of $922 million from industry analysts.
Library revenue: Much of Lionsgate’s cut losses came from record library revenue of $954 million, up 22% year-over-year as licensing of the studio’s films to other streaming platforms increased.
Film and TV revenue: After the box-office collapse of “Borderlands” contributed to a $163 million Q3 loss, Lionsgate got back on track with “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” leading the the motion picture division to $309 milion in revenue and $83 million in segment profit. That’s up from the mere $2 million in segment profit for Q3 2024 but down around 30% year-over-year from 2023, when films like “Saw X” and “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” were big hits.
TV revenue was more positive, increasing 63% year-over-year to $404.6 million while segment profit was up significantly to $60.9 million. Shows like “Ghosts” and “Selling Sunset” helped drive revenue alongside library licensing.
Lionsgate’s stock saw a 3% bump in after hours trading, currently standing at $8.60/share at time of writing.
Lionsgate is close to a separation of its streaming service Starz, with CEO Jon Feltheimer telling shareholders in an earnings call that the company only needs to update its proxy statement with its latest financial information and complete regulatory review with the SEC. The company anticipates holding a shareholder meeting in mid-to-late April to complete the separation.
“I’m pleased to report a strong quarter in which our businesses performed well in a challenging environment,” Feltheimer said. “We approach the separation of the studio and STARZ with a record performance from our library, our Motion Picture Group converting a number of mid-budget films to profitability, our Television Group shepherding an extensive portfolio of premium properties and STARZ returning to domestic OTT subscriber growth on a sequential basis.”
After a weak box office year in 2024 in which annual grosses only reached $251 million, Lionsgate is seeing a slow but steady rebound with the modest success of “Den of Thieves: Pantera” and “Flight Risk” this month. Box-office revenue is expected to keep improving later in the year with films like the “John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina” and Antoine Fuqua’s biopic “Michael,” starring Jaafar Jackson as his famous uncle, Michael Jackson.
On the TV side, Lionsgate reported 16 scripted and 36 unscripted series currently in production, including the Seth Rogen comedy “The Studio,” set for release on Apple TV+ in April, and the Starz spinoff “Power: Origins.” The studio also recently completed productions for “Spartacus” and “The Hunting Wives” for Starz.
