Strong licensing revenue and home entertainment sales, mainly due to its theatrical releases, drove Sony Pictures Entertainment profits to surge in the fiscal third quarter of 2023. Anime service Crunchyroll also provided a bright spot after it increased paid subscribers, the company said.
Here are the key takeaways:
Revenues: For Pictures, up 10% to $2.43 billion from the year-ago period. For Music, revenues climbed 16% to $2.8 billion
Operating income: For Pictures, up 57% to $281 million. For Music, operating income jumped 21% to $505 million.
That uptick for the Pictures unit, which which comprises film and television and is part of Tokyo-based Sony Corp., was in spite of the fact that the film division dipped to $880 million, down from $895 million in the previous quarter.
In the third quarter, Sony Pictures released Ridley Scott’s Apple-produced historical epic “Napoleon,” the rom-com “Anyone but You,” the horror film “Thanksgiving” and the faith-based film “Journey to Bethlehem.” While “Anyone but You” has gone on to become a theatrical success, the film got off to a slow start and only its first 10 days of release were counted in Sony’s Q3 earnings.
Sony has a lucrative licensing agreement with Netflix to stream its theatrical releases in the pay one window, meaning Netflix gets the streaming first bite of the apple. Sony’s Jennifer Lawrence rom-com “No Hard Feelings,” which was released in June, hit Netflix in October and quickly began dominating the streamer’s Top 10. “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” “Gran Turismo” and “Dumb Money” have also been staples in the Netflix Top 10 since hitting the streamer.
TheWrap previously reported that home entertainment is on the rise, especially when it comes to the 4K Blu-ray collector’s market.
Elsewhere in Sony’s earnings, the Game & Network Services division rose 18% to $9.8 billion buoyed by PlayStation 5 console and “Spider-Man 2” game sales, while the music division saw revenues climb 16% to $2.8 billion, and operating income by 21% to $505 million.
