Lionsgate Earnings Beat Wall Street Projections Thanks to ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever,’ Record Library Revenue

As a devoted cinephile, I’m excited to share some positive news about Lionsgate, the studio responsible for blockbusters like “Saw” and “The Hunger Games.” Despite a minor dip in revenue during the third quarter, their overall financial losses decreased. This improvement was attributed to the box office success of “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” as well as record-breaking earnings from licensing their extensive collection of movies and shows. They also pointed out that they’re on the mend after the Hollywood labor strikes of 2023, which had temporarily halted production. It’s a promising sign for both Lionsgate and movie enthusiasts like me!

During the final three months of last year, revenue remained nearly steady at approximately $970.5 million, a slight decrease from the $975.1 million earned during the same period the previous year. In contrast, operating income significantly improved to $35.8 million, versus a loss of $43.5 million in the corresponding quarter of the prior year. Despite this improvement, Lionsgate reported a net loss of $21.9 million, or $0.09 per share for diluted earnings. This is a significant decrease from the loss of $107.4 million reported in the same period a year ago.

Lionsgate surpassed financial expectations, as analysts had projected revenues of about $922 million and earnings per share of 28 cents. Following these impressive outcomes, shares of Lionsgate increased by over 11% in additional trading sessions.

The earnings were reported following Lionsgate’s completion of its prolonged split between Lionsgate Studios and Starz. In this arrangement, Starz will be helmed by current CEO Jeff Hirsch and will trade using the stock symbol STRZ. Meanwhile, Lionsgate trades under the symbol LION.

The earnings were announced after Lionsgate officially separated its studios and Starz. Starz is now run by CEO Jeff Hirsch and has a new stock symbol (STRZ), while Lionsgate continues to trade under its original symbol (LION).

As a film enthusiast putting pen to paper, I’m thrilled to share some exciting news: Our movie empire has had a stellar quarter, managing to thrive even in the face of adversity. The separation of our studio and Starz is on the horizon, but we’re going into it with confidence, thanks to our library breaking records, our Motion Picture Group making a profit from several mid-budget films, and our Television Group carefully nurturing an impressive collection of premium TV properties.

As a passionate film enthusiast, I’m thrilled to share that Lionsgate’s studio business, encompassing both its cinematic and television ventures, generated an impressive $713.8 million in revenue this quarter – a 3% increase compared to the same period last year! This growth was primarily fueled by a stronger performance in our TV sector. The segment’s revenue skyrocketed by 63% to reach $404.6 million, and profit soared substantially to $60.9 million.

This remarkable uptick can be attributed to the successful production of new series under Lionsgate’s wing, like “Ghosts” and “Selling Sunset,” as well as lucrative licensing deals for established shows. To add icing to the cake, Lionsgate reported an all-time high library revenue of $954 million over the past twelve months, marking a 22% increase!

2024 saw a series of box office disappointments for Lionsgate, including “Borderlands” and “The Crow.” However, things began to turn around towards the end of the year with the family-friendly hit, “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Despite this success, overall revenue and profit for specific segments dropped to $309.2 million and $83.6 million respectively. This was a challenging period as Lionsgate had released blockbusters like “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” and “Saw X” during the same timeframe in 2023, which were both massive successes.

In this quarter, Lionsgate’s Media Networks division, encompassing Starz, experienced a decrease in revenue from approximately $346.9 million to $341.9 million. Simultaneously, segment profit took a significant hit, falling from $63.3 million to $25.7 million, due primarily to increased content amortization costs.

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2025-02-07 01:19