‘John Wick 4’ Helps Lionsgate Quarterly Revenue Climb to $1.1 Billion

thewrap.com:

Lionsgate again came in above market expectations as it reported results for its fiscal fourth quarter Thursday. It once more topped $1.1 billion in revenue, a 17% year-to-year jump, with $17 million in net income, for adjusted earnings per share of $0.21.

The studio also noted a net loss of $96.8 million versus an adjusted net income of $49.2 million.Wall Street’s optimism three months ago was tied to the studio’s comparatively strong theatrical slate, and the results mostly bore that out. “Jesus Revolution” and “Plane” were modest hits, with the latter Gerard Butler/Mike Coulter actioner spawning a sequel.

Meanwhile, “John Wick: Chapter 4” soared past $431 million worldwide, becoming Hollywood’s biggest R-rated release since “Joker” topped $1 billion in late 2019.

However, only a week’s worth of that box office came in for the newly reported quarter — it debuted globally with $138 million and had passed $245 million worldwide by the end of its second weekend — since the movie opened on March 24.Analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research predicted $9704.9 million in revenue for the quarter, which would have been up 4.3% from the same quarter a year ago, and a penny in earnings per share, versus a quarterly loss of 6 cents per share a year ago.The stock closed Thursday at $10.17, nearly tied with its $10.98 share price a year ago but below the 52-week high of $11.96.“I’m pleased to report that we ended the fiscal year with another strong quarter,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “Our content businesses performed well, our library again achieved record trailing 12-month revenue, and STARZ continues to be profitable while growing subscribers and executing successfully on its bundling and packaging strategy.