Sony reported earnings for its fiscal third-quarter and garnered a profit of $212 million at its Sony Pictures division, although their total revenues were reduced as a result of the ongoing pandemic, The Wrap reported.
In detail, the Pictures segment, which includes the motion picture business, TV, media networks, and home entertainment, pulled in $1.8 billion in revenue during the third quarter, the company said. Last year, during the same three-month period, Sony reported $2.2 billion in revenue and $51 million in profit.
Sony Pictures, which only released four films during the quarter, grossed just $13 million at the global box office, a fraction of the $817 million from the same quarter a year ago, which featured blockbusters such as “Jumanji: The Next Level,” “Zombieland: Double Tap” and “Little Women”.
The motion picture business contributed $504 million to the segment’s overall revenue, far less than the $930 million from the year-ago quarter. Home entertainment contributed $149 million, while TV distribution of its films accounted for $293 million. Sony’s TV production business generated $723 million in revenue, and media networks accounted for $601 million.
As happened to most companies in the industry, Sony suffered a loss of revenue as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company expects film sales to remain lower than normal next quarter as theaters remain largely closed, especially in New York and Los Angeles, and more films continue to be delayed. Last month, Sony pushed back another big wave of releases out of the first quarter of 2021, including the Marvel movie “Morbius,” the video game adaptation “Uncharted,” Camila Cabello’s “Cinderella” and the next “Ghostbusters” film.