Sony Pictures Entertainment saw profit jump 70% in the March quarter to $354 million on lower theatrical marketing costs. Revenue for the three months, Sony’s fiscal fourth quarter, was essentially flat at $2.7 billion.
Paddington in Peru was a hit in Q1, a notably quiet one for Hollywood. Other releases included One Of Them Days, Walter Salles’ much decorated I’m Still Here and Becoming Led Zeppelin from Sony Pictures Classics and Heart Eyes from Screen Gems. The year earlier quarter featured The Book Of Clarence, Madame Web and Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire in late March, which was an expensive movie to market.
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Coming soon: Karate Kid: Legends, which opened in Latin America (no. 1 spot in Mexico) this past weekend and hits Stateside on May 30; Danny Boyle horror 28 Years Later directed by Alex Garland opening June 30; and I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot in July. All went over well at CinemaCon last month along with previews of an Anaconda remake with Paul Rudd and Jack Black out in December; the upcoming Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which just received a release date (June 2027); as well as the Darren Aronofsky-helmed Caught Stealing starring Austin Butler.
SPE, led by Ravi Ahuja, includes motion pictures, television productions and media networks globally. Giant Sony is also parent to Sony Music, Games and electronics, Imaging & Sensing Solutions and Financial Services, which the company plans to spin off in the fall.
Sony saw total profit of $1.3 billion (197.7 trillion yen) profit, up 5% from the year earlier, on sales of $17.7 billion, down 24%.
Japan, like other U.S. trading partners, has been hit by President Donald Trump’s increased tariffs. In its financial report, Sony said, “We are responding quickly to the additional U.S. tariffs that have already been implemented and are considering responses to multiple possible future scenarios.:” The company expect to be able to manage the impact on the profitability to approximately 100 billion yen ($685 million), or less than 10% of the operating income forecast.”
On a call after the numbers, Sony Group CEO Hiroki Totoki, who was promoted to the top job early this year, said the entertainment business accounted for about 60% of revenue last quarter and the company continues to focus on expanding the segment, according to reports. It was in the mix for Paramount Global before the Shari Redstone company agreed to sell itself to Skydance. Last summer, it acquired the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater chain.