Universal Ups Q2 Home Entertainment Revenue 43%

27 Jul, 2017 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Retail sales of ‘Fifty Shades Darker’ and ‘Sing’ drive growth

Spurred by strong physical and digital sales of Fifty Shades Darker and Sing, Universal Pictures Home Entertainment July 27 reported a 43% increase in second-quarter (ended June 30) revenue to $344 million, compared with revenue of $241 million during the previous-year period.

Fifty Shades Darker, sequel to erotic drama Fifty Shades of Grey, debuted No. 1 for the week ended May 14 on both the NPD VideoScan overall disc sales chart, which tracks combined DVD and Blu-ray Disc sales, and the dedicated Blu-ray Disc sales chart.

Indeed, the sequel prompted strong 4K UHD Blu-ray unit sales of the original, including $3.3 million in additional combined DVD/Blu-ray Disc sales, according to The-Numbers.com. 

Animated Sing remains the No. 4 top-selling disc in 2017 with about $47 million in revenue.

Meanwhile, total studio revenue increased 59.6% to $2.2 billion, primarily reflecting a $540 million theatrical revenue increase to $837 million from the strong box office performance of The Fate of the Furious. Pre-tax earnings increased 407% to $285 million, from $56 million a year earlier.

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