Universal Increases Q3 Home Entertainment Revenue 14.4%

26 Oct, 2017 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Strong retail sales of The Fate of the Furious contributed to Universal Pictures Home Entertainment reporting a third-quarter (ended Sept. 30) 14.4% increase in revenue from the previous-year period.

Released on disc July 11, Fate debuted at No. 1 on the home video sales charts the week ended July 16. Fate is the eighth film in the successful street-racing franchise and, with a domestic gross of more than $225 million, the third-highest earner in U.S. theaters.

Separately, Fifty Shades Darker remains Universal’s top-selling disc in 2017 with revenue of $24.7 million on 1.3 million units, according to The-Numbers.com. 

Total studio revenue decreased 0.5% to $1.8 billion, reflecting lower theatrical revenue, partially offset by increases in content licensing and home entertainment revenue.

Theatrical revenue decreased 26.4%, primarily due to a higher number of releases in last year’s third quarter, including The Secret Life of Pets and Jason Bourne, offset by the strong performance of Despicable Me 3 in this year’s quarter.

Pre-tax earnings increased 11.9% to $394 million, reflecting lower revenue that was more than offset by a decline in operating and administrative expenses.

For the nine months ended September 30, studio revenue increased 30.8% to $5.9 billion, reflecting higher theatrical revenue, as well as increases in content licensing and home entertainment revenue.

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