Rogue One, Moana & Doctor Strange Boost 1st Quarter Studio Results
The Walt Disney Company today reported quarterly earnings for its first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2016 for its Studio Entertainment division. Robert A. Iger, Chairman said “coming off a record year, our Studio had three global hits including our first billion-dollar film of fiscal 2017, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”
Here are the details:
Studio Entertainment revenues for the quarter decreased 7% to $2.5 billion and segment operating income decreased 17% to $842 million. Lower operating income was due to decreases in home entertainment and theatrical distribution and a lower revenue share from the Consumer Products & Interactive Media segment, partially offset by growth in TV/SVOD distribution.
Lower home entertainment results were primarily due to lower unit sales driven by Star Wars Classic titles and Frozen, as well as the timing of Disney Classic releases. Aladdin Diamond Edition was released in the prior-year quarter, whereas the Beauty and the Beast Signature Collection Edition was released in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016.
The decrease in theatrical distribution reflected the comparison of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in the current quarter to the exceptional performance of Star Wars: The Force Awakens in the prior-year quarter. This decrease was partially offset by the success of Doctor Strange and Moana in the current quarter compared to the performance of The Good Dinosaur in the prior-year quarter.
The decrease in revenue share with the Consumer Products & Interactive Media segment was due to the stronger performance of merchandise based on Frozen and Star Wars in the prior-year quarter. Higher TV/SVOD distribution results were due to growth in our pay and free television businesses including the timing of title availabilities. Domestic pay television results also reflected an increase from higher rates.
Our Take:
Disney continue to dominate the box office with over $2.5 billion brought in, with the release of Moana, Doctor Strange and Rogue One, but once again, its difficult to compare to the success of The Force Awakens and Frozen in previous quarters.
What do you think?