Sony Pictures saw its fiscal results climb to a profit of $394 million (yen 50.7 billion) in the first quarter, a 70 percent increase from the $232 million (25.4 billion yen) profit it reported. in the same period in 2021.
Meanwhile, sales of the Japanese conglomerate’s photography division rose to 41 percent to $2.64 billion.
Sony Corp. reported its latest financial results Friday from its headquarters in downtown Tokyo. The report covered the company’s performance from April to June.
Sony said its photography division was boosted in the quarter by higher TV series shipments, higher licensing and home entertainment revenues, and improved sales for anime streaming services as a result of its acquisition of its dedicated anime platform Crunchyroll. The only hindrance the company cited was a smaller number of theatrical releases compared to the period a year ago. The company released only two theatrical films in the global market in the quarter: morbius ($167 million in total worldwide sales) and Father Stu ($22 million) — compared to three titles between April and June in 2021.
Sony Pictures’ full-year profit forecast for 2022 was unchanged from the previous quarter at 50 billion yen or $386 million.
The company said it has a series of 17 films ready for North American theatrical release over the next 12 months, starting in July, including Tent Poles’ extended re-release, Spider-Man: No Way Home – The More Fun Stuff Version (released September 2, 2022), and the animated tent pole, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (June 2, 2023).