Lionsgate Q1 DVD, Blu-ray sales jump 47%

UPDATE: Yuma, Rambo help studio turn profit

By Danny King -- Video Business, 8/11/2008

AUG. 11 | Lionsgate’s fiscal first-quarter home-entertainment revenue jumped 47% on titles such as Rambo, The Eye and 3:10 to Yuma, allowing the studio to gain traction in a flattening DVD market while turning a profit.

Lionsgate’s home entertainment revenue, which jumped to $152.2 million for the quarter ended June 30 from $103.8 million a year earlier, also “reflected significant and growing contributions from strong Blu-ray high-definition disc sales,” the company said.

The studio gained ground in the U.S. home entertainment industry, where spending for the first half of the year was little changed at about $10.1 billion, according to data compiled by Video Business and Rentrak.

Lionsgate, whose Yuma and Good Luck Chuck were among the Top 10 rented DVD titles for the first half of the year, has been trying to supplement DVD sales from theatrical releases with children’s titles, by signing distribution agreements with MGA Entertainment, Hit Entertainment and Marvel Entertainment within the past five months.

Sales of older DVD titles for the year ending March 31, 2009, will be as high as $350 million, exceeding the company’s previous forecast, Lionsgate president Steve Beeks said on a conference call with analysts today.

"These are the metrics of a healthy home entertainment industry," said Beeks, who added that U.S. Blu-ray Disc revenue is on track to beat previous calendar 2008 forecasts of about $1 billion. "All the news in home entertainment is good."

Lionsgate’s net income was $7.1 million, or 6¢ a share, compared with a year-earlier loss of $53.1 million, or 45¢, as revenue jumped 50% to $298.5 million. Theatrical revenue jumped 61% on titles such as The Forbidden Kingdom and Meet the Browns, the company said. Analysts expected the company to lose 5¢ a share.

Meet the Browns debuted on DVD and Blu-ray July 1; The Forbidden Kingdom will bow on DVD and Blu-ray on Sept. 9.

Overall, Lionsgate, which also is known for its Latino and fitness titles, had the seventh-largest U.S. share of DVD spending through the first half of the year, taking about 8% of the market, according to data compiled by Rentrak and Video Business. The studio has the third-largest U.S. non-theatrical family market share, with about 15%, and is the No. 2 DVD distributor in the preschool segment, with about 20% of the market.