Lionsgate Studios posted fiscal second quarter revenue of $667 million, up 41%, beating Wall Street forecasts.
The standalone public company, which separated from Starz in 2025 and has been the focus of heated takeover speculation, narrowed its net loss for the three months ended in September to $15.5 million from $113.5 million the year earlier.
The stock is up 3.5% in after market trade. It’s been buoyed over the past year by deal talk including a reported offer from Legendary Entertainment. Asked about that on a call with analysts after the numbers, CEO Jon Feltheimer said, “We are not going to respond to M&A speculation, but I will say what I’ve said before: that, in this rapidly consolidating environment, I believe we are very well positioned.”
“Our strong performance in the quarter reflects all of the pieces of our fiscal 2027 plan coming together,” said Feltheimer. “We had very positive momentum in the quarter as we continued to set in place our film tentpoles for the next three years. Combined with another great library performance and continued encouraging signs in our broader operating environment, we have growing visibility into our continued growth trajectory in fiscals 2028 and 2029.”
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Trailing 12-month library revenue was $1.04 billion, the studio’s second highest ever.
The Motion Picture segment revenue rose 30% year-over-year to $359 million and profit to $89 million driven by the ongoing contribution of Michael and continued library strength.
The next edition in its star franchise, The Hunger Games: Sunrise On The Reaping, bows later this month. Lionsgate announced earlier this week that Sony Pictures has come aboard as our international partner and co-financier on Naruto, the film adaptation of the iconic manga. In all, ten of the studio’s next 15 wide theatrical releases are “repeatable branded properties,” Feltheimer noted on the call, including Resurrection of The Christ Parts 1 & 2, The Housemaid’s Secret and Michael 2.
TV production revenue increased 56% to $309 million, and segment profit increased 73% versus the prior year to $21.6 million amid a significant increase in scripted episodic deliveries, including Power: Origins and the second seasons of The Studio and The Hunting Wives. The company anticipates doubling scripted deliveries in fiscal 2027 relative to fiscal 2026.
Feltheimer noted The Rookie: North spinoff will arrive in January on ABC and will stream on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ in most international territories.
Lionsgagte is also quietly leaning into its growing Global Products & Experiences Group. In August, it launch the North American tour of the Dirty Dancing musical with the show heading to Broadway in February. It recently announced the full creative team for the La La Land stage musical and will begin workshopping it early next year for a 2028 opening.
The company also debuted Now You See Me Live at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas last month and will be opening a limited run on Broadway next week. And, earlier this week, it announced the expansion of new franchise, The Housemaid, into a stage play shepherded by Tony Award-winning Life of Pi producer Simon Friend to open in the U.K. next September.
Other projects include the Saw: Genesis multiplayer video game, launching in 2027, and the John Wick AAA game in partnership with developer Saber.
“All told, by the end of fiscal 2028, we expect to have at least 8 stage plays, 4 concert tours, 10 live experiences and 9 interactive video games,” Feltheimer said.
Asked if he thinks the business will become financially significant to the company, he said it’s slow going, but yes. “Ballpark, I think we are looking at a run rate by the end of 2028 of revenue of about $50 million and a contribution of over $30 million, so starting to be meaningful and will continue to grow.”
