The blockbuster success of DC's Wonder Woman has boosted Warner Bros. bottom line for the quarter. Bolstered by stellar reviews and more than $100 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend in June, Wonder Woman has marched on to become one of the most lucrative films of the summer movie season, and recently passed Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 as the top-grossing film of the summer at the end of July.
With a running total of $396.2 million in domestic ticket sales and $393.4 million overseas for a current global cume of $789.6 million, analysts Wednesday are crediting Wonder Woman's smashing performance with helping Warner Bros. beat Wall Street estimates for its second quarter earnings.
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According to Variety, profits were up at the studio with earning per-share at $1.33, up from earnings of $1.29 per-share in the same period last year. The publication added that revenues for the studio's parent company Time Warner grew 5 percent to $7.3 billion, even though operating income decreased 8 percent to $1.7 billion. Analysts predicted that Time Warner would have per-share revenue earnings of $1.19 on revenue of $7.3 billion, Variety said.
Although Wonder Woman was clearly the biggest attraction for Warner Bros., the home entertainment revenue of the Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was also credited with helping increase the studio's revenue. The studio noted that the increase in earnings came despite the fact that Warner Bros.' first big release of the summer, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, bombed, making a paltry $39.1 million at the domestic box office and $101.6 million overseas against its $175 million production budget.
With the momentum that Wonder Woman has sustained at the box office in July and a home video release in the next few months, things are definitely looking up already for Time Warner when it comes to third quarter earnings. On top of that, the studio's second Conjuring spinoff, Annabelle: Creation, is primed to be a big-earner for the studio, considering the first Annabelle film in 2014 earned $256.3 million globally ($84.2 million domestically, $172.6 million overseas) against a miniscule budget of $6.5 million.
Even if Warner Bros. decided to hold the home entertainment release of Wonder Woman until October or November to help hype the November release of Justice League (which will once again star Gal Gadot as the princess of the Amazons), the studio is looking at earnings boon for the fourth quarter. Now matter how the profits are sliced up, 2017 is looking to add up to a wondrous year at studio DC calls home.
Next: Sony Pictures Loses $86 Million In First Fiscal 2017 Quarter
Source: Variety
