Hunger Games continues to feed the bottom line at Lionsgate.
The Vancouver-based mini-studio on Thursday reported third quarter earnings of $88.8 million for the three months to Dec. 31, more than double a profit of $37.8 million in the same period of 2012.
Revenues rising 13% to a quarterly record of $839.9 million was driven in large part by the global release of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, which brought in $860 million in North American and international box office.
“Our stellar results in the quarter were attributable to our operating performance, the favorable environment for content and the benefits from our strong balance sheet,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a statement.
“We will continue to invest in content and embrace innovative models for licensing that content to digital and traditional platforms alike in order to build on this performance and create additional long-term value for our shareholders,” he added.
Besides Catching Fire, Lionsgate also pointed to added revenue drivers in the U.S. releases of Ender’s Game and A Madea Christmas and solid international releases for Red 2, Escape Plan and Now You See Me.