- “The Housemaid” boosted Lionsgate’s film division segment profit to $181 million, up by 39%
- The second quarter of 2026 is likely to be even bigger with the release of “Michael,” which will cross $300 million in domestic grosses this weekend
- Lionsgate also made big shifts to their release slate, as “The Resurrection of the Christ” will be released in two parts in 2027 and 2028
Thanks to its strengthening library revenue and the holiday box office and post-theatrical success of “The Housemaid,” Lionsgate got 2026 off on the right foot with a $70.2 million profit in the first quarter and a 4.7% year-over-year increase in revenue to $906 million.
The revenue for the quarter blew past projections of $809 million by Zacks Investment Research, while reported adjusted earnings of 37 cents per share topped Zacks’ projections of 23 cents. Lionsgate’s stock took an afterhours bump of 3.8% to $13.80/share at time of writing.
“All of the pieces of our business are coming together – our library has achieved a billion dollars in trailing 12-month revenue for three quarters in a row, more than half of our film, television and live entertainment slates are comprised of branded, repeatable properties, and massive hits like ‘The Housemaid’ and ‘Michael’ are strengthening our brand and increasing our forward visibility,” said Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer. “We enter fiscal 27 positioned to deliver the earnings power and value creation that our shareholders expect.”
A Box Office Force Once More
The boost in Lionsgate’s revenue came from its film division, which reported segment revenue of $651.9 million and segment profit of $187.1 million. That equates to year-over-year growth of 23% and 39%, respectively.
The Freida McFadden thriller adaptation “The Housemaid,” which opened last December, grossed $70 million domestically in the first quarter and finished its theatrical run with nearly $400 million grossed worldwide. The post-theatrical and ancillary revenue from that film and Lionsgate’s November 2025 release “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” were also major contributors to the surge in motion picture group profit and an adjusted quarterly OIBDA of $165 million, the highest reported by Lionsgate since 2014.
The film division made up for a 25% drop in segment revenue for the TV division from $40.5 million in the prior year quarter to $30.5 million. This was attributed to episodic deliveries, particularly for Lionsgate’s hit Apple TV satire “The Studio,” which is currently in production on Season 2.
Michael-Mania
Of course, next quarter is set to be even bigger for Lionsgate and its film division thanks to the incredible success of Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael.” Set to pass $300 million domestic this weekend, it ranks as one of Lionsgate’s top 5 highest grossing films of all time, and with the help of an overseas release helmed by Universal, it is set to become the first biopic to gross $1 billion worldwide.
When asked about the sequel in an earnings call, motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson said that all the talks with “appropriate parties” on the project — which presumably would include Fuqua and Michael Jackson’s estate — are going “exceptionally well.”
“I would say that there is a ton of incredibly entertaining Michael Jackson story left — and much of the biggest and most popular parts of his music catalog that were not touched upon in the first film,” he said.
“I would just say we can go forwards and backwards in telling this story. There are so many other events that happened, even in the time frame of the original movie, that weren’t touched upon, so we’re very, very confident that we’ve got an incredibly entertaining movie that will appeal once again to a global audience as the pieces come together,” Fogelson continued.
Beyond “Michael,” Lionsgate is also making big plans for its 2027 and 2028 slate, specifically around Mel Gibson’s two-part sequel to “The Passion of the Christ” titled “The Resurrection of the Christ.” Originally planned for a “Part One” release on Easter Weekend next year with “Part Two” on the first weekend of the summer season, Lionsgate is now moving the films a year apart.
“The Resurrection of the Christ — Part One” will now release in early May 2027, timing with the Feast of the Lord’s Ascension on the Christian calendar and the first weekend of the summer box office, while “Part Two” will be released on Memorial Day weekend in 2028. Taking the Easter 2027 slot is “Day Drinker,” a revenge thriller starring Johnny Depp, who looks to make his Hollywood comeback.
“Our success in the quarter is about more than one hit movie. We’re beginning to see signs that our operating environment is improving: people are returning to theatres, great storytelling is emerging in new and unexpected places across traditional and digital media alike, and Gen Z audiences are enabling shows like ‘The Rookie ‘to break out with renewed vitality as we are again seeing the resilience of our business in the largest entertainment market in the world,” Feltheimer said.
“In this improving environment, the fact that our content pipelines are strong, our library is robust, our brand stands out and our franchises are adding value from new markets and new audiences should give everyone confidence in a strong year ahead,” he continued.
