- The $372 million domestic box office run of “Michael” boosted Lionsgate’s overall revenue to $776 million, with $587.3 million coming from its motion picture group.
- Segment profit for the film division reached $105 million, the highest ever recorded in the second quarter.
- Despite this, sagging TV revenue kept Lionsgate in the red with a 10 cents per share loss, though that was up from the 32 cent loss a year ago.
Lionsgate got some big help from the historic theatrical run of Antoine Fuqua’s “Michael,” but it only served to help cut the company’s losses as it reported a $28.8 million loss for the second quarter of 2026.
That loss came in spite of a 48% year-over-year increase in revenue to $776.6 million, with $587.3 million of that coming from Lionsgate’s film division. That division reported a segment profit of $105 million, the highest ever recorded by the studio in the second quarter.
But that was counterbalanced by TV division revenue of just $189 million for a segment profit of just $10.2 million. Lionsgate attributed the low revenue to timing of episodic deliveries, which it projects will double in 2027.
The company also reported a net debt of $1.5 billion, reducing the debt by $121 million over the quarter thanks to theatrical and ancillary motion picture revenue and better than expected cash flow of $129 million.
Lionsgate reported a diluted net loss attributable to shareholders of 10 cents per share, which is an improvement from the 32 cent loss per share recorded in the prior year quarter. CEO Jon Feltheimer characterized the quarter as a step forward as Lionsgate pushes towards profitability after spinning off Starz last year.
“I’m pleased to report another quarter of strong financial results and growing momentum across our business,” said Feltheimer. “As we continue to execute our franchise strategy across a deep portfolio of branded intellectual properties, generate increased visibility and stability from our film and television library, and benefit from continued improvement in our operating environment, we are positioned to deliver strong growth in fiscal 2027 and beyond.”
“Michael” grossed $371 million in the U.S. and Canada, becoming Lionsgate’s third highest grossing film of all time behind the $408 million total of “The Hunger Games” in 2012 and the $424.6 million total of its sequel, “Catching Fire” in 2013. Combined with its overseas release handled by Universal, “Michael” became the first biopic to gross $1 billion worldwide, and Lionsgate has confirmed that a sequel is in development.
“While we are not ready to announce everything at the moment, I would tell you that we are targeting a production start towards the end of this year and early next, and think that somewhere between the end of calendar 2027 and the first half of calendar 2028 would be a current thought of roughly where the movie could go,” motion picture group chair Adam Fogelson said, noting that the movie would use some unused sequences filmed for the first “Michael.”
Between “Michael” and this past winter’s hit film “The Housemaid,” Lionsgate is pushing to become a stronger and more consistent theatrical presence with films like the “Hunger Games” prequel “Sunrise on the Reaping” coming out this November and a 2027 slate that includes the first part of Mel Gibson’s “The Resurrection of the Christ,” the “John Wick” spinoff “Caine” starring Donnie Yen, and the “First Blood” prequel “John Rambo” starring Noah Centineo.
Lionsgate is also getting set to roll on the sequel “The Housemaid’s Secret” with Sydney Sweeney set to return, as well as an adaptation of the anime series “Naruto” from “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” director Destin Daniel Cretton.
On the TV front, Feltheimer said that the forecasted increase in episode deliveries will come from the studio’s longterm plans to diversify its distribution partnerships, noting that Lionsgate has renewed all 13 of its scripted series with 12 different buyers. The company has also negotiated pickups of new series like “Trauma” at Paramount+ and “DINKS,” the upcoming improv comedy from “Friends” co-creator Marta Kauffman, at Amazon.
“Our strategy is focused on diversification: having the creative strengths, pricing flexibility and innovative business models to play across a wide range of different platforms and different types of series in an increasingly fragmented world,” he said.
Lionsgate stock rose 4.3% in after-hours trading to $13.49 per share at time of writing.
