‘Michael’ Boosts Lionsgate Q2 Results as Studio Narrows Loss to $29 Million

Shamone! Record-breaking biopic “Michael” helped Lionsgate‘s movie division turn in a profit of $105 million — its best-ever result for a June quarter.

Lionsgate’s Motion Picture segment revenue of $587.3 million more than doubled from the prior-year quarter. The segment profit was up from a nominal $2.4 million in the year-ago period. The company said the results were driven by the success of recent theatrical releases, including “Michael,” the highest-grossing biopic of all time that has crossed $1 billion at the global box office, and strong “ancillary” performance of “The Housemaid,” starring Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney.

Lionsgate has already announced it’s working on a sequel to “Michael” to build on the success of the first Michael Jackson movie. Film division head Adam Fogelson, speaking Thursday on the quarterly call with analysts, said Lionsgate is aiming to start production on the next movie toward “the end of this year or early next.” He estimated that the next “Michael” movie would be released at the end of calendar year 2027 or in the first half of 2028 as “roughly where the movie would go.”

Fogelson said he’s “not ready to give guidance on the budget yet” but said the company will be able to use some material that was previously shot.

“We do have a number of sequences, particularly some big musical sequences, that were shot previously, that are almost sure to be incorporated but we are mostly focused right now on how to make sure we can deliver, at the right price, the biggest, best sequel,” Fogelson said. “That is what the audience is going to want and deserve after the experience we gave them the first time.”

The Television Production segment, meanwhile, saw revenue decline 34%, to $189.3 million, and segment profit drop 61%, to $10.2 million, year over year. That was due to the timing of episodic deliveries, according to Lionsgate. The company continues to anticipate doubling scripted deliveries in fiscal 2027 relative to fiscal 2026. In addition, Lionsgate expects its recent licensing of four “Power” series to Netflix to lift TV revenue and profit in the back half of the year.

Overall, for the three months ended June 30 (Lionsgate’s Q1 of fiscal 2027), revenue was $776.6 million, up 48%. Operating income was $25.6 million, compared with an operating loss of -$10.6 million a year ago. Net loss attributable to shareholders was $28.8 million, or a net loss of 10 cents per diluted share, compared with a net loss of $94 million a year earlier.

“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,” Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said in a prepared statement.

Lionsgate said its trailing 12-month library revenue was $987 million. Filmed entertainment backlog (contractual future revenue not yet recognized) increased 21% year-over-year to $1.5 billion.