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It was another tumultuous year in Hollywood thanks to the dual labor strikes in 2023, the fallout on the film pipeline and the box office remaining below pre-COVID pandemic levels, among other factors.
The positive: the global box office jumped 31 percent to $33.9 billion, led by Barbenheimer. But TV studios’ financials were hit by pressure on these operations across the industry, including due to the dual labor disputes. What did all that mean for the studio divisions of Hollywood giants? Overall, only one studio unit among entertainment conglomerates posted profit growth for the calendar year 2023, per The Hollywood Reporter‘s calculations.
Keep in mind that financial disclosures for these units remain limited and are not easily comparable. The names alone vary: Paramount reports figures for its Filmed Entertainment unit, Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast post results for their Studios divisions, while Sony has its Pictures unit. The businesses included in them differ as well. For instance, Sony’s Pictures segment includes TV networks. And Sony and others include their TV studios in the division.
And not all studios operations use the same accounting methodology, which makes direct comparisons difficult.
The annual Studio Profit Report also includes an educative look at Disney, even though it doesn’t disclose figures for its film or studios operations per se. THR is instead looking at Disney’s “content sales/licensing and other” financials, which observers say provide the closest comparable. Also, the figures below are for the calendar years 2023 and 2022, even though Disney and Sony have fiscal years that don’t align with the calendar year, and their executive teams manage their businesses with an eye on the fiscal year.
With all those caveats in mind as the backdrop, here’s a closer look at the bottom line of the film business in a time of fast-paced change.
The positive: the global box office jumped 31 percent to $33.9 billion, led by Barbenheimer. But TV studios’ financials were hit by pressure on these operations across the industry, including due to the dual labor disputes. What did all that mean for the studio divisions of Hollywood giants? Overall, only one studio unit among entertainment conglomerates posted profit growth for the calendar year 2023, per The Hollywood Reporter‘s calculations.
Keep in mind that financial disclosures for these units remain limited and are not easily comparable. The names alone vary: Paramount reports figures for its Filmed Entertainment unit, Warner Bros. Discovery and Comcast post results for their Studios divisions, while Sony has its Pictures unit. The businesses included in them differ as well. For instance, Sony’s Pictures segment includes TV networks. And Sony and others include their TV studios in the division.
And not all studios operations use the same accounting methodology, which makes direct comparisons difficult.
The annual Studio Profit Report also includes an educative look at Disney, even though it doesn’t disclose figures for its film or studios operations per se. THR is instead looking at Disney’s “content sales/licensing and other” financials, which observers say provide the closest comparable. Also, the figures below are for the calendar years 2023 and 2022, even though Disney and Sony have fiscal years that don’t align with the calendar year, and their executive teams manage their businesses with an eye on the fiscal year.
With all those caveats in mind as the backdrop, here’s a closer look at the bottom line of the film business in a time of fast-paced change.
