Lionsgate Studios reported revenue of $668.8m for the three months to 30 September, up 41% on the $475.1m of a year earlier, and moved from an operating loss of $46.0m to an operating profit of $29.1m. The company, which trades in New York as LION and calls the period its fiscal second quarter of 2027, published the figures on 5 November 2026. It attributed the Motion Picture growth to the continuing contribution of Michael and to its film library.
Key facts
- Revenue: $668.8m for the quarter to 30 September 2026, against $475.1m a year earlier (+41%)
- Operating income: $29.1m, against an operating loss of $46.0m
- Adjusted OIBDA (the company’s non-GAAP measure of operating profit): $72.0m, against $14.1m
- Motion Picture revenue: $359.3m (+30%); Television Production revenue: $309.5m (+56%)
- Trailing 12-month library revenue: $1.04bn, the studio’s second highest ever
Where the growth came from
Motion Picture revenue rose 30% to $359.3m from $276.4m, and segment profit went from $30.5m to $88.7m. Lionsgate credits the ongoing contribution of Michael and what it calls continued library strength. Variety reports that the Antoine Fuqua biopic, released in April, has grossed more than $1bn at the box office. Lionsgate did not give a theatrical or home-entertainment figure for the film in its release.
Television Production grew faster. Revenue rose 56% to $309.5m from $198.7m, and segment profit rose 73% to $21.6m. The company pointed to a significant increase in scripted episodic deliveries, including Starz’s Power: Origins and the second seasons of The Studio, made for Apple TV, and The Hunting Wives, made for Netflix. Lionsgate expects to double its scripted deliveries in fiscal 2027 compared with fiscal 2026.
According to a regulatory filing summarised by Media Play News, film and television home-entertainment revenue was $241.1m, up 39% from $173.3m. Digital revenue from Lionsgate’s own releases rose by $40.5m, helped by Michael and Now You See Me: Now You Don’t.
The balance sheet and the six-month view
The library is the steadier part of the story. Trailing 12-month library revenue stood at $1.04bn, the studio’s second highest, and the filmed-entertainment backlog, which is contracted revenue not yet recognised, was $1.5bn. The company’s debt multiple improved by 0.6x from the June quarter to 3.7x, which it attributes to growth in trailing 12-month adjusted OIBDA.
Over the first six months of the fiscal year, revenue was $1,445.4m against $1,001.0m, and adjusted OIBDA was $151.4m against $10.5m. Adjusted free cash flow for the quarter was a negative $8.2m, compared with a negative $128.8m a year earlier, although the company drew a net $51.5m on production loans in the period. The net loss attributable to shareholders was still $15.5m, because interest expense of $57.8m, partly offset by $17.5m of interest and other income, outweighed the operating profit.
Deadline reported that revenue beat Wall Street forecasts and that the company, which separated from Starz in 2025, has been the focus of takeover speculation. Lionsgate’s statement did not mention it. Asked about it on the analyst call, Feltheimer said: “We are not going to respond to M&A speculation, but I will say what I’ve said before: that, in this rapidly consolidating environment, I believe we are very well positioned.”
What management said
Chief executive Jon Feltheimer said the quarter reflected “all of the pieces of our fiscal 2027 plan coming together” and reaffirmed the company’s confidence in this year’s forecast of significant adjusted OIBDA growth. He said Lionsgate continued to set in place its film slate for the next three years and has “growing visibility” into growth in fiscal 2028 and 2029. On the call, Variety reports, he said ten of Lionsgate’s next 15 wide theatrical releases are “repeatable branded properties”.
Why it matters
The 41% was not only a Michael story. Television Production added $110.8m of the $193.7m revenue increase, ahead of the $82.9m from Motion Picture. Profit is narrower: Motion Picture segment profit rose by $58.2m, against $9.1m for television, so the operating swing leans on the film side. Lionsgate’s own explanation puts the next leg of growth on the television delivery slate and on branded films still to come, not on a repeat of Michael.
For background, see FilmBunch’s reports on Lionsgate and Sony’s live-action Naruto greenlight, Lionsgate’s joint venture with SP Media and AMC Theatres’ record quarterly revenue. More under Money & Policy.
Our reading
Revenue grew in both studios, but the profit swing rests on film. Motion Picture accounts for $58.2m of the $67.3m rise in total segment profit, and the release gives no theatrical figure for Michael to size it. Net income stayed negative after interest. The figures to watch next quarter are the scripted deliveries Lionsgate says will double and any sign of what replaces Michael in Motion Picture.
Sources
- Lionsgate Studios Corp., Lionsgate Reports Results for Second Quarter Fiscal 2027 (PR Newswire, 5 November 2026; full financial statements and segment tables)
- Variety, Lionsgate quarterly results (5 November 2026; Michael box office, operating income comparison)
- Deadline, Lionsgate quarterly revenue (5 November 2026; analyst forecasts, Feltheimer comments)
- Media Play News, Lionsgate home entertainment revenue (5 November 2026; regulatory filing figures)