'Super Mario Bros. The Movie'

Source: Universal

‘Super Mario Bros. The Movie’

Comcast Corporation is “committed to reaching a fair deal with the guilds as soon as possible,” according to president Michael Cavanagh, who commented on the Hollywood labour strikes while discussing the conglomerate’s strong second quarter financial results. 

Cavanagh added, though, that if the labour unrest is prolonged “the longer it goes, the worse it will be. It’s going to have a negative impact all around.” 

The comments came as Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal and Sky, reported revenue of $30.5bn (up 1.7% from the previous year) for the second quarter and net income of $4.2bn (up 25.1%). 

Comcast’s studio division saw adjusted EBITDA for the quarter hitting $255m (compared to a $3m loss the year before), driven by the box office performance of Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Cavanagh emphasised “the strength of our film studios and in particular our animation business,” noting other successes such as Fast X and Oppenheimer. Theatrical revenue at the division was up 65.9% to $913m. 

Comcast’s streaming service Peacock gained two million paid subscribers during the quarter to reach a total of 24m. Peacock contributed $820m (up from $444m) to the company’s media division revenue for the quarter but showed an adjusted EBITDA loss of $651m (compared to a loss of $467m last year).