Universal Pictures, owned by Comcast Corp. CMCSA has set the cash registers ringing with its latest release “Furious 7” earning a record-high $143.6 million in the U.S. in the first week of its release.
The movie released on Easter weekend. This is the highest opening week box-office collection made by any movie in April. “Furious 7” has swept past the previous record held by “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”. The film produced by The Walt Disney Co. DIS had grossed $97 million in 2013.
Notably, “Furious 7” is the ninth largest opening week box-office grosser in the U.S. of all time. In the first week of its release, the movie collected around $384 million worldwide, which is twice the size of its production budget.
In Feb 2015, Universal Pictures released another box-office hit “Fifty Shades of Grey,” for which the first week sales were $85 million. To date, “Fifty Shades of Grey” has made more than $566 million at the box-office. Interestingly, the production cost of the movie was merely a little over $40 million.
Having acquired entire stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co. GE, Comcast is leaving no stone unturned to revamp Universal Pictures amid strong competition.
In 2014, revenues from the Filmed Entertainment segment of NBC Universal declined 8.2% year-over-year to $5 billion, reflecting lower theatrical and home entertainment revenues. The box-office success of “Fifty Shades of Grey” and “Furious 7” will help NBC Universal regain its theatrical market share in 2015.
Furthermore, Comcast is currently awaiting regulatory approval for its proposed merger with Time Warner Cable Inc. TWC. In Feb 2014, the company had entered into a transaction with Time Warner Cable to acquire the latter in an all-stock deal valued at around $45.2 billion. The deal is currently under strict regulatory scrutiny.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report
Be the first to comment