What financial reports reveal about movie studios

Companies with movie studios have begun releasing their earnings reports for the latest quarter. It generally covers the April-June period, though some companies have fiscal quarters that depart from that.

Here's a look at reports for selected movie industry companies.

- July 31: DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. says net income fell 63 percent, to a level below analysts' expectations. Revenue fell 25 percent. Results for the movie studio were driven by the box office receipts from the movie "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted." The movie has grossed more than $500 million in theaters worldwide since its June 8 release.

- Aug. 1: Time Warner Inc. says revenue at its Warner Bros. studio fell 8 percent to $2.6 billion because last year's quarter had strong releases. The blockbuster Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises" didn't open in theaters until the quarter ended. In the second quarter last year, Time Warner Inc. had "The Hangover Part II" in theaters and the next-to-last Harry Potter movie on home video.

Comcast Corp. says its Universal movie studio lost money on its would-be summer blockbuster, the expensive and critically skewered "Battleship." Revenue in the filmed entertainment division fell 2 percent to $1.2 billion.

- Aug. 2: Sony Corp.'s movie division saw a 6 percent increase in sales with the hit "Men in Black 3," and better cable and network program revenue. But it had an operating loss partly because of marketing expenses for this year's films including "The Amazing Spider-Man."

- Aug. 3: Viacom Inc. says revenue at its Paramount movie studio dropped 29 percent. It released three movies in the quarter: "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," "'The Dictator" and "Titanic 3D." In the same quarter last year, it had four blockbusters: "Kung Fu Panda 2," "'Thor," "'Super 8" and "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

- Tuesday: The Walt Disney Co. says revenue at its movie studio was almost unchanged from a year ago at $1.63 billion, which was less than the $1.77 billion analysts expected. The Marvel superhero epic "The Avengers" helped boost profit in the segment. Studio profits jumped to $313 million from $49 million a year ago. The company says upbeat ticket sales to movies such as "The Avengers" and "Brave" were offset by fewer sales of DVD and Blu-ray discs. Prominent home video titles during the quarter included "John Carter" and "The Muppets."

Coming up:

- Wednesday: News Corp. (20th Century Fox)

- Thursday: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.