The box office success of Michael appears to have put some thriller into Sony’s earnings.
Sony Music Entertainment’s sales bounced 22% to 557.9 billion yen ($3.5B) in the three months to the end of June, according to the company’s Q1 earnings.
Sony Music revealed that Jackson’s “Thriller” and “Bad” were among its top 10 best-selling recorded music projects during the quarter, coinciding with the release of Lionsgate biopic Michael.
Over at Sony Pictures Entertainment, the earnings reflected a quiet quarter of theatrical releases in North America, with the unit only debuting Nate Bargatze comedy The Breadwinner.
Sony Pictures’ revenue fell 13% to $1.98B year-on-year, though the division’s operating income grew 21% to $156M over the three months to the end of June.
Theatrical sales stood at $30 million in Sony’s Q1, which was down around $100M on the same period in 2025, when the studio released 28 Years Later and Karate Kid: Legends.
Sony Pictures’ television sales also declined from $841M in 2025 to $571M this year, despite the release of the final season of The Boys on Amazon. The 32% drop was due to decreased deliveries of series during the period.
