Cineverse reaped the benefits of last fall’s surprise horror blockbuster, Terrifier 3, reporting the best quarterly results in its history.
In its fiscal third quarter ended December 31, the modest-sized but growing media company reported revenue of $40.7 million, up 207% from the same period a year ago. Earnings per share swung to 34 cents per share on a diluted basis, from a loss of 22 cents in the prior-year period. Both the top and bottom line handily beat Wall Street analysts’ expectations.
Terrifier 3 took in $54 million in theaters last fall, unseating Warner Bros.’ Joker: Folie à Deux in the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office and going on to become the top unrated release in history. The film debuts Friday on the company-owned subscription horror streaming outlet Screambox and McGurk said execs are “reviewing many other pay and streaming distribution channel options.” The script for the fourth installment in the franchise, meanwhile, is being written by franchise creator Damien Leone, he added.
While the mainstream success of the ultra-violent exploits of Art the Clown stunned many industryites, it was the fruit of a multi-year strategy to identify diamonds in the rough. Once selected, these properties are incubated among super-fans via company-owned streaming services, podcasts and digital brands before receiving a hand-crafted marketing campaign far heavy on social media and notably lacking expensive TV buys. This ecosystem built by Cineverse, in fact, is proven enough that Focus Features and Neon have enlisted the company’s services for their own releases, including Focus holiday breakout Nosferatu.
McGurk declined to offer a profit breakdown for the threequel, citing contractual agreements to maintain confidentiality, but he laid out the company’s strategy to do multiple follow-ups. “These are films targeted at very established fan bases and with known intellectual property that we can distribute using the same blueprint,” he said. That slate includes Silent Night Deadly Night (a team-up with StudioCanal), The Toxic Avenger and Wolf Creek: Legacy. (The last is the third installment in a breakout franchise set in the Australian outback.) Acquisition and marketing costs for all three films are expected to come in below those of Terrifier 3, McGurk said.
Stock in Cineverse jumped 5% in after-hours trading Thursday on the results. The shares, after flirting with a delisting a couple of years ago as they languished well below $1, have nearly tripled in the past year, closing Thursday’s regular trading session at $4.48.
