Sony Pictures Entertainment Q1 Profit Dips 6% To $232M; Corp’s Overall Operating Income Jumps 26%

Prince Harry was seen in public for the first time since daughter Lilibet‘s birth in June, as he participated in a charity polo match in Aspen, Colorado on Aug. 19. SEE THE PHOTOS HERE.

Jockey, which won the Sundance Film Festival U.S. Dramatic Special Jury award for star Clifton Collins Jr.’s acting, will hit New York and LA theaters on Dec. 29. Sony Pictures Classics acquired the film out of the Park City, Utah festival. The movie will expand across the country following its exclusive debut.

Sony‘s acquisition of anime streaming site Crunchyroll wraps up, there are reports that it will be included in a “more expensive” tier of PlayStation Plus in the future.Earlier in the week (August 9), Sony confirmed that it had completed an acquisition of Crunchyroll for a final price of $1.175billion (£847million).

Naman Ramachandran Universal Pictures will handle the distribution of “Redeeming Love” in U.S. and Canadian theaters.

EXCLUSIVE: French actress Pom Klementieff who made a splash as Mantis in Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 and latter on in Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame has signed with Linden Entertainment.

Sony Pictures Entertainment has closed its $1.175 billion acquisition of Crunchyroll from AT&T, adding to the list of entertainment assets recently shed by the telecom giant.

Sony Pictures Classics has set a Nov. 19 New York and Los Angeles theatrical release for their British romantic drama Mothering Sunday. SPC picked up the movie in September and gave it a world premiere at Cannes last month. The pic will further expand to other U.S. markets after its initial late fall release.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorFox Corporation said profit rose in its fourth fiscal quarter as advertisers ramped up spending as conditions of the coronavirus pandemic eased and it secured new revenue from distributors.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeGordon Ramsay has just signed an effing huge new deal with Fox Entertainment. The chef, restaurateur and TV star, who is already a cornerstone of the network’s primetime lineup, has joined forces with Fox Entertainment to form a new joint venture, Studio Ramsay Global.Fox Entertainment will co-own Studio Ramsay Global with Ramsay, whose current TV company, Studio Ramsay, will be fully acquired by the new entity.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefProfit increases from music failed to outweigh declines from film and TV and from games at Japanese electronics and entertainment giant Sony Group. But, overall, the group was able to report a 9% increase in net income for the three months to June.In the period between April and June 2021, representing the first quarter of its 2021-2022 financial year, Sony Group enjoyed sales of JPY2.25 trillion, a gain of 15%.

Marcia Nasatir, an film executive producer who shattered barriers as Hollywood’s first VP Production, working on back-to-back Best Picture Oscar winners One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Rocky and many other pics, died Tuesday morning at the Motion Picture & Television Fund hospital in Woodland Hills, CA. She was 95.

Given the uncertainty surrounding the delta variant, and to abide by changing local guidance, Sony Pictures Entertainment employees received a note this morning from studio Chairman Tony Vinciquerra that the return to work has been delayed to approximately early to mid-October, Deadline has learned. The Culver City lot will alert employees at least 30 days prior to a new date being set. The studio is continually monitoring current modeling and data before they set a new date.

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures and cinema tech firm CJ 4DPlex have set a deal spanning 15 films over three years to play in the immersive 270-degree ScreenX format.

Sony Picture Classics and Neon fared well in their small releases this week with Nine Days and Ailey respectively, running across 6 total locations in New York, Los Angeles and Irvine – both notching heavy per screen averages with the former leading to its wider release next week.

Real Husbands of Hollywood is making a comeback. BET+ has greenlighted a six-episode limited series revival of the hit BET reality TV parody show from Kevin Hart’s Hartbeat Productions and Jesse Collins Entertainment. The show is currently in production in Los Angeles with a premiere date TBD.

After an eight-year streak on the Culver City lot, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group Chairman Tom Rothman will continue to lead the film studio, this time adding CEO to his title as the global media conglomerate has extended his contract. Rothman will continue to report to Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO, Tony Vinciquerra.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaSony Pictures Entertainment has extended Tom Rothman’s contract for an unspecified period of time and given the film chief a promotion.It’s a strong endorsement for the hard-charging executive, who took over Sony’s film business in 2015 during a tumultuous period for the studio. When he assumed the role, Sony had just endured a devastating cyber hack that had laid bare its inner workings and jeopardized its relationships with key talent.

Sony Pictures Classics drove for the green and acquired a Mark Rylance golf comedy called "The Phantom of the Open." The film comes from director Craig Roberts and is a true story based on one of the worst rounds of golf ever. Mark Rylance stars in "The Phantom of the Open," previously titled "The Fantastic Flitcrofts," as Maurice Flitcroft, a dreamer and unrelenting optimist who managed to gain entry to the British Open Golf Championship.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterSony Pictures Classics has landed rights to “The Phantom of the Open,” a heartwarming drama starring Mark Rylance, Sally Hawkins and Rhys Ifans.Craig Roberts, known for his onscreen roles in “Submarine” and “Red Oaks,” directed the film. “Paddington 2” screenwriter Simon Farnaby adapted the screenplay from his book of the same name, which was co-authored by Scott Murray.