‘Ben-Hur’ Drags Down MGM Q3 Earnings

MGM Studios’ third-quarter earnings were Ben-Hurt by its remake of the chariot racing epic, as the $100 million film — with tens of millions more spent on marketing — crashed to just $26 million domestically and less than $100 million worldwide, forcing the company to write down nearly $50 million.

In September, MGM warned investors about its film division’s struggles, providing guidance that it expected its annual profit to drop 10 percent from last year, when it earned $431 million.

MGM took in just $1.9 million in theatrical revenue during the quarter, as it did not yet realize most of the proceeds from “Ben-Hur” and “The Magnificent Seven” — the latter of which did much better at the box office, making $160 million worldwide since its Sept. 23 release.

Revenue across the company’s entire film content division was down 25 percent from the same period last year, although TV licensing revenue from films jumped 28 percent.

[...] the company’s unscripted television, headed by reality TV legend Mark Burnett, who was named head of MGM’s Television and Digital Group in January, has several long-running network hit shows.

ABC’s “Shark Tank” began its eighth season in September, NBC’s “The Voice” has been picked up for 12th and 13th seasons and CBS’s “Survivor” has been renewed for a 34th.