Japan-based Sony Group Corp. posted its fiscal second-quarter earnings report Oct. 28 with significant revenue gains from its Culver City subsidiary, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., even as profits for the film unit declined slightly.

Sony Pictures’ sales increased 40% year over year to $2.3 billion (260.7 billion yen), which the company attributed to an increase in sales for television productions and media networks.
 
Despite the success of the studio’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which has grossed $396.4 million worldwide to date, operating income decreased by $10.5 million (1.2 billion yen) in comparison to the year-ago period due to increased marketing expenses as theaters reopened.

Consequently, the studio’s second-quarter profits dipped to $278 million (31.6 billion yen) from the same period a year ago, a decline of 3.7%. Still, Sony raised the studio’s forecast sales by $526.3 million (60 billion yen) to $10.3 billion (1.18 trillion yen) and its operating income by $157.8 million (18 billion yen) to $947.3 million (108 billion yen) for fiscal 2021.

Sony also indicated Sony Pictures’ acquisition of anime streamer Crunchyroll in August helped generate the division’s 40% increase in overall sales for the quarter.