Marvel Entertainment’s first-quarter profit more than doubled, thanks primarily to Spider-Man 3, which opened just last weekend.
The company’s quarterly earnings increased to $46.8 million from $17.5 million during the same period last year. Revenue jumped 68 percent to $151.4 million from $90.1 million. Much of that can be attributed to “minimum licensing guarantees generated from a merchandising joint venture” with Sony for the release of Spider-Man 3.
Licensing revenue leaped to $98.9 million from $39.6 million a year ago, while publishing revenue increased 15 percent to $27.5 million. Toy sales slipped 6 percent to $25 million.
