(Reuters) – “Star Trek Into Darkness,” the newest installment in the classic intergalactic franchise, blasted to the top of movie box office charts with $70.6 million in weekend ticket sales at theaters in the United States and Canada.

The new 3D voyage for Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise knocked mighty “Iron Man 3″ into second place, while the Marvel superhero sequel grabbed $35.2 million. Jazz Age drama “The Great Gatsby” finished third with $23.4 million, according to studio estimates.

Weekend ticket sales for “Into Darkness” failed to reach the level of 2009 movie “Star Trek,” which took in $75.2 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters without a lift from higher 3D ticket prices.

However, its overall take from Wednesday through Sunday beat the 2009 numbers, with “Into Darkness” taking in $84.1 million. The 2009 installment took in $79.2 million for the same period, according to distributor Paramount.

“Into Darkness,” a $190 million production, opened late on Wednesday to grab a head start on the weekend. The take through Sunday was shy of the $100 million some box office analysts projected.

Paramount said the film’s audience was comprised largely of longtime “Star Trek” fans, but was optimistic that good reviews and word of mouth would bring in a broader audience in coming weeks.

Paramount also expressed satisfaction with the film’s performance abroad.

“To a large extent, the last film was uniquely a U.S. and Canada event, but we’re really pleased that the foreign sales are neck-and-neck with the domestic market,” said Don Harris, president of domestic theatrical distribution at Paramount, a unit of Viacom Inc.

The movie has rung up $80.5 million in international markets since opening outside North America on Thursday, Paramount said, for a combined global total of $164.5 million.

“Into Darkness” stars Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, the pointy-eared, human-Vulcan first officer. British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, best known as the detective Sherlock Holmes in the BBC drama “Sherlock,” plays a villain who launches an attack on Starfleet’s base in London.

The movie is the second “Star Trek” film directed by “Lost” TV show creator J.J. Abrams, who rebooted the Star Trek franchise with more action and has attempted to broaden it to a wider audience beyond hard-core “Trekkies” who were fans of the classic 1960s TV show and 10 previous big-screen adaptations.

Abrams’ 2009 installment was a critical success, though analysts were disappointed with foreign box office sales of about $130 million, just one-third of its global take of $386 million.

Critics have embraced “Into Darkness,” which as of Sunday had earned an 87 percent positive rating on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences responded with an “A” rating in surveys by CinemaScore.

“Iron Man 3″ added to its blockbuster sales around the world, reaching $736.2 through Sunday for a global total of $1.07 billion less than one month after its April 24 overseas debut, according to Walt Disney Co. The movie, from Disney’s Marvel Studios, stars Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, a billionaire businessman with a superhero alter-ego.

“The Great Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, brought its worldwide total to $132.3 million through two weekends, according to Warner Bros., the Time Warner Inc unit that released the film.

Rounding out the top five, dark action comedy “Pain & Gain,” released by Paramount and starring Mark Wahlberg, landed in fourth place with takings of $3.1 million. Animated family flick “The Croods” took the No. 5 slot with $2.8 million.

In the U.K. and Ireland, “Fast and Furious 6″ brought in $13.8 million (9 million pounds) this weekend, a record opening for distributor Universal in those territories. The film will open in the United States, Canada, and 59 international territories on Friday.

Universal Pictures is a unit of Comcast’s NBC/Universal.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Andrea Burzynski; Editing by Paul Simao and David Brunnstrom)

The network is so confident in “Marvel’s Agents of
S.H.I.E.L.D.” that it scheduled the show on Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
eastern time, where it will face off against TV’s top-rated
scripted show, CBS’ crime juggernaut “NCIS.”

ABC plans to air a total eight new shows this fall,
according to a schedule of its Fall lineup that was released by
the network. It will also retool its long-running hit “Dancing
with the Stars,” cutting it back from two nights to one after
its ratings weakened.

Its “S.H.I.E.L.D.” offering is ABC’s first effort to
translate the big-screen success of Disney’s Marvel comics movie
franchise to television.

Last year’s Marvel movie “The Avengers” and current hit
“Iron Man 3″ had the industry’s largest- and second-largest box
office openings in the United States and Canada, and “The
Avengers” ranks third in all-time domestic ticket sales behind
“Avatar” and “Titanic.”

The new TV show will star “Avengers” actor Clark Gregg as
agent Phil Coulson, who assembles a small group of agents to
investigate strange happenings around the world. “Avengers”
movie director Joss Whedon, who created the hit sci-fi TV show
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” will serve as executive producer.

“We believe S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to recruit a whole new
audience coming in,” ABC Entertainment President Paul Lee told
reporters on a conference call. “And we don’t necessarily think
that audience is the same as NCIS.”

The show tested well in “all four quadrants,” meaning young
and old, men and women, Lee said.

It faces a tough opponent in “NCIS,” the top-rated
non-sports show on television. The show, which debuted in 2003,
this year attracted an average of 21.3 million total viewers,
according to Nielsen data, slightly behind only NBC’s “Sunday
Night Football.”

SKEWING YOUNG

ABC hopes to lure younger viewers with the fast-paced,
special effects laden show instead of “NCIS,” whose viewers have
a median age of 60, Horizon Media analyst Brad Adgate said.

“ABC needs a youth-targeted, male-skewing show,” Adgate
said.

The network hopes S.H.I.E.L.D. will attract viewers to
Tuesday night, where ABC plans an entire night of new shows,
including “Lucky 7,” a drama produced by Steven Spielberg that
follows seven gas station employees in Astoria, Queens who win
the lottery.

Lee will unveil the lineup of shows to advertisers Tuesday
afternoon at New York’s Lincoln Center during a presentation for
the “upfront” selling season, when networks try to convince
advertisers to buy billions of dollars of ad time in advance.

ABC, like rival broadcasters, wants to bring in new viewers
to help reverse audience declines this season. Prime time
viewing has shrunk 9 percent at ABC, according to Nielsen data
provided by Horizon Media and based on viewing the same day a
program airs.

ESPN TO PAY FOR DATA?

Another Disney-owned network, ESPN, confirmed on Tuesday it
is in preliminary talks with wireless carriers about subsidizing
data plans to boost mobile usage of its sports content.

“We’ve had lots of preliminary conversation, but there’s
nothing imminent,” ESPN President John Skipper told reporters
following his network’s upfront presentation in New York.

“If you remember, in the first generation of smart phones,
there was lots of concern that a lot of video ate up the plans
in a hurry,” Skipper said. “So that’s a concern to us because we
have lots of fans.”

Skipper did not say which carriers ESPN was talking to. The
Wall Street Journal reported last week that ESPN had spoken to
at least one major U.S. wireless carrier.

The sports network previously tried the mobile market with
its own cellular service, Mobile ESPN, which shut down in 2006.

(Reuters) – Broadcast networks Fox and NBC are turning to proven favorites to lure new viewers next season, with Fox rebooting the defunct Kiefer Sutherland action series “24″ and NBC bringing back Michael J. Fox in a comedy loosely based on his life.

The two networks pitched their TV schedules to advertisers on Monday at the start of the “upfront” selling season, an annual rite when broadcasters try to persuade advertisers to shell out billions of dollars in advance for their new shows.

Fox is suffering from a 20 percent decline in the audience for once-unbeatable singing contest “American Idol,” while NBC has been trying to climb out of the ratings cellar for years.

Prime time ratings at News Corp-owned Fox slumped 16.7 percent this year, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media and based on viewing the day the show airs.

Viewership at Comcast-owned NBC remained flat this season while that of its rivals declined. NBC is so far in third place this year among total viewers based on same-day viewing.

At a presentation at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt highlighted “The Michael J. Fox Show,” a new semi-autobiographical comedy about a father with Parkinson’s disease. Fox starred on NBC in 1980s sitcom “Family Ties.”

The network also announced “Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes will return in “Sean Saves the World,” a sitcom about a divorced gay dad, and trumpeted its Winter Olympics broadcast in February. It plans 17 new shows throughout next season.

Bringing back former stars is no sure thing. Fox has not starred in a lead role since “Spin City” went off the air 12 years ago. Hayes’ “Will & Grace” ended its run in 2006.

Greenblatt said NBC’s performance needs to improve.

“We have no illusions about how much work is ahead of us in order to grow our business,” Greenblatt told advertisers at the presentation, where the network’s own stars poked fun at NBC’s shortcomings.

Jay Leno, who will be replaced by comedian Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” in early 2014, joked in a video duet with Fallon.

“Who knows? We may beat Univision,” Leno sang. NBC lost the February sweeps ratings period this year to Spanish-language network Univision.

Fallon told the crowd to send any complaints about the late night schedule to Greenblatt and flashed an authentic email address for the NBC executive on the screen.

Attendees at NBC’s event said they were impressed with the glimpses of the Michael J. Fox comedy as well as drama “The Blacklist,” which stars James Spader as one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives.

“‘Blacklist’ stood out to me. I thought it was high drama,” said Greg McLelland, vice president of national sales for Canadian firm Shaw Media.

JACK IS BACK

On Fox, the network is turning to one of its former heavyweights, Sutherland, for a limited run in May of its popular thriller “24,” with 12 episodes that represent 24 hours. The original show ran on Fox for eight seasons ending in 2010, when its average audience had declined from a high of more than 13 million to roughly 9 million.

Fox unveiled five new comedies and four dramas. They include “Dads,” the first live-action comedy from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, and drama “Almost Human,” from J.J. Abrams, creator of “Lost.”

Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly told reporters the network was making its “biggest investment” to date in programming but declined to comment on the amount.

Reilly said it was likely “American Idol” would feature three judges next year rather than four. Last week, veteran judge Randy Jackson said he would be leaving the show after 12 years.

During the Fox presentation at New York’s Beacon Theater, Emmy winner Greg Kinnear took to the stage to promote his new legal drama “Rake.” Reilly pitched upcoming miniseries “Wayward Pines” starring Matt Dillon and directed by filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan.

Wall Street analysts expect broadcast networks to have to settle for lower ad rate increases than they have enjoyed in recent years.

Average prime time ratings this season have declined 7.5 percent at the four broadcast networks as they compete with cable hits like “The Walking Dead” and “Duck Dynasty,” and streaming services like Netflix Inc.

Netflix, in a bid to shift attention from the broadcast networks, sent a man in a banana suit to give out stickers to ad executives outside of the NBC upfront. The stunt promoted “Arrested Development,” a former Fox network sitcom that Netflix is reviving online this month as it moves into original programming.

ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co, will present its new schedule to advertisers on Tuesday, followed by CBS on Wednesday.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker in New York and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Steve Orlofsky and Chris Gallagher)

(Reuters) – Broadcast networks Fox and NBC are turning to proven favorites to lure new viewers next season, with Fox rebooting the defunct Kiefer Sutherland action series “24″ and NBC bringing back Michael J. Fox in a comedy loosely based on his life.

The two networks pitched their TV schedules to advertisers on Monday at the start of the “upfront” selling season, an annual rite when broadcasters try to persuade advertisers to shell out billions of dollars in advance for their new shows.

NBC and Fox need new hits to fill out their lineups, which may explain why both are bringing back stars from the past.

Prime time ratings at News Corp-owned Fox slumped 16.7 percent this year, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media and based on live viewing and those who record and watch the show the same day. The decline stemmed largely from a dwindling audience for singing contest “American Idol.”

Viewership at Comcast-owned NBC remained flat this season while that of its rivals declined. NBC is so far in third place this year among total viewers based on same-day viewing but has been in the ratings cellar for years.

At a presentation at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt highlighted “The Michael J. Fox Show,” a new semi-autobiographical comedy about a father with Parkinson’s. Fox starred on NBC in 1980s sitcom “Family Ties.”

The network also announced the return of “Will & Grace” star Sean Hayes to its schedule in “Sean Saves the World,” a sitcom about a divorced gay dad, and trumpeted its broadcast of the Winter Olympics early next year.

Greenblatt said the network’s performance needs to improve.

“We have no illusions about how much work is ahead of us in order to grow our business,” Greenblatt told advertisers at the presentation.

Jay Leno, who will be replaced by comedian Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show” in early 2014, joked in a video duet with Fallon about NBC’s struggles.

“Who knows? We may beat Univision,” Leno sang. NBC lost the February sweeps ratings period this year to Spanish-language network Univision.

Fallon told the crowd to send any complaints about the late night schedule to Greenblatt and flashed an authentic email address for the NBC executive on the screen.

Attendees at NBC’s event said they were impressed with the initial glimpses of the Michael J. Fox comedy as well as drama “The Blacklist,” which stars James Spader as an ex-government agent who is one of the FBI’s most-wanted fugitives.

“‘Blacklist’ stood out to me. I thought it was high drama,” said Greg McLelland, vice president of national sales for Canadian firm Shaw Media, following the event.

JACK IS BACK

On Fox, the network is turning to one of its former heavyweights, Sutherland, for a limited run in May of its popular thriller “24,” with 12 episodes that represent 24 hours. The original show ran on Fox for eight seasons ending in 2010.

Fox also unveiled five new comedies and four dramas. They include “Dads,” the first live-action comedy from “Family Guy” creator Seth MacFarlane, and “Almost Human,” from J.J. Abrams, creator of “Lost.”.

Fox Entertainment Chairman Kevin Reilly said that Fox was making “the biggest investment” to date in programming for Fox but declined to comment on the amount.

Reilly said it was likely “American Idol,” which lost 20 percent of its audience this season, would have three judges next year rather than four. Last week, veteran judge Randy Jackson said he would be leaving the show after 12 years.

Wall Street analysts expect broadcast networks to have to settle for lower ad rate increases than they have enjoyed in recent years.

Average prime time ratings this season have declined 7.5 percent at the four broadcast networks as they compete with cable hits like “The Walking Dead” and “Duck Dynasty,” and streaming services like Netflix Inc.

Netflix, in a bid to shift attention away from the broadcast networks, had a man in a banana suit give out stickers to ad executives outside of the NBC upfront. The stunt promoted “Arrested Development,” a former Fox network sitcom that the Internet streaming service is reviving this month online.

ABC, owned by Walt Disney Co, will present its new schedule to advertisers on Tuesday, followed by CBS on Wednesday.

(Reporting By Liana B. Baker in New York and Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

(Reuters) – Tony Stark’s superpowers lifted blockbuster “Iron Man 3″ back to the top of movie charts in the United States and Canada, beating out a strong debut over the weekend for lavish Jazz Age drama “The Great Gatsby.”

Coming off a gigantic opening a week earlier, “Iron Man 3″ commanded $72.5 million in ticket sales from Friday through Sunday in its second weekend. “Gatsby,” starring Leonardo DiCaprio as millionaire Jay Gatsby in the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald tale, earned a strong $51.1 million, according to studio estimates.

Domestic ticket sales for “Iron Man 3″ dropped 58 percent from a week earlier, when the film hauled in $174.1 million for the second-biggest movie opening of all time. The film from Walt Disney Co’s Marvel Studios stars Robert Downey Jr. as Stark, a billionaire businessman with a superhero alter ego.

International sales for “Iron Man 3″ reached a massive $664 million through Sunday after adding $89 million from the weekend, Disney said. The film’s worldwide take now stands at $949 million.

“Gatsby” outpaced pre-weekend forecasts for an opening of up to $45 million. Directed by Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, it is the latest Hollywood rendition of Fitzgerald’s classic American novel, “The Great Gatsby.” A 1974 version starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow fared poorly at the box office.

DiCaprio stars in the title role, a millionaire pining for a lost love, played by Carey Mulligan, during the height of the hedonistic 1920s. Tobey Maguire and Joel Edgerton also star. Rapper Jay-Z produced the soundtrack.

“We never expected to open this picture at this level,” said Dan Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner Bros., the Time Warner Inc unit that distributed the film.

Fellman said the picture, which has been accorded the prestigious opening night slot at this week’s Cannes Film Festival, was now well-positioned for a long run into the summer as an alternative to traditional action movies.

The majority of ticket buyers were female by 59 percent to 41 percent, and 31 percent of ticket buyers were under age 25, Warner Bros. said.

“We’re going to have a nice, long healthy run,” he told Reuters.

DiCaprio’s performance was widely praised, but the movie, which cost about $105 million to produce, received a mixed reception from critics. As of Saturday, 48 percent of reviews recommended the film on the Rotten Tomatoes website.

But in its opening weekend, the film very nearly eclipsed the total $57.4 million take of Luhrmann’s most successful film, “Moulin Rouge,” which went on to win several Academy Awards.

Elsewhere over the weekend, dark action comedy “Pain & Gain” starring Mark Wahlberg placed a distant third with $5 million at U.S. and Canadian theaters.

Comedy “Peeples,” the other new nationwide release, finished fourth with $4.9 million. Produced by Tyler Perry, the film stars Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington in the story of a well-off family’s reunion that is interrupted when a man arrives to seek their daughter’s hand in marriage.

Baseball drama “42″ finished in fifth place with $4.7 million.

“Star Trek Into Darkness,” which opens domestically on Wednesday, took in $31.7 million in seven international territories including Britain, Mexico, Australia and Germany, Paramount Pictures reported.

“Pain & Gain” was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. Lions Gate Entertainment distributed “Peeples,” and Warner Bros. distributed “42.”

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

(Reuters) – U.S. broadcast networks head into their biggest ad-selling season this week, competing with streaming services like Netflix, battling online players for ad dollars, and fending off hits starring zombies and duck hunters on cable.

The increased competition will force ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC to settle for their lowest average rate hikes in three years during the “upfront” selling season, Wall Street analysts say.

During the upfronts, networks preview shows for their fall schedules, trying to persuade advertisers to buy billions of dollars worth of commercial time in advance.

The broadcasters still command premium ad prices because they reach an audience that is far bigger than the viewership of any single cable channel. Upfront rates likely will rise by 6 percent on average, as the broadcasters book about $9 billion worth of ad inventory during the upfronts, Barclays Capital estimates.

While 6 percent is well ahead of the 1.3 percent annual inflation rate, it is lower than the rich gains networks enjoyed in recent years. Upfront ad rates increased by 7.5 percent last year, and by 11.1 percent the previous year.

“For the networks, they probably feel very challenged that they have more competitors and are facing lower ratings,” said Mark Fratrik, chief economist at media research firm BIA/Kelsey.

“Advertisers have many more places to go to, so broadcasters are probably a little reticent of trying to push stronger (rates), even with this stronger economy,” Fratrik added.

Viewers’ biggest distraction is cable TV, which is churning out more hits that lure eyeballs from the Big Four. AMC’s zombie thriller “The Walking Dead” and the A&E reality show “Duck Dynasty” haul in broadcast-sized audiences. “Walking Dead” averaged 10.7 million viewers this season, more than all but the top 12 shows on broadcast TV.

Online video players such as Hulu and Google Inc’s YouTube are jockeying for ad dollars, and viewing hours are growing on Netflix, the streaming service that is making a big push into original programming with shows like political thriller “House of Cards.”

Plus, networks don’t yet get full credit in Nielsen ratings for the viewers who catch their favorite shows online.

So far this season, combined prime-time ratings on the four broadcasters declined 7.5 percent, the biggest year-over-year decline in six years, according to Nielsen data provided by Horizon Media and based on live viewing and those who record and watch the show the same day.

ADVERTISERS PUSH FOR LOWER RATES

Advertisers intend to use the reduced numbers of eyeballs to push for lower rate increases in the annual scrum. Network executives have countered in recent years that they still deliver the largest numbers of viewers at any one time.

Broadcasters also are home to the biggest sporting events, which draw premium ad dollars because viewers tend to watch them live without skipping commercials.

CBS, the ratings leader in total viewers, is projected to score the largest uptick, 6.5 percent, Barclays forecast, followed by ABC with 6 percent, Fox with 5.5 percent, and NBC with 5 percent.

“I am extremely bullish about the upfront marketplace,” CBS Chief Executive Leslie Moonves said on a May 1 conference call.

Moonves’ network leads in the advertiser-coveted 18- to 49-year-old age group, lifted by February’s Super Bowl broadcast. Without the Super Bowl, CBS’ same-day ratings for total viewers fell 5.7 percent.

Fox’s audience plunged 16.7 percent this season, pulled down by the dwindling audience for the once-unbeatable singing competition “American Idol.”

NBC, in the ratings basement for years, gained ground in the fall but faltered in the new year when its popular singing competition “The Voice” went on hiatus. Its season-to-date ratings are about flat. ABC’s audience declined 9 percent.

COULD BE WORSE

Despite these challenges, a 6 percent rate hike still represents a healthy gain, analysts say, showing that demand for ad time on broadcast TV remains the preferred platform for advertisers to reach a large audience.

“Despite some of the chatter out there, TV advertising is holding up really well,” Morningstar analyst Michael Corty said.

And if the networks do not like the rates they are seeing during the upfront season, they can hold back inventory and sell it later on the last-minute “scatter” market.

To better compete with the one-hour cable hits such as the “Homeland” security thriller and the “Game of Thrones” fantasy series, the networks are offering their own dramatic fare, hoping to get viewers to tune in every week to catch the latest twist in a running story.

Fox has already picked up legal drama “Rake” starring Emmy winner Greg Kinnear, and NBC has ordered supernatural drama “Believe” from “Lost” creator J.J. Abrams.

Among the other upcoming new shows, ABC has a drama based on S.H.I.E.L.D., the Marvel comics intelligence agency, and produced by “Avengers” movie director Joss Whedon.

“Everyone is still looking for that next drama,” said Darcy Bowe, director at media agency Starcom USA. “It’s still sort of the gold standard by which prime time television is upheld.”

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Edited by Ronald Grover and Tim Dobbyn)

(Reuters) – Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street expectations, aided by growth at its cable networks, and said it is on track to split off its slow-growing publishing business by the end of June.

Its revenue rose 14 percent from a year earlier to $9.5 billion in the quarter, ended March 31, News Corp said on Wednesday. The company posted adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, just beating the 35 cents expected on average by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

News Corp shares rose 3.6 percent to $33.00 in after-hours trading, after closing at $31.86 on the Nasdaq.

One-time items, including the purchase of a controlling stake in German pay TV operator Sky Deutschland and the sale of an ownership stake in New Zealand’s Sky Network Television, helped lift net income to $2.85 billion, a jump from $937 million a year earlier.

The New York-based company said it is on track to separate its cable channels, movie studio and other fast growing entertainment assets from its newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, near the end of its fiscal year in June.

Its entertainment assets helped boost revenue and earnings for the quarter, led by its cable networks business, which includes the Fox News Channel, FX and regional sports networks.

Operating income at the cable network programming unit rose 17 percent from a year earlier to $993 million, as channels in the United States and abroad commanded higher fees from cable operators and more advertising revenue.

News Corp Chief Operating Officer Chase Carey said the company will invest to build new cable networks, with the launch in August of Fox Sports 1, a competitor to Walt Disney Co’s ESPN, and FXX, aimed at young adults, in September. The company intends to spend “a couple hundred million and change” over the next year to build those channels and some international networks, Carey said.

The media company is also trying to improve the Fox broadcast network, whose ratings slid this fall as aging singing competition “American Idol” drew a smaller audience.

“We are clearly disappointed with this season’s ratings at the Fox broadcast network, and are taking steps now to improve next season’s lineup,” Carey told analysts on a conference call.

Lower advertising revenue for “Idol” dragged down the performance of the television unit, whose operating income still increased 15 percent, the company said.

The 20th Century Fox movie studio gained from the success of Oscar-winning film “Life of Pi,” which grossed $600 million at theaters worldwide, and home entertainment sales from thriller “Taken 2″ and animated hit “Ice Age: Continental Drift.”

Operating income at the publishing unit, which includes its newspapers and the HarperCollins book publishing business, declined to $85 million, from $130 million a year earlier.

The company recorded $42 million in the quarter for costs related to investigations of phone hacking at its newspapers in Britain.

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Revenue for the company that operates cable networks, theme parks and a movie studio increased 10 percent to $10.6 billion. At the parks division, revenue gained 14 percent and operating income climbed 73 percent as resorts in Florida and California attracted more visitors and guests spent more.

CEO Bob Iger said Disney parks drew more visitors thanks to investments in new attractions such as Cars Land at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, and the expansion of Fantasyland at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

“The product that we recently put online really worked, like California Adventure and Fantasyland, and the product we had online for years and years in many respects looked better to consumers,” Iger told analysts on a conference call.

Profit rose 8 percent at the media networks unit, the company’s largest division, helped by higher advertising and fees from cable operators at sports network ESPN.

Those strong performances helped offset a poor showing by the broadcasting division.

Operating income declined by 40 percent at the broadcasting unit, as the ABC television network brought in less advertising revenue amid a ratings slump and higher programming costs. Iger said he wanted a stronger primetime lineup at the channel, with more shows produced by ABC rather than other studios.

“We could use a few more hits, and certainly a few more hits that we own,” he said.

Overall, net income increased 32 percent from a year earlier to $1.5 billion for January through March, Disney said on Tuesday. Adjusted earnings per share rose 36 percent to 79 cents, beating Wall Street expectations of 77 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

BLOCKBUSTER QUARTER

Disney’s movie studio recorded a profit of $118 million, compared with a loss a year earlier from the box office bomb “John Carter.” This year, the “Wizard of Oz” prequel lifted second-quarter results.

The studio also is looking at a big third quarter with current blockbuster “Iron Man 3,” a Marvel superhero sequel that has grossed $711 million around the world since its release.

Disney is working on sequels to the “Star Wars” franchise after last year’s $4 billion purchase of Lucasfilm. The company is also developing “Star Wars” properties for television and parks, Iger said.

The interactive gaming division recorded a loss of $54 million. Iger had set a goal of turning the unit profitable in 2013. He told analysts it was now “doubtful” the unit will break even this year after the company delayed the release of its Infinity games and toys initiative to August from June. Infinity “is going to help drive profitability for fiscal 2014,” he said.

Shares of Disney fell to $65.28 in after-hours trading, a 1.2 percent drop from their earlier close of $66.07 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Investors likely were taking profits after the shares had run up more than 30 percent this year, Evercore Partners analyst Alan Gould said. “It’s selling into strength,” Gould said. “The only weak area was the broadcasting. I don’t see anything negative here.”

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Liana Baker; Editing by Bernard Orr)

Combined with international sales, the movie from Walt Disney Co’s Marvel studio brought its global haul to an estimated $680.1 million, Disney said on Sunday.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire businessman Tony Stark, whose superhero alter-ego spars with an evil extremist.

“Iron Man 3″ fed off the success of the first two instalments plus last year’s “The Avengers,” a superhero mashup that united Iron Man, The Hulk and other Marvel characters. “Avengers” opened on the same weekend last year with $207.4 million over its first three days, a record for the United States and Canada.

“Iron Man 3″ finished second on the all-time list behind “Avengers” and ahead of the July 2011 release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” which opened with $169.2 million, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.

“It is an extraordinary start,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president of distribution. “The start on the U.S. side is something that we are exceptionally proud of.”

The $200-million production is another hit for Disney, which is focusing its movie studio on franchise films like “Iron Man” that can spawn movie sequels, toy sales and theme-park rides.

The two previous “Iron Man” movies earned a combined $1.2 billion around the world, according to the Box Office Mojo website.

“Iron Man 3″ debuted in international markets starting April 24 to record openings in many countries including China and Russia, generating buzz ahead of its release the United States and Canada.

The big domestic numbers for “Iron Man 3″ boosted the overall box office, which is dragging behind 2012 after a sluggish winter and spring.

Studios are counting on summer action films, superhero stories and sequels to lift ticket sales in the coming months. Future releases include sci-fi sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Superman reboot “Man of Steel” and robot-versus-aliens action flick “Pacific Rim.”

The “Iron Man” mania trounced all other movies over the weekend.

Last week’s winner, dark action comedy “Pain & Gain,” dropped to second place with $7.6 million. Baseball drama “42″ took the No. 3 slot with $6.2 million.

Rounding out the top five, Tom Cruise’s post-apocalyptic thriller “Oblivion” grossed $5.79 million, and the animated film “The Croods” rang up $4.2 million.

“Pain & Gain” was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures distributed “Oblivion.” Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, released “42.”

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Patricia Reaney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Combined with international sales, the movie from Walt Disney Co’s Marvel studio brought its global haul to an estimated $680.1 million, Disney said on Sunday.

The film stars Robert Downey Jr. as billionaire businessman Tony Stark, whose superhero alter-ego spars with an evil extremist.

“Iron Man 3″ fed off the success of the first two installments plus last year’s “The Avengers,” a superhero mashup that united Iron Man, The Hulk and other Marvel characters. “Avengers” opened on the same weekend last year with $207.4 million over its first three days, a record for the United States and Canada.

“Iron Man 3″ finished second on the all-time list behind “Avengers” and ahead of the July 2011 release of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2,” which opened with $169.2 million, according to the box office division of Hollywood.com.

“It is an extraordinary start,” said Dave Hollis, Disney’s executive vice president of distribution. “The start on the U.S. side is something that we are exceptionally proud of.”

The $200-million production is another hit for Disney, which is focusing its movie studio on franchise films like “Iron Man” that can spawn movie sequels, toy sales and theme-park rides.

The two previous “Iron Man” movies earned a combined $1.2 billion around the world, according to the Box Office Mojo website.

“Iron Man 3″ debuted in international markets starting April 24 to record openings in many countries including China and Russia, generating buzz ahead of its release the United States and Canada.

The big domestic numbers for “Iron Man 3″ boosted the overall box office, which is dragging behind 2012 after a sluggish winter and spring.

Studios are counting on summer action films, superhero stories and sequels to lift ticket sales in the coming months. Future releases include sci-fi sequel “Star Trek Into Darkness,” Superman reboot “Man of Steel” and robot-versus-aliens action flick “Pacific Rim.”

The “Iron Man” mania trounced all other movies over the weekend.

Last week’s winner, dark action comedy “Pain & Gain,” dropped to second place with $7.6 million. Baseball drama “42″ took the No. 3 slot with $6.2 million.

Rounding out the top five, Tom Cruise’s post-apocalyptic thriller “Oblivion” grossed $5.79 million, and the animated film “The Croods” rang up $4.2 million.

“Pain & Gain” was released by Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures distributed “Oblivion.” Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, released “42.”

(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Patricia Reaney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)