Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., the movie studio subsidiary of the Japanese electronics maker, is laying off nearly 250 people and eliminating nearly 100 open positions in an effort to cut costs.
Chief Executive Michael Lynton and studio co-chair Amy Pascal announced job cuts of 3.5 percent of the studio’s staff worldwide in a staff memo sent out Tuesday afternoon.
“Our studio remains profitable, but over the past five months, the deepening global financial crisis has begun to impact some of our lines of business, such as television syndication, DVDs and advertising sales,” they said in the memo.
“These economic effects have, regretfully, made it necessary to take the step we had hoped to avoid, and worked hard to minimize: reducing our headcount.”
Less than 150 people will be laid off in the United States, most in Los Angeles, along with less than 100 people overseas. Nearly 100 open positions will not be filled.< /P>
The announcement follows other cost cutting moves made in October by the Culver City-based studio, which distributed “Paul Blart: Mall Cop” in January and the James Bond flick “Quantum of Solace” in November.
In October, the studio moved to reduce overtime, travel and executive benefits to cope with an economic downturn. But conditions have worsened since then, Lynton and Pascal said.
According to industry association, The Digital Entertainment Group, U.S. home video sales and rental revenue fell 5.5 percent in 2008 to $22.4 billion, despite a near tripling of Blu-ray disc sales to about $750 million.
The market is down from its peak of $24.9 billion in 2004, with a slowdown caused by the maturing DVD format accelerated by a pullback in consumer spending.
In January, Sony Corp. predicted its first full-year loss for the fiscal year to March since 1995. A month earlier, the company announced it would cut 8,000 of its 185,000 jobs around the world , plus 8,000 temporary workers who aren’t included in the global work force tally.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic 3” Rule Box Office For 1st Weekend Of 2025
The Walt Disney Co.'s "Mufasa: The Lion King" claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office charts over the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic "Lion King" prequel earned $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount's "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which has dominated the past two weekends, wasn't far behind.
"Sonic 3" stayed close with a 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic earnings to $187.5 million and helping the overall franchise cross $1 billion worldwide. "Mufasa's" running total is slightly less, with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features' "Nosferatu" remake defied the fate of so many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films typically fall sharply after the first weekend and anything less than a 50% decline is notable. "Nosferatu," which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its running total to $69.4 million since its Christmas debut. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, already surpassed its reported production budget of $50 million, though that figure does not account for marketing and promotion expenses).
No new wide releases opened this weekend, leaving the box office top 10 once again to holdovers from previous weeks. Several have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, "Moana 2," claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic "A Complete Unknown," dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it's Searchlight's highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in... Read More