Sony’s September-quarter net income climbed 44% to 450 billion yen ($2.8 billion), putting the durability of its film, games and subscription businesses at the centre of investors’ attention.
Lin Tao, Sony’s chief financial officer, said record operating income at Sony Pictures Entertainment reflected steady growth across distribution platforms including PlayStation Network and Crunchyroll, alongside successful content built on intellectual property and creative talent including Spider-Man, Wolverine and Ella Langley.
The company’s biggest film of the period was Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opened wide on July 31, 2026. Tom Holland plays Peter Parker and Zendaya plays MJ.
Tom Rothman, chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group, described the film as a “super-person film”, saying its appeal came from a relatable story that was “very human, very emotional” while retaining spectacle.
Its commercial run was extraordinary. In August, it became the highest-grossing Hollywood movie of all time in India, and it surpassed Avengers: Endgame’s three-day North American box office record.
The film was the second-fastest to pass $1 billion at the international box office, behind only Avengers: Endgame, and the second-fastest to reach $1 billion globally.
By the end of the quarter on September 30, 2026, Spider-Man: Brand New Day had taken $2.52 billion worldwide, making it the third-highest grossing movie in history.
The box-office success transformed Sony Pictures Entertainment’s figures. The division reported sales of $3.23 billion for the three months ended September 30, up 37% from a year earlier, when it generated $2.3 billion in revenue and $93 million in operating profit.
Operating income reached $581 million, a 527% year-on-year increase and an all-time record for a September quarter.
Revenue at the motion pictures division rose 155 percent from a year earlier to $1.82 billion. Theatrical revenue was $1.28 billion, 11 times the level in the year-earlier period.
Gaming also added to the quarter’s earnings. PlayStation Network had 127 million monthly active users at the end of the quarter, up 2 million from the previous quarter and 6.72 percent from 119 million in the same period a year earlier.
Sony’s Game & Network Services operating income rose 83% to 220 billion yen ($1.4 billion). PlayStation 5 sales, however, were 2.6 million units in the September quarter, compared with 4.0 million in the year-prior quarter.
Cumulative PlayStation 5 hardware sales had reached 93.7 million as of March 31, 2026. Marvel’s Wolverine sold 2.4 million units in 2026, while Crunchyroll had over 21 million paid subscribers as of March 2026.
Across the company, Sony reported September-quarter revenue of 3.429 trillion yen ($21.5 billion), up 10% year over year.
The next test for Sony’s games business will include Grand Theft Auto 6, which is set for PlayStation 5 and Xbox after a 13-year gap since the previous instalment.
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