Disney just had the most profitable quarter in the entertainment giant's history—with net income rising to $1.83 billion during its third fiscal quarter, compared to $1.48 billion during Q3 last year.
Surprisingly, it had little to do with the studio division's "The Avengers"—the third-highest earning film of all time. Some sections of the business media seemed to think "Avengers" was the main factor in the quarter.
While "Avengers" has currently grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, it is Disney's Parks and Resorts operation which is propping up the company's revenues right now. Movie revenue was flat at $1.6 billion. Parks revenue was up 9%, to $3.4 billion.
Disney said that spending at its domestic resorts increased 8 percent, while overseas parks and the Disney cruise line saw a 21 percent sales rise. Most of that coming from Cars Land, the theme rides at Disney's California Adventure park, which is a part of Disneyland.
The movie studio unit looks positively healthy compared to Disney's Interactive division, however. DI revenues were down 22 percent to $196 million—after an increase of 13 percent in Q2.
After the $200 million write-off that was "John Carter" in Q2, home DVD sales of "The Avengers" during the rest of the year may help in future quarters. Luckily, CEO Robert Iger revealed Tuesday that Marvel has secured a deal with "Avengers" director/writer Joss Whedon to write and direct a sequel to the hit film.
