Profits at Sony Pictures for the third quarter fell to $200 million compared to the same period the previous year, hit by the lack of major theatrical hits and lower revenue from television licensing.

The same quarter in 2021 saw the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.

Sales at the pictures division fell by $1.715 billion, despite contributions from the acquisitions of Bad Wolf and Industrial Media, the company said in Tokyo on Thursday.

Sony kept its profit forecast for the full year unchanged.

At the group level, Sony’s operating income fell by 8% to $3.33 billion (¥428.7 billion), hit by the poor performance at Sony Pictures, offset by strong results in the gaming and imaging divisions.

Sony Group also announced Thursday that CFO Hiroki Totoki, 58, would succeed Kenichiro Yoshida, 63, as group president, though Yoshida will remain as CEO and chairman. The pair have worked closely together at Sony Bank and Sony Network Communications, and the new arrangement, under which Totoki will also be COO, is at the request of Yoshida, according to Sony.

Totoki will also retain the CFO role he was appointed to in 2018, when Yoshida took over the helm of Sony from Kaz Hirai.

“Together with Mr. Yoshida, the Sony Group’s management team, and our employees around the world, I would like to create a positive spiral that begins with Sony being chosen by customers, which then energizes our employees, enables us to attract more new talent, increases our corporate value, and ultimately enables us to give back to society,” said Totoki of his appointment.

The group has continued its shift away from being centered on consumer electronics with the founding of the Sony Honda Mobility joint venture to develop electric vehicles, as well as ongoing investments in the gaming and music sectors.

Sony shares were flat at ¥11,470 ($89.20) in Tokyo shortly before the earnings announcement.

More to come…