The strong box office performance of Marvel’s “The Avengers” helped The Walt Disney Co. shrug off the disaster that was “John Carter of Mars” and led to improved financial performance in its studio entertainment for the third quarter. “The Avengers,” released in May, has brought in more than $600 million in domestic box office receipts and in excess of $1.4 billion in total worldwide box office receipts. The higher box office tally contributed to the studio entertainment division posting operating income of $313 million. In the second quarter, when the company’s big theatrical release was “John Carter,” the division had an operating loss of $84 million. “John Carter” brought in $282 million in worldwide box office receipts, leading to the studio taking a loss and replacing the chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. For the quarter ending June 30, Disney reported net income of $1.8 billion, or $1.01 per diluted share, on revenue of $11 billion. For the same period in 2011, the company reported net income of $1.5 billion, or $0.77 per diluted share, on revenue of $10.77 billion. Despite the strong performance of “The Avengers,” revenue in the studio entertainment division remained flat in the second quarter at $1.6 billion when compared to the prior year. The Parks and Resorts division reported a 9 percent increase in revenue to $3.4 billion from $3.2 billion in the second quarter. The Media Networks division increased revenue to $5 billion from $4.9 billion in the second quarter 2011. The Interactive division reported a decrease in revenue to $196 million from $251 million, attributed to lower sales due to fewer game titles released. Mark R. Madler
