Lions Gate profit boosted by 'Hunger Games', 'Now You See Me'

Reuters
People wait at the premiere of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire" in Los Angeles, California November 18, 2013. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

(Reuters) - Film distributor Lions Gate Entertainment Corp reported a better-than-expected rise in quarterly earnings due to the success of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire", "Escape Plan" and "Now You See Me". Third-quarter earnings more than doubled to $88.8 million, or 59 cents per share, from $37.8 million, or 27 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned 64 cents per share in the three months ended December 31. Revenue jumped 13 percent to $839.9 million. Analysts had expected Lions Gate to earn 44 cents per share on revenue of $834 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. (Reporting by Richa Naidu in Bangalore; Editing by Don Sebastian)