Things look anything but scary for Cineverse at the close of its fiscal year 2025 as the company’s low-budget breakout box office horror film hit Terrifier 3 continued to give, driving financial gains across revenue, adjusted EBITDA and net income for both the fourth quarter and full year.
Growth in streaming, digital and podcast businesses also helped bolster fiscal year 2025 results, ended March 31.
Terrifier 3 made its theatrical release last fall and showed up big, opening to No.1 at the box office at $18.9 million on only a roughly $500,000 paid media budget – making it the biggest unrated film release of all time.
After its hit opening, the film has grossed more than $54 million at the domestic box office – and continues to give, generating more than $8.5 million in ancillary distribution revenues.
That performance helped drive a 59% year-over-year surge in full-year consolidated revenue for Cineverse, which reached $78.2 million for fiscal year 2025.
“This unprecedented return on investment was achieved by executing a highly digital viral campaign, and leveraging internal assets, owned channels and our subsidiary editorial platform, Bloody Disgusting, to dramatically reduce marketing costs dramatically reduce marketing costs and efficiently target a highly engaged fan base,” Cineverse’s earnings release stated.
In the fiscal year 2025 fourth quarter (calendar three months ending March 31, 2025), Terrifier 3’s success continued with ancillary revenue contributions that drove total quarterly revenue up 58% year-over-year to $15.6 million.
Marking its streaming debut, on February 14 the film premiered on Cineverse’s Screambox for an exclusive SVOD window, which drove a 23% increase in monthly active users for the platform in the quarter.
Contributions from the horror film also improved net income, which was $3.2 million for the full year, compared to a loss of $21.8 million in fiscal year 2024. Net income in the quarter was $800,000, compared to a net loss of $14.8 million the same period a year ago, an improvement also driven by Terrifier 3. Cineverse full year adjusted EBITDA increased to $13.9 million from $4.4 million the year prior, while quarterly adjusted EBITDA grew by $2.4 million yoy to reach $4 million in the period.
It ended the fiscal year with nearly $14 million in cash-on-hand and no outstanding debt.
And with the standout results from Terrifier 3, the company hopes to replicate the success with a slate of additional releases that it believes can “provide a strong and ongoing source of profits” for the company – following a blueprint that utilizes Cineverse’s ecosystem of media assets to keep promotional and marketing spend down while targeting highly engaged fans.
Notably, since the close of its fiscal 2025 Q4, Cineverse in May announced the formation of a new Motion Pictures Group division headed by Chief Motion Pictures Officer Yolanda Macias to focus on building a high-growth feature film business, alongside a newly launched Technology Group led by President of Technology and Chief Product Officer Tony Huidor. (Want to hear straight from Huidor? Check out this sponsored video interview with the technology executive and David Bloom).
“Following the unprecedented success of Terrier 3, we have rapidly built a slate of wide release franchise film properties that should generate significant additional revenue growth and profits for the Company,” said Chris McGurk, Cineverse chairman and CEO, in a statement. Those now include The Toxic Avenger (set for release August 29), Silent Night, Deadly Night (release December 12), Return to Silent Hill (January 23, 2026), and Wolf Creek: Legacy (slated for later in 2026)
“Expect more film release announcements soon as we acquire additional similar franchise properties that we believe have avid built-in fan bases that will enable us to successfully follow the Terrifier 3 release blueprint, with both strong upside potential and minimal financial risk to the Company," McGurk added.
Amazon Channels provides streaming subscriber boost
In addition to its film plans, Cineverse saw growth across its SVOD and FAST streaming businesses, as well as an expansion of its podcast network.
On the streaming front, Amazon Channels gave a boost in the quarter. Cineverse reported 17% growth in SVOD subscribers in the period, adding more than 62,000 subscribers after the launch of a Cineverse-branded channel on Amazon Channels.
Viewership on FAST channels and AVOD, meanwhile, rose by 50% in total minutes streamed across RetroCrush, Docurama and Midnight Pulp, compared to the prior quarter.
For the full year, streaming and digital revenues grew 19% yoy to reach $44.4 million. Cineverse said totally monthly viewership across its streaming channel portfolio jumped 45% versus the same period last year, mainly driven by successful FAST channel launches including Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan, Barney, and Gareld and Friends. Dove Channel viewership also grew 16% for the same periods.
Full-year podcast and other revenues increased 86% yoy, on the heels of Cineverse’s expansion to 62 podcasts, with the Cineverse Podcast Network continuing to rank in the top eight nationally.
“This quarter reflects the continued evolution of Cineverse into a platform-first entertainment company,” said Erick Opeka, Cineverse president and chief strategy officer, in a statement. “We delivered strong performance across our SVOD and FAST streaming businesses, driven by subscriber growth from the Cineverse Amazon launch, and the ongoing success of Screambox following the release of Terrier 3. Our podcast network also expanded with the launch of WITZ, while FAST viewership climbed internationally across key titles and channels.”
And while Cineverse appears to be firing on the content-front, it has also positioned itself as a technology and platform company, where it’s leaning into AI. That includes the beta exit of its AI-powered conversational search and discovery tool cineSearch earlier this month – which executives indicated is seeing early interest.
“On the technology front, we are seeing strong early traction for cineSearch and Matchpoint Dispatch, particularly among studios and OEMs looking to automate and streamline their operations. Looking ahead, we are focused on becoming the first truly AI-native entertainment studio, with AI playing a critical role, not just in distribution and marketing, but in development and production as well,” Opeka continued. “We are also exploring emerging new formats like microdramas that we believe represent the next generation of storytelling. These innovations are designed to meet the changing ways fans discover, consume, and engage with content."
For more from Opeka, check out this sponsored video interview with the executive, conducted by StreamTV Insider (and this reporter) in June.