Which Hollywood movie studio was most profitable in 2010?

Okay, here’s a bit of economic fodder to chew on this weekend. From THR:

Thank Harry Potter and the Na’vi warriors. Time Warner and News Corp., home to the Potter franchise and Avatar, respectively, ran the studio units with the highest operating profits in 2010. They also recorded the biggest filmed-entertainment revenue out of all the media conglomerates.

That’s according to a THR analysis of financial statements of the five publicly traded entertainment giants with filmed-entertainment operations. (Because NBCUniversal doesn’t break out this figure for its studio unit, the company is excluded here.)

But here’s the most interesting detail:

Matthew Lieberman, a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ entertainment, media and communications practice, says 2010 “really was a mixed bag for studios,” with fewer franchise releases and flat theatrical attendance. The profit data doesn’t come as a surprise to Wall Street experts, who say that studio units tend to be among the least profitable businesses at media conglomerates and typically contribute less to overall profitability and valuation than cable-TV-networks divisions, which often contribute two-thirds of total profits.

Cable TV = 2/3 of total profits. Compared to movies being the “least profitable businesses at media conglomerates.” But then it all gets a bit fuzzy because each of the major studios have their own TV production divisions. Is that considered strictly TV revenue? What about fees for movies studios produce that sell to TV networks? And are advertising dollars generated when those movie air only considered TV revenue?

For more of the article, go here.