(Reuters) - Toymaker Hasbro Inc (NASDAQ:HAS) reported a surprise rise in quarterly revenue on Tuesday as the box-office success of the "BumbleBee" movie drove sales of its Transformers action toys, sending its shares up nearly 9 percent.
A spin-off from the "Transformers" franchise, "BumbleBee" was the first film to come out of an expanded partnership between Hasbro and Paramount Pictures. It made nearly $470 million worldwide, according to Box Office Mojo.
Revenue from the company's franchise brands segment, which includes the company's legacy toys, rose 9 percent to $393.6 million, beating analysts' average estimate of $361.7 million.
Sales were also boosted by demand for Play-Doh and Magic:The Gathering collectible card game.
The company reported net earnings of $26.7 million, or 21 cents per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $112.5 million, or 90 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net revenues rose to 2.3 percent to $732.5 million, while analysts were expecting $661.3 million, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.