• by Wayne Friedman , August 3, 2007

On the heels of the death of one its star performers in a murder-suicide, World Wrestling Entertainment net earnings were slammed by a 52% decline, due to an under-performing theatrical release.

WWE took a $15.7 million charge related to the poor box-office performance of "The Condemned," which starred wrestler "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The film, which was ripped by critics, took in $7 million in box office receipts.

Net profits for WWE's second quarter sank to $7 million from $14.7 million the year before. Revenues increased 15% to $137.5 million.

The company's revenues improved largely because of record results for its regular Wrestlemania pay-per-view event. Its television entertainment division nudged up 1% in net profits over the year before to $33.4 million.

WWE noted its consumer product sales grew 29%; digital media revenues were 30% higher over the second quarter of 2006.

Taking out the film charge, WWE said it improved cash flow--earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization--by 18% to $27.7 million, said Linda McMahon, WWE's chief executive officer. In June, WWE performer Chris Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, then killed himself. Since then, WWE's stock has dropped 8%. Not helping the stock performance was a U.S. House committee request last month for the WWE to turn over any information it had on steroid and drug abuse in pro wrestling.