Pass The Popcorn: A Look At 2010 For Time Warner (TWX)

Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), the mammoth media conglomerate that is the parent company of CNN, Warner Brothers Studios, and other household names, reported an impressive financial report earlier today that revealed an increase in the stock's dividend - a sure sign of good times in a company.

How good will these times be for the company coming up? For part of the answer, we can look to one lucrative division of the company - Warner Brothers Studios.

Predicting profit for a movie distributor is hit or miss, because it depends largely on how well a movie sells at the box office. Even critically-acclaimed movies flop every now and then, while clunkers post surprisingly good - and unexpected - numbers. With that being said, I believe Warner Brothers has a strong and profitable lineup for 2010 that will provide a boost to Time Warner stock.

The shining, crown jewel of WB's lineup for 2010 is obviously 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I', the second-to-last installment of the hugely profitable 'Harry Potter' movie franchise, the best-selling movie franchise of all time. Profit for Harry Potter movies is counted in the hundreds of millions, not tens of millions. This movie alone will provide a nice boost to WB and Time Warner, even with its late release date of November, 2010.

There are movies on the list, though, that I think will surprise people by being more profitable than expected. One of these is 'Jonah Hex', a star-heavy comic book movie that will provide a refreshing perspective on the comic book movie genre that probably peaked (for now) with 'The Dark Knight'. Although it faces competition with 'Iron Man 2', 'Jonah Hex' will release a full month after its main competitior, in June, 2010. 'The Green Lantern', to be released in December, is another promising comic book movie that will probably do quite well.

A reboot of the cult-classic film 'Conan the Barbarian',will release at some point in 2010 and will probably be a runaway hit based on sheer novelty. Reboots of once-popular movies tend to sell well, even if the quality isn't enough to generate subsequent blockbuster sequels.

All in all, I think Warner Brothers will have a good year, and I think that will help sustain Time Warner's bottom-line through 2010. I'm expecting TWX to rise steadily throughout the year and pierce its 52-week high of 30.94 by mid-year.