Warner Bros. Discovery on Friday reported worse-than-expected quarterly earnings — due in large part to box office flops from its movie studio — sending the media giant’s shares plummeting more than 9% in midday trading.

The David Zaslav-run company — which along with Warner Bros. studios, owns CNN, TNT and streaming service Max — reeled in fourth quarter revenue of  $10.28 billion, missing  analysts’ average estimate of $10.35 billion. ...

However, studio business revenue sank 17% in the fourth quarter, following lackluster results from highly-anticipated releases such as the musical version of “The Color Purple,” featuring Fantasia Barrino and Taraji P. Henson, and “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom,” starring Jason Momoa.