Attendance was flat for Universal’s theme parks in the fourth quarter of last year, and core earnings fell 3.9% because of spending on Epic Universe, set to debut in Orlando in May, according to Thursday’s financial report of parent company Comcast.

But overall, Comcast reported record revenue of $123.7 billion for the full year, up 1.8% from a year earlier. Among the boosts were the November release of “Wicked,” which earned $700 million at the global box office, and “The Wild Robot,” an animated film that brought in $300 million.

Quarterly revenue for Comcast’s content and experiences division —  which includes its theme parks, studios and media — was up 5% to $12.1 billion.  Revenue for its Peacock streaming service was $1.3 billion, up 28%. Peacock now has 36 million subscribers, Comcast said.

Results for theme parks were similar to previous quarters, with flat attendance and revenue domestically and improvements in international markets. Comcast reported $35 million in pre-operating costs related to Epic for the fourth quarter.  The attraction, Universal Orlando’s third theme park, is scheduled to open May 22, near the midpoint of the second quarter of the current financial year.

“Theme parks will be supercharged by the opening of Epic Universe, the most technologically advanced theme park ever,” Michael Cavanagh, president of Comcast, said in a conference call with market analysts Thursday.

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“In parks, we’re seeing some stabilization after a slowdown in the second and third quarters,” said Jason Armstrong, Comcast’s chief financial officer. “Attendance trends [are] improving across most of our parks, including Orlando, solidifying the foundation for our opening of Epic Universe in May.”

The new theme park, under construction near Orange County Convention Center, will continue to be a financial factor before then.

“We couldn’t be more excited for the launch of Epic. We’ve also been clear we will have significant costs leading up to this opening, with over $100 million, or the vast majority, landing in the first quarter,” Armstrong said.

dbevil@orlandosentinel.com