DreamWorks Animation

Posted on September 18, 2012 by ijteckli

by Ian Tecklin

DreamWorks Animation SKG

Location

1000 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201

(818)-695-5000 | http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/

About

DreamWorks Animation SKG is a publicly traded animation studio that produces animated feature films, television series, and live entertainment. The company strives to produce two or three animated feature films a year that offer its audiences original stories and high-quality visual imagery, with the hope of capturing the imaginations of its audiences.

Brief History

DreamWorks SKG was founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg, and David Geffen. After signing a co-production deal with Pacific Data Images (PDI) in 1995, the studio went on to release its first film, Antz, in 1998. In 2000, DreamWorks SKG launched a new

division, DreamWorks Animation, with the intention of producing two types of animated feature films: stop-motion and CG. In 2004, after a series of highly successful computer-animated films, including Shrek, Shrek 2, and Shark Tale, the company stopped producing stop-motion, hand-drawn films, and instead focused on releasing only CG animated films. Most importantly, it was in late 2004 that the division separated and became a publicly traded company named DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (NASDAQ: DWA), headed by Jeffrey Katzenberg. Subsequently, in 2006, DreamWorks Animation entered into a distribution agreement with Paramount Pictures, which will last until the end of 2012. Since its inception in 2004, DreamWorks Animation has released 25 animated feature films, all of which have an average gross of over $400 million, and a combined gross of over $10 billion worldwide. [1]

Key Executives

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Office and Director

Lew Coleman, President and Chief Financial Officer

Ann Daly, Chief Operating Officer

Anne Globe, Chief Marketing Officer

Heather O’Connor, Chief Accounting Officer

Andrew Chang, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Rich Sullivan, Head of Corporate Finance

Daniel Satterthwaite, Head of Human Resources

http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/management.cfm

Major Competition

Pixar Animation Studios – http://www.pixar.com/

Blue Sky Studios – http://blueskystudios.com/

Walt Disney Animation Studios – http://www.disneyanimation.com/

Sony Pictures Animation – http://www.sonypicturesanimation.com/

Finances

For all of 2011, DreamWorks Animation SKG had a revenue of $706 million, net income of $110 million, total assets of $1.779 billion, and total equity of $1.357 billion [2]. More recently, DreamWorks Animation released its third quarter 2012 financial results on November 1, 2012. For the quarter, the company reported total revenue of $186.3 million and net income of $24.4 million, which is up from 2011’s third quarter results, which listed a revenue of $160.8 million and net income of $19.7 million [3]. The improvement in this quarter’s results are primarily due to the box office success of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, which grossed over $740 million at the worldwide box office.

July:

July 23, 2012

DreamWorks Animation SKG announces its acquisition of Classic Media for $155 million cash. Classic Media is an animation studio and production company that has the rights to classic properties including Casper the Friendly Ghost, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Lassie, The Lone Ranger, George of the Jungle, and Where’s Waldo. With this acquisition, DreamWorks Animation can now implement Classic Media’s large and diverse library of characters across its array of businesses, including feature films, television series, live entertainment, consumer products, and theme parks. Classic Media will become a division of DreamWorks Animation SKG, and will be renamed DreamWorks Classics. For the full article, click here [4].

August:

August 7, 2012

DreamWorks Animation SKG announces its plans to develop an entertainment district in Shanghai, China. The district will be called The Dream Center, and will cost an estimated $3.1 billion to construct. Within the district will be theaters, restaurants, shops, performance halls, and an entertainment area. The Dream Center is beneficial for both China and the United States. For China, it strengthens the country’s media industries and can have a positive effect on the economy. For the United States, it can increase revenue for American films and products, and target a growing Chinese population. In addition to promoting DreamWorks Animation properties, The Dream Center will also be home to Oriental DreamWorks, a $350 million animation studio, where only animated films for China will be produced. The Dream Center is expected to be completed in 2016. For the full article, click here [5].

August 20, 2012

DreamWorks Animation leaves Paramount Pictures and has hired 20th Century Fox as its distributor. Since its inception in 2004, DreamWorks Animation has been in a distribution agreement with Paramount, until the agreement’s scheduled termination in 2012. Since DreamWorks Animation does not have the resources to market and release its films on a global basis, it needs the help of a large studio. According to the report, Fox will receive an 8 percent fee for handling theatrical, DVD, and international distribution. The decision to enter into a distribution agreement with 20th Century Fox is surprising given the fact that Fox already has a successful animation studio called Blue Sky Studios, which has produced such hits as Rio and the Ice Age franchise. For the full article, click here [6].

September:

September 9, 2012

DreamWorks Animation releases its film schedule, which includes a slate of 12 films through 2016. The titles of the films are The Croods, Turbo, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Me And My Shadow, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Happy Smekday!, The Penguins of Madagascar, Trolls (working title), B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations, Mumbai Musical (working title), Kung Fu Panda 3, and How to Train Your Dragon 3. DreamWorks Animation typically releases two to three films a year, however, with the new schedule, the company will release three to four films a year, an ambitious increase. For the full article, click here [7].

October:

October 17, 2012

DreamWorks Animation SKG CEO, Co-Founder and Director Jeffrey Katzenberg visits the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Mr. Katzenberg came to Newhouse as part of the USA TODAY CEO Forum, moderated by USA TODAY’s Mike Snider. During the event, Mr. Katzenberg discussed stories from throughout his career, talked about the current state of the entertainment industry and where it is heading, and offered advice on careers in the entertainment industry. For a full recap of the event, click here [8].

November:

November 1, 2012

DreamWorks Animation SKG releases its Q3 financial results. According to the report, total revenue was $186.3 million and net income was $24.4 million (up from 2011 Q3 revenue of $160.8 million and net income of $19.7 million). In the quarter, regarding feature films, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted contributed approximately $47.1 million of revenue, Puss In Boots contributed $44.8 million of revenue, Kung Fu Panda 2 contributed $9.0 million, and Megamind contributed $0.7 million. For a summary of the third quarter financial report, click here [9].

November 21, 2012

DreamWorks Animation releases Rise of the Guardians, a film about notable childhood figures (Santa Claus, Jack Frost, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, and Sandman), who team up to fight and stop the Boogey Man from hurting children. The film debut to a disappointing $32.3 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, the opening is the lowest for a DreamWorks Animation film since 2003’s Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. The film cost an estimated $145 million to produce. Though Rise of the Guardians will not be a success at the box office, DreamWorks Animation’s next three films are all original stories, and given the company’s track record with original tales, the films should do well. For the full box office report, click here [10].

Upcoming Events

The Croods – March 22, 2013. To view the trailer, click here.

Turbo – July 19, 2013. To view the poster, click here.

Mr. Peabody & Sherman – November 1, 2013. To view the first-look image, click here.

Sources

[1] Box Office Mojo http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=dwanimation.htm

[2] DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. http://files.shareholder.com/downloads/DWA/2039658139x0x563198/3224AB5D-241A-400B-BF77-702A544925C1/DWA_2011_Annual_Report.pdf

[3] DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=718066

[4] Eriq Gardner http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dreamworks-animation-classic-media-acquisition-155-million-353014

[5] David Barboza and Brooks Barnes http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/08/business/global/08iht-park08.html?_r=0

[6] Brooks Barnes http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/20/dreamworks-animation-leaves-paramount-for-20th-century-fox-as-distributor/

[7] Nikki Finke http://www.deadline.com/2012/09/dreamworks-animations-release-schedule/

[8] Mike Snider http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/10/22/ceo-forum-dreamworks-jeffrey-katzenberg/1646191/

[9] DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/releases.cfm

[10] Box Office Mojo http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3574&p=.htm

Columbia/TriStar Pictures

Posted on September 18, 2012 by kkwon01

by Kevin Kwon

Contact Information: 10202 West Washington Blvd. Culver City, CA 90232 United States.

Phone: (310) 244-4000 Fax: (310) 280-1509

Website: http://www.sonypictures.com/

QUICK PROFILE AND HISTORY

Columbia/Tristar Pictures, also known as the Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group or more recently, Sony Tristar Group, serves as a part of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is the film and television division of Sony Corporation. Columbia/Tristar Pictures is responsible for the marketing, licensing, and promotion of its products. The company boasts an impressive library of over 3,500 movies and twelve films that received Best Picture Academy Awards. A total of three studios makes up Columbia/Tristar Pictures which are: Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, and Sony Pictures Classics. Each of these three studios serves a special purpose; Columbia Pictures specializes in large budget films, Sony Pictures Classics focuses on both foreign and domestic independent films, while Screen Gems is more like a mix of the two.¹

Although founded in 1924, Columbia Pictures was only purchased by Sony for 3.4 billion USD in 1989. The purchase was an unprecedented event and it became the largest acquisition by a Japanese company at that time. Soon after, Sony had moved Columbia to its permanent home in Culver City, California.²In 1998, Sony merged its own TriStar Pictures into its Columbia Pictures division which resulted in a single production company. The reason for this merger, as stated by John Calley, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment at the time, was because Sony wanted to “focus on producing a larger number of pictures with greater efficiency and less rivalry.”³

For a more detailed look at the company’s history, you can visit here.

KEY EXECUTIVES

Michael Lynton, image courtesy of
www.sonypictures.com

Michael Lynton – Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. CEO of Sony Corporation of America. CEO of Sony Entertainment, Inc.⁴Amy Pascal – Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment. Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.⁴

Douglass Belgrad, image courtesy of www.awn.com

Jeff Blake – Vice Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment.⁴

Steven N. Bersch – President of Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions.⁴Douglass Belgrad – President of Columbia Pictures.⁴Hannah Minghella – President of Production for Columbia Pictures.⁴Clinton Culpepper – President of Screen Gems.⁴Michael Barker, Tom Bernard, and Marcie Bloom – Co-Presidents and Co-Founders of Sony Picture Classics.⁵

COLUMBIA TRISTAR PICTURES IN LATE 2012

August

August 29, 2012 – Sony Pictures Entertainment along with EON Productions, MGM Studios, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment announced their plan to make October 5, 2012, the official and globally celebrated James Bond Day.

Image courtesy of www.sonyentertainmentnetwork.com

On this special day, fans of the Bond franchise all over the world will be able to experience numerous events such as a live auction charity with Bond related items, a concert with timeless Bond themes, and Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, a new documentary from a joint effort between Columbia Pictures, MGM Pictures, Passion Pictures, and Red Box Films. This mega James Bond event not only celebrates the franchise’s 50^th anniversary, but also creates hype and awareness toward the upcoming Bond film from Columbia Pictures, Skyfall. Director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall is one of Columbia Pictures’ most anticipated films in 2012.⁶

September

September 27, 2012 – Although it was already widely known that the upcoming Bond film, Skyfall, was going to be released in IMAX, more news regarding the movie’s relationship with IMAX was revealed. On September 27, 2012, Columbia Pictures announced through the official 007’s Twitter feed that the movie will be released a day early in IMAX theaters. It was also mentioned that the day early release was exclusive to IMAX theaters in the States.⁷ The studio is building great hype for its upcoming Bond film and expects loyal fans of the franchise to experience the movie in IMAX a day early.

Hotel Transylvania poster, image courtesy of www.imdb.com

September 28, 2012 – Columbia Pictures released the animation feature, Hotel Translyvania. The budget for the film amounted to $85 million. Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky, Hotel Translyvania benefited from a strong voice acting cast made up of talents such as Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Selena Gomez. The movie enjoyed the greatest debut ever for a Columbia Pictures animation feature at $42.5 million in opening weekend, a record that was previously held by The Smurfs at $35.6 million.⁸ In total, the film earned a worldwide gross of $296.6 million and a domestic gross of $143 million.⁹

October

Here Comes the Boom poster, image courtesy of www.imdb.com

October 12, 2012 – Columbia Pictures released, Here Comes the Boom, a movie directed by Frank Coraci. Actor Kevin James stars as a biology teacher who enters the world of mixed martial arts in order to raise money for his struggling school. The movie falls under the Comedy genre, but fails to garner enough laughs from both the fans and the studio. In its debut, Here Comes the Boom, only earned about $3.63 million which marked the worst opening in Kevin James’ career. Altogether, the movie made about $42 million domestically and $53.6 million worldwide.¹⁰

October 26, 2012 – The highly anticipated, Skyfall, is released in many foreign markets which includes but is not limited to the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Russia, Brazil, and Belgium. The United States will have to wait another two weeks before Skyfall is shown in theaters. On top of high reviews from critics, the film dominated the markets it was introduced in. In the UK, Skyfall, broke the record for a Saturday theater attendance as well as becoming the 2^nd highest grossing film in its opening weekend with a total of #32.3 million made. The film from Columbia Pictures claimed first place in every market it was introduced in during that opening weekend.¹¹

November

Skyfall poster, image courtesy of www.forbes.com

November 11, 2012 – Columbia Pictures finally released, Skyfall, the 23^rd Bond film in its domestic debut on November 9, 2012. The movie enjoyed tremendous success internationally, and it did not disappoint domestically during its opening weekend. Director Sam Mendes’ Skyfall with its impressive cast featuring Daniel Craig as Bond, set the highest opening weekend record ever domestically in Bond film history with a total gross of $88.4 million. This is a tremendous increase from the two previous Bond films, Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale, that both featured Daniel Craig as the beloved spy. Also, Skyfall, was shown in IMAX theaters on Thursday due to its early release and made $2.2 million outside the $88.4 million total weekend gross.¹² In total (up to December 7, 2012), Skyfall, earned a domestic gross of $249 million and a worldwide gross of $872.4 million. In only twelve days since release, Skyfall, took its place as the highest-grossing Bond film of all time.¹³ The highly successful Skyfall owes part of its success to the great marketing team in Columbia Pictures. The team was responsible for creating awareness and hype up to the film’s release worldwide. During the 2012 London Olympics, an event that was watched by millions, Bond made a spectacular appearance in the opening ceremonies. People who witnessed the opening ceremonies could not forget the image of Bond and the Queen jumping out of a plane to join the festivities. Bond’s appearance during the opening ceremonies made people realize again how awesome the iconic spy really is. On top of that event, Adele’s song for the movie was supposedly “leaked,” which added to the hype for the film. The song was well received and reached high rankings in billboard charts all over the world.¹⁴

December

December 3, 2012 – In the upcoming sequel to, The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), Dane DeHaan who is famous for his role in the movie, Chronicle, is cast as Harry Osborn.

Dane DeHaan, image courtesy of www.mtv.com

Harry Osborn is a huge character in the Spider-Man universe and serves as a friend to Peter Parker as well as an enemy. Director Marc Webb who directed, The Amazing Spider-Man, is also working on the sequel. He revealed Dane DeHaan’s role as Harry Osborn via Twitter. The Spider-Man franchise is significantly and financially important to Columbia Pictures and Sony reserves all rights to the franchise on film despite the character belonging to the company, Marvel, which is now owned by Disney.¹⁵

2012 WRAP UP

Columbia/Tristar Pictures enjoyed massive success in 2012 with titles such as: Skyfall, The Amazing Spider-Man, Men in Black 3, Hotel Transylvania, Resident Evil: Retribution, Underworld: Awakening, and 21 Jump Street. The Amazing Spider-Man enjoyed the 2^nd largest success after Skyfall with a total gross of $754 million worldwide. The third movie in its franchise, Men in Black 3, followed behind with a total gross of $624 million worldwide. Columbia/Tristar Pictures has the number one market share in North America. There is still one more major film to be released in 2012 which is, Zero Dark Thirty, a film by Kathryn Bigelow. The movie will be released on December 19, 2012.¹⁶

References

1. Hoovers Inc. (2012). Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from Hoovers.com:
http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Columbia_TriStar_Motion_Picture_Group.9a3fb312ea9f08a6.html

2. Sony Pictures Entertainment. (2006). Sony Pictures History. Retrieved March 18, 2012, from Sony Pictures Entertainment Museum: http://www.sonypicturesmuseum.com/studio/history/1

3. Matzer, M. (1998). Sony Is Combining Its TriStar, Columbia Units – Los Angeles Times. Featured Articles From The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 7, 2012, from:
http://articles.latimes.com/1998/mar/31/business/fi-34433

4. Senior Management Team. (2012). Sony Pictures. Retrieved October 5, 2012, from:
http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/management.html

5. About Us. (2012). Sony Classics. Retrieved October 15, 2012, from: http://www.sonyclassics.com/about-us/bio-tom-bernard.php

6. James Bond Day Set For October 5. (2012). MTV Movies Blog. Retrieved November 2, 2012, from:
http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/08/29/james-bond-day/

7. Billington, A. (2012). Bond’s ‘Skyfall’ Now Set to Open in US IMAX Theaters One Day Early | FirstShowing.net.FirstShowing.net. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from: http://www.firstshowing.net/2012/bonds-skyfall-now-set-to-open-in-us-imax-theaters-one-day-early/

8. Subers, R. (2012). Weekend Report: ‘Hotel Transylvania’ Scares Up New September Record – Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved October 26, 2012, from: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3536&p=.htm

9. Hotel Transylvania (2012) – Box Office Mojo. (2012). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 3, 2012, from:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=hoteltransylvania.htm

10. Here Comes the Boom (2012) – Box Office Mojo. (n.d.). Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 20, 2012, from:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=herecomestheboom.htm

11. Segars, F. (2012). Foreign Box Office: ‘Skyfall’ Blasts Off Overseas With Massive $78.6 Million. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from: www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/foreign-box-office-skyfall-blasts-383848

12. Subers, R. (2012). Weekend Report: ‘Skyfall’ Scores Best Bond Debut Ever – Box Office Mojo. Box Office Mojo. Retrieved November 30, 2012, from: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3565&p=.htm

13. Skyfall (2012) – Box Office Mojo. (2012).Box Office Mojo. Retrieved December 1, 2012, from:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=bond23.htm

14. Marks, J. (2012). Sony’s marketing team sets up ‘Skyfall’ as one of the best Bond movies ever – West Palm Beach Marketing | Examiner.com. Welcome to Examiner.com | Examiner.com. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from:
http://www.examiner.com/article/sony-s-marketing-team-sets-up-skyfall-as-one-of-the-best-bond-movies-ever

15. ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ Casts Dane DeHaan As Harry Osborn – Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV.com. (2012).New Music Videos, Reality TV Shows, Celebrity News, Top Stories | MTV. Retrieved December 2, 2012, from:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1698274/amazing-spiderman-2-dane-dehaan.jhtml

16. SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT SCORES BIGGEST YEAR EVER AT GLOBAL BOX OFFICE, PASSING $4 BILLION FOR FIRST TIME IN STUDIO HISTORY AS SKYFALL™ BECOMES THE BIGGEST BOND OF ALL TIME. (2012).Sony Pictures. Retrieved December 4, 2012, from:
http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/press_releases/2012/11_12/111812_skyfall.html

CBS Films

Posted on September 18, 2012 by cblangsd

by Christopher Langsdorf

courtesy of aroundthenetworks.com

A Brief History

Created in 2007 CBS FIlms has released nine films to date. The studio handles the development, financing, production and marketing of films. The company has global partnerships in addition to the fact they distribute their own films in the United States. The studio has released nine films and is expected to release anywhere from four to six films per year. [1]

Key FIgures

Wolfgang Hammer

courtesy of www.hollywoodreporter.com

Hammer is currently one half of the Co-Presidents of CBS FIlms. Hammer is the former Executive Vice President for Lionsgate Motion Picture Group. He oversees business, finance, acquisitions and legal affairs for CBS Films. [1]

Terry Press

courtesy of www.cbsfilms.com

Press is the second half of CBS Films Co-Presidents. She oversees creative, marketing, distribution and physical production for the company. Press is the former head of marketing for Dreamworks SKG and was recently honored by THR’s Power 100 rankings for Women in Entertainment. Press came in as number 71 on the list. [1]

Maria Faillace

Image courtesy of www.cbsfilms.com

Faillace responsibilities fall on overseeing the production of the companies original home grown titles. Previously Faillace served as CBS FIlms Senior Vice President of Production as well as spending eight years as a member of Fox 2000, where she eventually became the Vice President of Production. [1]

Scott Shooman

courtesy of www.hollywoodreporter.com

Shooman is the Executive VIce President of Acquisitions and Co-Productions for CBS Films. He recently negotiated the deal in which CBS Films acquired the sequel to the movie The Exorcism. Shooman spent ten years as a member of Sony Pictures. [2]

The Quarterly Report

CBS Corporation recently released their third quarter financial reports as well as their financial earnings for the year to date. Their entertainment division (which CBS FIlms is part of) saw an increase in revenue as it increased to $1.68 billion compared to $1.63 for the same quarter last year. The OIBDA for the entertainment division saw a slight drop off as it was only $384 million vs. $405 million for the quarter last year. However, the Entertainment OIBDA saw an increase for the nine month period to $1.21 billion when compared to $1.11 billion for the first nine months of last year. [3]

In The News

Seven Psychopaths

courtesy of www.royleonard.com

CBS Films most recent release is the film Seven Psychopaths starring Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken. The movie opened on October 12th and tells the story of a struggling writer who gets roped into the criminal world of dog kidnapping by a few of his friends. During its opening week the film made $5.8 million and around $4 million the week after.The overall budget for the film was $15 million and the film has made about $14 million to date. Despite its somewhat quiet opening week earnings the film has been very well received and garnered a large number of positive reviews. [4] [5]

In addition to the movie’s cult like popularity it was also recognized by Film Independent, a non profit art organizations which produces the Film Independent Spirit Awards every year since its inception in 1986. Film Independent announced the nominees for each category this past November and Seven Psychopaths received two nominations in two different categories. The first nomination went to Sam Rockwell for Best Supporting Actor and the second nomination was awarded to Martin McDonagh for the “Best Screenplay” category. [4] [6] [7]

The marketing strategy for the film was quite original. Shortly before the movie came out posters started appearing in Hollywood, California for Woody Harrelson’s missing dog.

courtesy of mockingjay.net

This was of course a take off on the dog that is stolen from his character in the movie. In addition to the posters a Twitter account for his movie character Charlie Costello, was created. [8]

Seven Psychopaths received the Toronto Film Festival’s Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award. This was the first time a movie released by CBS Films won any type of award. Seven Psychopaths is the second and final release by the company this year. [9}

The Words

the films stars Bradley Cooper as a struggling writier. courtesy of veryaware.com

The Words was the first film released on September 7th, 2012 and was the first movie released by CBS Films this year. The Words had the third worst opening weekend of the year for any film as it made just $4.75 million (only Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and People Like Us had worse opening weekends at $3.8 million and $4.3 million respectively). [10] [11]

CBS Films purchased the distribution rights to The Words for $2 million, after the film debuted at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. [16]

CBS Films did their best to market the film in an attractive way. However, there was backlash as some felt the commercials and trailers for the film were too vague and did not provide enough of an idea as to what the film was about. [10]

CBS Films created a rather original marketing tactic when they encouraged fans of their Facebook page to help write a short story that had the possibility of appearing in the film. They selected the story ideas of 20 finalist who helped complete a short story entitled “No Promises” and each received a free kindle as a prize for their part of the story being selected for the final manuscript. The object of the contest was to create an interactive marketing campaign for the film. Box Office Mojo cited several possible reasons for the films disappointing opening weekend including the fact that for many it was the back to school time of the year which could have had a harsh impact on the film because of it’s PG-13 rating, meaning it was aimed more towards young adults as well as those in their early to mid twenties. [10][12]

The words was produced independently for about $6 million and the film has made $11.4 million domestically and $350,000 oversees to date. [11]

Deus Ex: The Movie

November 15th, 2012 marked a busy day for CBS Films as the company made big news in the film industry on two different fronts. The first story to surface was the announcement that CBS Films will be releasing a movie adaptation of the highly acclaimed video game Deus Ex: Human Revolution. The game launched in 2011 and received critical appraise from the majority of reviewers. [13]

CBS Films has announced they have signed Scott Derrickson to both direct and wirte the screenplay for the film. Derrickson recently directed the financially successful horror film Sinister, which opened last October and has made over $50 million on a budget of just $3 million. [14] [15]

the protagonist of the video game: Adam Jensen courtesy of thegamefanatics.com

The production of the film will be overseen by Maria Faillace and CBS Films Creative Executive Alex Ginno. The news of CBS’s film adaptation of the video game was met with generally positive reaction. The game collected over 100 awards including a nomination for overall game of the year for 2011 and is expected to translate well to film due to its strong narrative. [15] [17] [18]

The Last Exorcism Part 2

The second bit of news to break on November 15th was CBS Films announcing they acquired the distribution rights to the sequel of the extremely popular horror movie The Last Exorcism Part 2 from Studiocanal. The film is scheduled to be released March 2013 and will be directed by Ed Glass-Donnelly. Ashley Bell will return to reprise her role as the film’s protagonist. [19] [20]

courtesy of screenrant.com

Scott Shooman negotiated the deal with Studiocanal, which gives CBS Films the rights to distribution but allows Studiocanal to retain distribution rights in France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The previous film surpassed expectations and earned $20 million, while the sequel has been entirely financed by Studiocanal. [19] [21]

Last Vegas

courtesy of examiner.com

November 5th, 2012 marked one of the company’s biggest announcements to date. The announcement concerned the filming and 2013 release of the movie Last Vegas which will star Morgan Freeman, Robert De Niro, Kevin Kilne and Michael Douglass. The film will be directed by John Turteltaub, while Adam Brooks and Dan Fogelman write the screenplay. [4]

The movie will follow the story of four men in their late sixties who decide to throw a bachelor party for the only one of them who is still single.This film will mark the first time in history that these four men will appear on the same screen together. Between the four men they have collected six Oscar wins and a total of fourteen nominations. [22]

CBS Films Future

In October it was reported by The Hollywood Reporter that Sony Pictures has struggled in both 2011 and 2012 suffering revenue losses from the films they’ve released. Rumors have been circulating that the division of Sony may soon hit the open market and be available for purchase,. something Sony President Kaz Hirai has denied stating that “There is no reason to sell these industry-leading businesses, and no consideration is being given to the idea.. In a recent interview, head of CBS Corporation Leslie Moonves was asked about his interest in Sony Pictures should it become available for purchase. Moonves said he would highly consider making the purchase should the opportunity arise. “We love our current portfolio, but as a content company, we would want to look at them,” [23] [24]

Sources

[1] CBS Films http://www.cbsfilms.com/about_us/

[2] Scott Shooman http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/acquisitions-exec-scott-shooman-moves-216581

[3] CBS Entertainment 3rd Quarter http://investors.cbscorporation.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99462&p=irol-newsArticle&id=1755755

[4] Actor, Director and Writer biographies http://www.imdb.com/

[5] Seven Psychopaths Financial Information http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=sevenpsychopaths.htm

[6] Film Independent Spirit Awards http://www.spiritawards.com/

[7] Seven Psychopaths Award Nominations http://www.cbsfilms.com/news/seven_psychopaths_nominated_for_two_independent_spirit_awards

[8] Seven Psychopaths Marketing Campaign http://mockingjay.net/2012/09/11/woody-harrelson-featured-seven-psychopaths-viral-marketing/

[9] Seven Psychopaths People’s Choice Award http://www.hitfix.com/awards-campaign/silver-linings-playbook-beats-argo-for-toronto-film-festival-peoples-choice-award

[10] The Words Opening Weekend http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3522&p=.htm

[11] The Words Financial Information http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=words2012.htm