MGM Studios

Posted on December 1, 2014 by amschw01

by Abby Schwartz

[1] MGM‘s iconic logo and mascot Leo the Lion

History

MGM Studios was founded in 1924 through the merger of three pre-existing studios: Metro Pictures Corp., Goldwyn Pictures, and Louis B. Mayer Productions. This leading entertainment company is involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. Some of the studio’s early work include successful classics such as Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz [2]. Once a major player in the industry, MGM filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2010 but emerged shortly thereafter, leaving Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum of Spyglass Entertainment as heads on the company [3]. A mere two years later however, Birnbaum left MGM to return to producing, making Barber the sole CEO and Chairman of the company [4]. 2014 marks the 90th Anniversary of the studio. In celebration, movies will be re-released on Blu-ray and a special trailer will be played throughout theaters giving the viewers a glimpse into the rich history of the company [5].

Key Executives

[6] Gary Barber (L)- Chairman and CEO

[7] Jonathan Glickman (R)- President, Motion Picture Group

[8] Roma Khanna (L)- President, Television Group and Digital

[9] Dene B. Stratton (R)- CFO

Finances

Although still partially privately held by MGM Holdings Inc. MGM has been publicly releasing its finances since its bankruptcy in 2010 and IPO for MGMB was offered in 2012. In its most recent quarterly report (Q3), the company announced net income of $28.5 million, up from 16.5 in the same quarter last year. The revenue however, came in about $9 million lower in comparison to the same quarter in 2013 [10]. This drop was expected since 2013 generated significant revenue thanks to the “theatrical explosion” of Skyfall, the 23rd installment in the successful James Bond franchise, in late 2012 [11].

MGM also revealed in its report that it had paid $343 million for a 55% stake in a joint venture with Mark Burnett, Roma Downey, and Hearst Entertainment Productions [12]. All of the interests will be consolidated in United Artists Media Group – a new media venture. This venture gives MGM a stake in successful television shows such as Survivor, The Voice, Shark Tank, and the upcoming miniseries A.D. [13].

Upcoming Projects

The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies (12/17/14)

[14] The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies Trailer

The Hobbit: Battle of Five is the final installment in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy novel of the same name. It is a co-production with New Line Cinema, WingNut Films, and Warner Bros. who also is the film distributor. According to Jackson, the movie is not so much about this final battle per se, but rather about what will happen to beloved characters. The film stars franchise favorites Ian McKellen and Martin Freeman [15]. This past week, according to iSpot.tv, The Hobbit spent the most money in television advertising, having twelve variations of the ad play on 47 networks [16].

Max (01/30/15)

Not much is known about this co-production with Warner Bros. due out this January. Directed by Boaz Yakin, the film tells the story of Max, a service dog who returns to the U.S. after his handler’s traumatizing death. Once stateside, he is adopted by the man’s grieving family and helps them heal, moving past their tragedy [17].

Hot Tub Time Machine 2 (02/20/15)

[18] Hot Tub Time Machine 2 Trailer (NSFW)

This comedic farce is the sequel to the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine and stars funny men Craig Robinson, Rob Corddry, and Clark Duke who are all reprising their characters introduced in the first film. Joining them will be Parks and Recreation’s Adam Scott, who fill the spot left opened by John Cusack. Originally due out Christmas Day, it was announced in October that the film was being pushed back until February, thus avoiding direct competition with Sony’s fellow buddy film The Interview which stars comedy duo James Franco and Seth Rogan [19]. MGM will distribute and co-produce the film with Paramount Pictures.

Don’t Mess With Texas (05/08/15)

[22] Vergara and Witherspoon pose for a photo on set

Bringing together Reese Witherspoon and Sofía Vergara, the female centric comedy set for a spring release is about a cop (Witherspoon) who goes on the run with a prisoner (Vergara), who is the wife of a drug dealer [20]. Co-produced with Warner Bro. and Newline Cinema, the action-comedy is being directed by Anne Fletcher known for popular films such as The Proposal and more recently Guilt Trip [21].

Poltergeist (07/24/15)

The 80s film about a Californian family haunted by supernatural forces and was also produced by MGM, is getting an update. This remake of the horror film is written by Pulitzer Prize Winner David Lindsay-Abaire and being produced by The Evil Dead‘s Sam Raimi [23]. Initially, the film – based on the original, considered by many to be the scariest film of all time – received an R rating from the MPAA, but producer Steven Spielberg successfully lobbied for the film to receive a PG-13 rating [24]. Rosemarie DeWitt, who plays mom Amy Bowen, revealed that the iconic line from the original “They’re Here” will be featured in the film which will also have lots of modern tech gadgets like iPads to reflect on the current times [25].

Bond 24 (11/06/15)

The currently working-titled film will be the 24th installment in the successful franchise.

Daniel Craig as James Bond in a movie poster for Skyfall (2012)

Daniel Craig and Sam Mendes will reprise their roles as 007 and director respectively [26]. Additionally, Academy Award Winner Christoph Waltz has been tapped to play iconic villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who has not been featured in a Bond film since 1981 [27]. Hilary Swank has recently been rumored to be the next Bond Girl, making her the oldest one in the history of the franchise, but many believe this to be just talk and that the coveted role will go to French actress Léa Syedoux [28]. In legal news, MGM continues a copyright infringement case against Universal over Bond, claiming that their upcoming film ‘Section 6’ is a rip-off of the spy franchise. Universal has been trying to get the case dismissed since its filing in May claiming that MGM is afraid of any possible competitors [29].

Ben Hur (02/26/16)

Though not premiering for over a year, this remake of the 1959 film based on Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel is already creating significant buzz. The film marks the first known collaboration between MGM and Burnett/Downey and tells the epic story of a falsely accused prince (Ben Hur) who manages to survive years of slavery and vows to take vengeance on his friend Messala who betrayed him. Boardwalk Empire star Jack Huston is confirmed to play the title role. He joins the previously cast Morgan Freeman who is slated to play Ben Hur’s mentor Ildarin [30]. Toby Kebbell, Ayelet Zurer and Olivia Cooke are slated to star as Massala, Naomi (Ben Hur’s mother), and Tirzah (Ben Hur’s sister) respectively [31].

———————————————————————————————————

Sources

[1] Leo The Lion GIF. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2014.

[2] MGM HomePage. (n.d.). Retrieved November 19, 2014.

[3] McNary, D. (2010, November 4). Judge OKs MGM Bankruptcy Motions. Retrieved November 19, 2014.

[4] Finke, N. (2012, October 3). MGM’s Roger Birnbaum Steps Down To Return To Producing; Gary Barber Now Revived Studio’s Sole Chairman & CEO. Retrieved November 19, 2014.

[5] METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER CELEBRATES 90 YEARS OF EXTRAORDINARY FILMMAKING. (2014, January 22). Retrieved November 11, 2014.

[6] Gary Barber Photo. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014.

[7] Jonathan Glickman Photo (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014.

[8] Roma Khanna Photo (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014.

[9] Dene B. Stratton Photo (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2014.

[10] Wanvari, T. (2014, November 18). MGM Holdings revenue down, income up in Q3-2014. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

[11] MGM HOLDINGS INC. For the quarter ended September 30, 2014. (2014, November). Retrieved November 22, 2014.

[12] Lang, B. (2014, November 13). MGM Spent $343 Million for Mark Burnett/Roma Downey Joint Venture. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

[13] Fleming, M., & Busch, A. (2014, September 22). MGM Buys 55% Of Roma Downey And Mark Burnett’s Empire; Relaunches United Artists. Retrieved November 22, 2014.

[14] The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – Official Main Trailer [HD]. (2014, November 6). Retrieved November 23, 2014.

[15] Truitt, B. (2014, November 6). ‘Five Armies’ closes the curtain on Middle-earth. Retrieved November 23, 2014.

[16] ‘The Hobbit’ Battles Its Way to Top TV Ad Spend Position. (2014, November 26). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[17] Max. (n.d.). Retrieved November 26, 2014.

[18] Hot Tub Time Machine 2 – Red Band Trailer. (2014, July 24). Retrieved November 26, 2014.

[19] McClintock, P. (2014, October 14). Christmas Exodus Continues as ‘Hot Tub Time Machine 2’ Pushes Back Release – Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 26, 2014.

[20] Don’t Mess with Texas. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2967224/

[21] Anne Fletcher. (n.d.). Retrieved November 29, 2014.

[22] Sofia Vergara and Reese Witherspoon. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[23] Poltergeist. (n.d.). Retrieved November 28, 2014.

[24] Marquina, S. (2014, October 17). Poltergeist Reboot Scores PG-13 Rating By the MPAA. Retrieved November 27, 2014.

[25] Malkin, M. (2014, October 5). Will Poltergeist Remake Include ”They’re Here”? Retrieved November 30, 2014.

[26] Bond 24. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2014.

[27] London, C. (2014, November 23). You weren’t expecting this, 007. But…BLOFELD’S BACK! Bond will be having kittens as evil foe returns – with double Oscar winner Christoph Waltz tipped to play him . Retrieved November 26, 2014.

[28] Leston, R. (2014, November 29). Hilary Swank Linked With Bond 24. Retrieved December 1, 2014.

[29] Patten, D. (2014, October 7). Universal Hits Back At “Desperate” James Bond Lawsuit From MGM & 007 Producers. Retrieved November 23, 2014.

[30] Fleming, M. (2014, September 16). ‘Ben-Hur’ Remake: ‘Boardwalk Empire’s Jack Huston Lands Title Role. Retrieved November 28, 2014.

[31] Sneider, J. (2014, November 13). ‘Ouija’ Star Olivia Cooke May Play Jack Huston’s Sister in ‘Ben-Hur’ Remake (Exclusive) – TheWrap. Retrieved November 29, 2014.

Universal Pictures

Posted on October 5, 2014 by jprooney

by John Rooney

Universal Pictures logo [17]

Location: 100 Universal Plaza, Universal City, California 91608

Web: http://www.universalpictures.com

History

Universal Pictures, Inc. was founded in 1912 by filmmaking partners Carl Laemmle and Robert Cochrane. As the oldest American film studio, Universal maintains its status as a powerhouse in the world of movie production and distribution. The studio is part of NBCUniversal, which is altogether owned by Comcast. [1] In its over one-hundred years of history, the studio has produced dozens of beloved classics such as Jurassic Park, E.T. and Jaws.

Key Executives [2]

Donna Langley, Chairman, Universal Pictures

Donna Langley, Chairman Universal Pictures [2]

Promoted to chairman in September of 2013, Langley has the task of overseeing all film production for Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

Jeff Shell, Chairman, Universal Filmed Entertainment

Jeff Shell, Chairman,
Universal Filmed Entertainment [2]

Shell took over in September of 2013. He came from Comcast, where he previously was the head of Universal International. He is in charge of worldwide operations for the film studio.

Ron Meyer, Vice Chairman, NBCUniversal

Ron Meyer – www.nbcumv.com [2]

Also appointed in September of 2013, Meyer’s job is to oversee all operations and planning for the company from films to theme parks.

Finances

Universal finished 2013 in third place in terms of revenue, just behind Warner Brothers and Disney. The studio also saw its largest worldwide revenue ever, $3.67 billion ($1.42 billion domestic, $2.25 billion international). This was a considerable increase from the $3.13 billion the studio made in 2012. Films such as Identity Thief, The Purge, and Mama helped the studio achieve such success. [3]

In 2013, Universal broke the $2 billion revenue mark in the international market for the first time ever. Fast & Furious 6, another huge film for Universal, opened at number one in 65 international territories and gave the studio it biggest opening weekend ever. Other films such as Despicable Me 2 and Oblivion helped throw Universal into the global spotlight. [4]

Competition

For years, some of Universal’s main competition has been other large film studios such as Disney, Warner Brothers, Fox, and CBS. [5] However, another large area of competition for Universal and other film companies is movie and TV streaming software such as Netflix and Hulu. A consumers ability to stream content online from a subscribed service is sure to hurt DVD sales. Additionally, online streaming companies have been making all sorts of business ventures in order to create and sell their own original content. [6]

Recent Film Releases

Neighbors

Neighbors [7]

An R-rated comedy from Good Universe, Neighbors is a hilarious account of a young husband and father’s struggles to peacefully coexist with a reckless group of fraternity brothers. The film stars Seth Rogen and Zac Efron, with Rose Byrne and Dave Franco in supporting roles. It was directed by Nicholas Stoller, who is famous for other projects such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him to The Greek. The film received positive reviews for the most part, earning a 73% from the top critics at “Rotten Tomatoes”. [7]

The movie opened on May 9, 2014. It saw a successful first weekend with opening revenue at about $49 million. The film raked in about $150 million domestically and $180 million internationally, with a total gross of over $286 million. [8]

The Purge: Anarchy

The Purge: Anarchy [9]

A sequel to the 2013 thriller The Purge, The Purge: Anarchy follows a group of diner employees as they fight to survive the annual “Purge”, a night where all crime is legal across America. Written and directed by James DeMonaco, the film stars Frank Grillo, Kiele Sanchez, and Zach Gilford. The film received mixed reviews, with critic’s complaints focused mainly on flaws in the writing. [9]

The film was released on July 18, 2014 and saw an opening weekend revenue of nearly $30 million. It earned nearly $72 million domestically and about $38 million internationally, for a total of almost $111 million in revenue. In comparison to its predecessor, The Purge: Anarchy did not open as strongly, but earned about $22 million more in total revenue. [10]

Dumb and Dumber To

Dumb Dumber To [11]

The long awaited sequel to the 1994 Farrelly Brothers comedy Dumb and Dumber, Dumb and Dumber To presents the mindless antics of Harry and Lloyd once again as they set out on a mission to find Harry’s daughter. The film stars the comedy duo of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels and was directed by J.B. Rodgers and Bobby Farrelly. The movie has not fared very well with critics in its first two weeks, with many saying that its brand of humor is not as fun and fresh as it used to be. [11]

The first Dumb and Dumber was wildly successful for Universal, snagging over $247 million worldwide. It’s prequel Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd was a huge box office flop, earning just over $39 million. Universal has commonly found success in sequels and film franchises. Dumb and Dumber To opened on November 14, 2014 in 3,154 theaters with an opening revenue of just over $36 million, giving it the #1 spot for the weekend. Thus far the film has made $67 million in the U.S. and $20 million in the international box office, adding up for a total of almost $88 million. [12]

What’s Next From Universal Pictures

Fifty Shades of Grey

50 Shades of Grey [13]

Based on the wildly popular romance novel of the same name, Fifty Shades of Grey tells the story of the masochistic relationship between a wealthy business man and one of his young female employees. The movie stars James Dornan and Dakota Johnson and is directed by Sam Taylor-Wood. The Focus Features film has completed production, and it set to make its wide release on February 13, 2015. [13]

Jurassic World

Jurassic World [14]

Universal hopes to continue its trend of successful sequels and film franchises with Jurassic World, the fourth installment of the Jurassic Park series. It will be starring Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard, with Colin Trevorrow as director and Steven Spielberg as executive producer. The film has been in development since 2001, and was originally set to be called Jurassic Park IV. Shooting began last April in locations such as Hawaii and New Orleans. The movie is currently in post-production and editing, and is set to release on June 12, 2015. [14]

Warcraft

Warcraft Poster [15]

In 2016, Universal will be adapting a video game to film for the first time in its history. Based on World of Warcraft, an immensely popular online gaming program, Warcraft is set to be an epic fantasy tale of good versus evil. The film has been in development since 2006 and is currently in production. British film star Toby Kebbel and Paula Patton have been casted as two of the lead roles. The movie will have its wide release on March 11, 2016. [15]

Steve Jobs Biography Film

On November 25, 2014, Universal bought the rights from Sony Corporation to produce a biography film on Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs. It all be based on a biography by author Walter Isaacson entitled “Steve Jobs”. [16]

References

[1] http://www.history.com/news/the-renegade-roots-of-hollywood-studios

[2] http://deadline.com/2013/09/shocker-adam-fogelson-out-in-universal-shakeup-582309/

[3]http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/studio-smackdown-2013-warner-bros-668302

[4] http://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/109124-universal-pictures-crosses-2b-mark-at-the-overseas-box-office-for-the-first-time

[5] http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/competition.Universal_Studios_Inc.7a0e7231fca927ed.html

[6] http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/08/technology/netflix_starz_contract/

[7] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/neighbors_2014/

[8] http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=townies.htm

[9] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_purge_anarchy_2014/?search=the%20purge%20anarchy

[10] http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=purge2.htm

[11] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/dumb_and_dumber_to/

[12] http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=dumberto.htm

[13] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2322441/

[14] http://www.jurassicworld.org

[15] http://www.warcraft-themovie.com

[16] http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-25/universal-pictures-acquires-jobs-film-from-sony-corp.html

[17] http://www.universalpictures.com

DreamWorks Studios

Posted on October 5, 2014 by apwestfa

by Alex Westfall

Courtesy of wholemovieinfo.com (a)

DreamWorks Studios
100 Universal City Plaza Dr., Bldg. 5121
Universal City, CA 91608
P: (818) 733-9300
http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/

Key Executives

Steven Spielberg, Principle Partner (b)

Michael Wright, Chief Executive Officer (c)

Lyndsay Harding, Chief Financial Officer (d)

Jeff Small, President & Chief Operating Officer (e)

Company Overview

DreamWorks Studios is an American film company originally founded in 1994 by partners Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. In its early years, the studio worked with several different film companies such as Universal, Sony, and 20^th Century Fox. These collaborations saw much success by cranking out multiple critically acclaimed films such as the Academy Award winning American Beauty, Gladiator, and A Beautiful Mind. In 2005, Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures, purchased DreamWorks for $1.6 billion. However, in 2008, DreamWorks decided it would end its deal with Paramount and signed on to a partnership with Indian investment firm Reliance ADA Group to produce its films. In addition to working with Reliance, DreamWorks also maintains a deal with the Walt Disney Company, who markets and distributes its films. [1] [2]

Financials

Because DreamWorks Studios is a private company, specific financial information is not exactly attainable. However, by analyzing the budgets and revenue from the studio’s recent films, one can have a good idea about how the company is doing. At the time of it’s deal with Reliance, it was a known fact that DreamWorks had quite the amount of debt, and the $600 million invested by the firm arguably saved the film company from going under. With the creation of it’s subsequent movies, DreamWorks was once again beginning to see success. In 2014, the studio released two films- Need for Speed and the One Hundred Foot Journey.

With a budget of $66 million, Need for Speed ended up bringing in $203.3 million in revenue- thanks to it being highly popular in foreign markets such as China and Russia. Clearly by making back more than three times it’s budget, the movie can be hailed as a

Need for Speed movie poster, courtesy of wikipedia.org

“Need for Speed” movie poster, courtesy of industrialcolor.com (f)

financial success for the studio. Despite garnering negative reviews, Need for Speed most likely drew all of its audience due to the internationally popular video game it was based off of. The movie’s action packed plot and showcase of fast cars was definitely aimed at a male audience ranging from 15-35, which is the exact demographic that plays the video game around the world. Seeing as the game has this existing wide audience, it makes sense that they flocked to see the film and brought in so much revenue.

Sticking with the trend, the One Hundred Foot Journey made a total of $88.8 million- which is

Hundred Foot Journey poster, courtesy of imdb.com (h)

“The Hundred Foot Journey” poster, courtesy of imdb.com (g)

four times it’s budget of $22 million. This success was most likely garnered by the film’s feel-good plot that is about something everyone can relate to- food. Additionally, it was produced by Oprah Winfrey and her company Harpo Productions. Seeing as Winfrey is so popular already (especially with women ages 25-64), she was probably able to draw in an even larger audience for the film by promoting it on her show, television network, etc.

Financially successful films such as these two are what has helped DreamWorks Studios escape from it’s initial early 2010s box office blunders such as Cowboys & Aliens and Fright Night– which just barely made back their budgets. [3] [4] [5] [6]

What’s Happening Now

As of Fall 2014, DreamWorks Studios has seen some huge changes with studio management and personnel. After seven years of acting as Chief Executive Officer and

: Michael Wright, courtesy of online.wsj.com (h)

Co-Principal Partner to Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider left the company and was replaced by Michael Wright. Wright, who was formerly Head of Programming for TNT,TBS, and TCM, will begin his position as the new CEO starting on January 1st, 2015. He will report directly to Spielberg and will be in charge of all the creative aspects for the film side of the business. Although some are a bit weary that Wright’s television background will not translate well to the motion picture industry, Spielberg himself believes quite the contrary:

“He has a keen understanding of storytelling and how to deliver those stories in every shape and size, regardless of platform. I am delighted to welcome him.”

One thing is for sure, Wright’s background with edgier shows for TNT such as Major Crimes and the Last Ship is a likely indicator of what is in store for DreamWorks: more thrilling and grittier, adult-type content. Hopefully this new type of material will prove to even further revive the studio and bring in even more revenue.

Along with Wright, DreamWorks has also hired a new CFO- Lyndsay Harding from Evergreen Studios. Prior to working in the media and entertainment industry, Harding worked on Wall Street dealing with mergers and acquisitions for Goldman Sachs, and then in private equity for JPMorgan Chase. Her high business acumen will surely prove useful to the studio, as she will be able to tighten up budgets and continue decreasing debt. [7] [8]

For the Future

Within the next two years, DreamWorks is only planning on releasing two films: St. James Place and the BFG. Both films are currently in the early stages of production and are slated for releases in October 2015 and July 2016, respectively.

Hanks and Spielberg on set of St. James Place, courtesy of brooklyndaily.com (i)

St. James Place will be directed by Spielberg with a screenplay written by Matt Charman- revised by the famed Joel and Ethan Coen. It is a cold war era spy thriller, based on the 1960 U-2 Incident, and will star Tom Hanks, Amy Ryan, and Alan Alda. Based on this lineup, the film appears as though it will do well, seeing as the brands that are often attached to Spielberg, the Coen brothers, and Tom Hanks are positive and successful. The sole fact that their names are headlining will be enough to draw in a large audience of adults 17-60, even if the movie itself turns out to be sub-par.

In addition to St. James Place, DreamWorks is also working on the BFG, a film that will

The BFG novel, courtesy of barnesandnoble.com (j)

be based on the popular children’s book of the same name by Roald Dahl. The story follows a young girl and a friendly giant who go on a journey to vanquish evil giants who are threatening the human world. As of October, Mark Rylance, a three time Tony Award winner, has been cast to play the titular character. Because the book and its author are already so popular, the film will be sure to draw in mass audiences of children and their families. Its summer release is also a prime time, seeing as children will be out of school and more able to see the film in theaters. [9] [10] [11] [12]

Sources

[1] DreamWorks Studios – History, dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/29/14

[2] DreamWorks Studios – FAQ, dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/29/14

[3] Reliance Big in Talks with Spielberg’s DreamWorks, business-standard.com, RT: 11/29/14

[4] Box Office Mojo- Need for Speed, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/29/14

[5] Videogame ‘Need for Speed’ to be Turned into ‘Fast & Furious’-Style Franchise, indiewire.com, RT: 11/29/14

[6] Box Office Mojo- One Hundred Foot Journey, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 11/29/14

[7] Michael Wright to Replace Stacey Snider at DreamWorks as CEO, variety.com, RT: 11/29/14

[8] DreamWorks Taps Lyndsay Harding as CFO, variety.com, RT: 11/29/14

[9] Four Cast in Steven Spielberg’s Untitled Cold War Spy Thriller, dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/29/14

[10] Novice Screenwriter on Selling His First Script to Steven Spielberg, hollywoodreporter.com, RT: 11/29/14

[11] Steven Spielberg’s The BFG to be Released in 2016, telegraph.co.uk, RT: 11/29/14

[12] Mark Rylance Starring as ‘The BFG’ for Steve Spielberg, variety.com, RT: 11/29/14

Multimedia Sources

(a) DreamWorks Studios Logo, wholemovieinfo.com, RT: 11/29/14

(b) Steven Spielberg Photo & Info, dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/29/14

(d) Lyndsey Harding Photo & Info , dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/2914

(e) Jeff Small Photo & Info, dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/29/14

(f) Need for Speed movie poster, industrialcolor.com, RT: 11/29/14

(g) the Hundred Foot Journey movie poster, imdb.com, RT: 11/29/14

(h) Michael Wright, wsj.com, RT: 11/29/14

(i) St. James Set, brooklyndaily.com, RT: 11/29/14

(j) the BFG, barnesandnoble.com, RT: 11/29/14

DreamWorks Animation

Posted on October 5, 2014 by depark02

by Devon Parker

[1] The Dreamworks Animation Company Logo

History

Dreamworks SKG is a motion picture company that was originally founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. However it was not until the fall of 2004 that Dreamworks Animation SKG got its start as a publicly traded company. Katzenberg then moved to become the Chief Executive Officer of Dreamworks Animation. It is now considered a separate company than Dreamworks SKG, producing exclusively high-end animated feature films [2].

Key Executives

[3] Jeffrey Katzenberg: CEO. Photo Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

[4] Ann Daly: President. Photo Courtesy of Dreamworks animation

[5] Lew Coleman: CFO & Vice Chairmen. Photo Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

Financials

As the third quarter financial results were finalized and publicly shared at the end of October the company acknowledged their successes. The company reported total revenue for the quarter of $180.9 million, which in comparison to the 2013 third quarter report of $154.5 million was a big accomplishment. “The third quarter of 2014 was strong for DreamWorks Animation, with both quarterly revenue and earnings per share up 17% in a year-over-year comparison,” shared Katzenberg. The CEO attributed this success to the overwhelming success that How to Train Your Dragon 2 brought the company. At the worldwide box office How to Train your Dragon 2 earned over $615 million at the worldwide box office making it the highest-grossing film of 2014. The 2014 fourth quarter results when finalized are expected to be determined by the most recent release of Penguins of Madagascar, which premiered in theaters on November 26, 2014, and the at home release of How to Train your Dragon 2 [6].

In Theaters

[7] Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

Dreamworks Animation’s most recent and only release over the past three months was this past Wednesday, November 26th. Penguins of Madagascar, a spin off of the Madagascar franchise that released in 2005. The group of witty penguins, voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch, Ken Jeong, John Malkovich, and Peter Stormare are on a spy mission in which they must join forces in order to prevent an evil villain from taking over the world [7]. The goal of this animation feature was to draw in the past fans of the franchise as well as attract the family holiday audience around the Thanksgiving release. The animation feature had an okay opening week finishing off second in the box office behind The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. The weekend Box Office Mojo shows its success over just the holiday weekend grossing $25.6 million. [8]. The box office also shows its success over the course of the first five days, with a domestic gross of $36 million and a foreign gross of $65 million, giving the worldwide total of $98.6 million. Unfortunately the gross income of Penguins of Madagascar’s opening did not compare to that of Madagascar‘s opening three day weekend of $60 million, therefore falling short of Dreamworks Animation’s ultimate expectations [9].

Recent Success

[10] How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer

How to Train Your Dragon 2 made its last surge in theaters both domestically and globally over Labor Day weekend of 2014. Hiccup, voiced by Jay Baruchel and Toothless’ journey continues. In their adventure to an ice cave that leads to their discovery of new wild dragons the two find themselves trying to keep the peace [11]. It officially crossed the $600,000,000 million mark, “A record-breaking opening in China coupled with phenomenal success in territories around the world have catapulted Dragon 2 to become the highest grossing animated film of the year and one of the top ten grossing films of the year in any genre.” On top of the first two movies success Dreamworks Animation publicly announced that there will a third How to Train Your Dragon 3 to be released in June of 2017. The film will have the same writer, director and producer Dean DeBlois and Bonnie Arnold. As well as some of the same cast, including Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera as Astrid and Cate Blanchett as Valka. [12]

The How to Train Your Dragon franchise has contributed tremendously to the success of the company in the past few years. How to Train Your Dragon 2, single handedly contributed to the majority of success for Dreamworks Animation’s financial third quarter of 2014. “Films generated sales of $142.4 million and segment gross profit of $64.3 million to the third quarter, with “How to Train Your Dragon 2″ contributing $74.2 million in revenue as it continues to play worldwide. [13]” As the year comes to an end Dreamworks Animation can still expect financial benefits from the DVD release around the holidays.

Upcoming Releases

[14] Courtesy of News.Mic

Dreamworks Animation Studios will be releasing a new animation feature currently set for March 27, 2015. A story about an alien race Boov, that invades Earth, while relocating the humans one very “resourceful” girl by the name of Tip teams up with a Boov alien. The two take on the adventure of intergalactic battle and learning what’s really at stake. Tip will be voiced by Rihanna, while her new alien acquaintance Oh will be voiced by Jim Parsons and the leader of Boov, Captain Smek will be voiced by Steve Martin [15].

The anticipated feature film is one different from any other. Tip, the heroine of Home, marks one of the first black female 3D animated character that any Hollywood studio has ever had. [16] The film was originally to be released during the Thanksgiving holiday slot however it was strategically switched with the release of Penguins of Madagascar. It was thought by the management of Dreamworks Animation that the Madagascar franchise would fare better during the holiday competition while Home would be more successful on its own. “We will continue to be as flexible as necessary when it comes to our release dates,” said Dawn Taubin, chief marketing officer at DreamWorks Animation also adding, “We’re confident that this date switch gives both of our upcoming releases the largest opportunity for success…” [17].

[18] Home trailer

Additions to Netflix

Dreamworks Animation new Netflix series All Hail King Julien will premiere five twenty-two minute episodes on December 19, 2014. The story line takes place before Madagascar however still star the well known cast of Julien, Mort and Maurice, voiced by Danny Jacobs, Andy Ritcher, and Kevin Richardson as well as a new line up characters. All Hail King Julien will have the lemurs taking on the adventures of Madagascar in a very comedic way drawing in a wide viewer audience [19].

[20] Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

The new show joins Dreamworks Turbo FAST, as the studios television line up continues to grow. It is their hope the by the end of 2016 there will be another 10 new animated series on Netflix. Margie Cohn, the head of television for DreamWorks Animation explains that “All Hail King Julien is really a showcase for our talented artists to bring the Netflix audience the great storytelling, compelling characters and fantastic design that is the hallmark of DreamWorks Animation.” [21]

Sources

[1] Dreamworks Animation Logo, auocoms.com/dreamworks-animation-logo, RT: 11/15/14

[2] “Our History”, www.dreamworksstudios.com, RT: 11/15/14

[3] Jeffrey Katzenberg, www.dreamworksanimation.com, RT: 11/12/14

[4] Ann Daly, www.dreamworksanimation.com RT: 11/12/14

[5] Lew Coleman, www.forbes.com, RT: 11/12/14

[6] Dreamworks Finance, ir.dreamworksanimation.com/investor-relations/financial-information/default.aspx, RT: 11/30/14

[7] Penguins of Madagascar, www.dreamworksanimation.com, RT: 11/15/14

[8] Boxoffice Weekend Results, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 12/1/14

[9] Boxoffice Mojo Weekend Report, boxofficemojo.com, RT: 12/1/14

[10] How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer, youtube.com, RT: 11/15/14

[11] How to Train Your Dragon 2 Summary, IMDB.com, RT: 11/18/14

[12] “How to Train Your Dragon 2 Crosses $600,000,000″, PRNewswire.com, RT: 9/17/14

[13] “‘How to Train Your Dragon 2’ Lifts Dreamworks Animation Earning”, Variety.com, RT: 11/20/14

[14] Home Picture, News.mic.com, RT: 11/29/14

[15] Home Summary, IMDB.com, RT: 11/29/14

[16] “Dreamworks Latest Movie…”, News.mic.com, RT: 11/29/14

[17] “‘Home,’ ‘Penguins of Madagascar’ Swap Release Dates, Variety.com, RT: 11/28/14

[18] Home Trailer, Youtube.com, RT: 11/29/14

[19] “All Hail King Julien”, IMDB.com, 11/30/14

[20] “‘All Hail King Julien’ picture”, madagascar.dreamworks.com, RT: 11/30/14

[21] “The Wildest Party Ever Hits the Jungle when the Netflix Original Series ‘All Hail King Julien’ Debuts Dec. 19″, dreamworksanimation.com, RT: 11/30/14

AMC Networks

Posted on October 5, 2014 by mtzukin

by Meg Zukin

AMC Networks

photo courtesy of under consideration.com [i]

Contact Information[ii]—

11 Penn Plaza

New York, NY 10001

Main phone: 212-324-8500

http://www.amcnetworks.com

About—

AMC Networks is an American entertainment company which owns and operates AMC, BBC America, IFC, Sundance TV, WE, IFC Films, and AMC Networks International. Initially, AMC was known as Rainbow Media Holdings and until 2011, was a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems. In 2011, Cablevision made Rainbow Media Holdings a publicly traded company and changed its name to AMC Networks [iii].

AMC has recently gained momentum through television shows like The Walking Dead, Mad Men, and Breaking Bad, on its cable channel, AMC [iv]. IFC Films and its affiliate channel, IFC, are responsible for indie films like Boyhood [v] and quirky television comedies like Portlandia [vi]. Recently, the company acquired a 49.9% stake in BBC through a joint venture that cost $200 million [vii].

Key Executives—

Charles Dolan, Executive Chairman AMC Networks

Josh Sapan, President and CEO of AMC Networks

Charlie Collier, President and General Manager of amc

Jennifer Caserta, President and General Manager of IFC

Sarah Barnett, President and General Manager of BBC America and SundanceTV

Jonathan Sehring, President of Sundance Selects and IFC Films

Marc Juris, President and General Manager of WE tv

Pictures and titles courtesy of http://www.amcnetworks.com/about-us/leadership [viii]

Financials—

AMC Networks just reported its third quarter earnings. Net revenues increased a whopping 31.4% to $520 million [ix]. International revenue reached $122.7 million, up 765% from last year. This could be attributed to acquisitions of both BBC and Chellomedia, a deal AMC made in February which gave them a stack of networks in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia [x]. The company also reported earnings of $53.2 million, or 74 cents a share. Analysts estimated that AMC Networks would come in at 73 cents a share and thus, they surpassed projections [xi].

According to the third quarter report, AMC Networks is currently working with a $110 million operating income [xii].

When the market closed on December 1, 2014, AMCX was down 1.34% at $63.99 per share. The company hit a low-point in mid-October at $52.75 per share and was at its highest in March at $77.40 per share. Looking at the past 3 years (when AMCX became a publicly traded company), we see exponential growth overall.

photo courtesy of Google Finance [xxx]

What’s Happening Now?—

Sarah Barnett Named President and General Manager, BBC America

AMC Networks announced last week (November 21, 2014) that current SundanceTV chief, Sarah Barnett, would be moving up to President and General Manager of BBC America [xiii]. Barnett began her career at BBC in production before she spent a decade at SundanceTV. She will start her new position in January, surveying over both SundanceTV and BBC America until AMC taps someone else to oversee SundanceTV. The current General Manager at BBC, Perry Simon, who was on the team behind Orphan Black, is moving to production with BBC Worldwide North America [xv].

Barnett certainly has the chops for an upgrade in position. Under her reign, she established Sundance as an original programming network with shows like Rectify, Top of the Lake, and The Honourable Woman [xvi] With this new position she will continue to report to Ed Carroll, Chief Operating Officer of AMC Networks.

AMC Announces Two-Night Premiere for Spin-Off Series “Better Call Saul”

AMC’s next new drama series, Better Call Saul, will debut on Sunday, February 8 with its second episode debuting the next night, Monday, February 9 [xvii]. The series follows Breaking Bad character Saul Goodman, prior to him becoming Walter White’s lawyer lawyer.

video courtesy of AMC Networks on Youtube [xviii]

The back-to-back premiere is “AMC’s first ever two-night series premiere event” according to Charlie Collier [xix]. Season one is slated for 10 episodes and Talking Dead will air before it, a solid segue for high-ratings for both shows. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan co-created the spin-off with writer-director Peter Gould [xx].

AMC Networks and BBC Worldwide Enter Partnership

In October, AMC Networks bought a 49.9% stake in the BBC America cable channel. They paid $200 million to BBC Worldwide and the marriage between the two companies leaves BBC with a 50.1% stake in BBC America [xxi]. BBC America is available in almost 80 million homes domestically and was the most critically acclaimed channel on ad-supported television in 2013 [xxii].

BBC America will be managed as a standalone channel within AMC, much like how AMC, WE tv, and SundanceTV are operated. Even though BBC still has a grander stake in its American counterpart, AMC Networks will maintain operational control over the company, as well as affiliate and advertising sales [xxiii].

This agreement occurred almost exactly on the one-year anniversary of AMC’s $1 billion acquisition of Liberty Global’s international network, Chellomedia. That acquisition led to AMC Networks International which is available in 140 countries [xxiv].

AMC Networks/IFC Films Acquires Rights to “October Gale”

IFC Films bought the American rights to writer-director Ruba Nadda‘s thriller, October Gale, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. IFC Films also released another film by Nadda, Cairo Time. The film stars Patricia Clarkson, Tim Roth, and Scott Speedman. Clarkson plays a doctor who takes in a skeptical man when he floats ashore at her secluded cabin with a gunshot wound [xxv]. Myriad Pictures is handling worldwide sales.

Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein Return to Portlandia

Portlandia will return to IFC for its ten-episode fifth season in January. This season will showcase a laundry list of cameos including Vanessa Bayer, Steve Buscemi, Peter Giles, Justin Long, Shepard Fairey, Jane Lynch, and Olivia Wilde, amongst others [xxvi].

video courtesy of IFC Youtube

Viewers will be able to recap previous seasons on New Year’s Day when IFC will air a marathon but seasons 1 through 4 are also available on Netflix and iTunes [xxvii].

IFC Orders New Comedy Series: “Gigi’s Bucket List”

IFC has ordered a series starring David Krumholtz as “Gigi,” a 72-year-old Jewish grandmother from Boca Raton, Florida. Krumholtz is also an executive producer along with Grandma’s House Entertainment.

It will shoot this year and is slated to air in 2015. Gigi indulges herself after she discovers that she has access to her dead husband’s bank account [xxviii]. This series fits in with IFC’s quirky personality and will air in 73 million U.S. homes [xix].

David Dobkin to Direct “Badlands” for AMC

In July, AMC ordered Badlands, a martial arts drama that is loosely based on the Chinese Journey to the West. It is the third AMC series that was picked up straight to series at the network [xxxi].

However, it was announced on November 24, 2014 that director David Dobkin has signed onto the project as series director and executive producer. Dobkin has worked on Wedding Crashers and Shanghai Knights previously. AMC bought six, one-hour, episodes with an expected premiere either in late 2015 or early 2016 [xxxii].

Works Cited—

[i] AMC Logo accessed 11/20/2014

[ii] AMC Contact accessed 11/20/2014

[iii] Hoovers AMC profile accessed 11/20/2014

[iv] AMC Shows accessed 11/20/2014

[v] Boyhood, IFC accessed 11/22/2014

[vi] Portlandia, IFC accessed 11/22/2014

[vii] AMC Networks/BBC accessed 11/22/2014

[viii] AMC Leadership accessed 11/22/2014

[ix] Quarter Earnings accessed 11/30/2014

[x] Chellomedia deal accessed 12/1/2014

[xi] Quarter projections accessed 11/30/2014

[xii] Operating income accessed 11/30/2014

[xiii] Sarah Barnett, BBC accessed 11/22/2014

[xiv] Perry Simon future plans accessed 12/1/2014

[xv] BBC Worldwide North America accessed 12/1/2014

[xvi] Sarah Barnett at Sundance accessed 11/22/2014

[xvii] Better Call Saul premiere accessed 10/28/2014

[xviii] Better Call Saul video accessed 12/1/2014

[xix] AMC double night debut accessed 12/1/2014

[xx] Co-creators Better Call Saul accessed 12/1/2014

[xxi] BBC deal accessed 11/24/2014

[xxii] Metacritic BBC critically-acclaimed accessed 11/29/2014

[xxiii] BBC America management accessed 12/1/2014

[xxiv] Chellomedia acquisition accessed 12/1/2014

[xxv] October Gale acquisition accessed 10/28/2014

[xxvi] Portlandia fifth season accessed 12/1/2014

[xxvii] Recap New Year’s Day accessed 12/1/2014

[xxviii] IFC orders comedy series accessed 12/1/2014

[xix] IFC series accessed 12/1/2014

[xxx] Current state of stock market accessed 12/1/2014

[xxxi] Badlands accessed 12/1/2014

[xxxii] David Dobkin signs on accessed 12/1/2014

Focus Features

Link

by Lizzie Kelleher

History

David Linde and James Schamus formed Focus Features in 2002, after the divisional merger of USA Films and Good Machine. Focus Features was created as the art cinema division of NBC Universal, typically producing, and distributing, their own independent films. With cult classics like Wet Hot American Summer and other successful films such as Brokeback Mountain, Focus Features gains a steady profit from it’s US and international branches. [1]

In 2013, Focus Features went through a merger with FilmDistrcit, and the company’s executive team was completely changed. Peter Schlessel replaced James Schamus as CEO, and Andrew Karpen, former co-CEO, decided not to return to the company.

Key Executives

Peter Schlessel- Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter

Peter Schlessel started at Sony, then became president of Columbia Pictures in 2000. He then moved on to run the independent film distribution company FilmDistrict. Schlessel joined from FilmDistrict, which was absorbed by Focus Features in 2013. He now acts as CEO, and has created a new management team. [2]

Adrian Aplerovich- Photo courtesy of Home Media Magazine

Adrian Alperovich was named Focus Features’ new Chief Operating Officer in 2013, also joining from FilmDistrict. [3]

Financials

As of Apirl 2014, Focus Features has a total gross of $44.9 million with only four movies. Acting as a private company, in 2013 Focus Features finished with annual gross of $37.3 million, up from $21.8 million is 2012. Two of Focus Features’ films did appear on the top 100 List for all movie grosses in 2013, with Dallas Buyers Club and The World’s End. Dallas Buyers Club’s critical acclaim helped the studio climb the list thanks to its high gross. However, there is speculation that Focus failed to turn an overall profit last year, which possibly led to the remolding of the company. Top competitors include DreamWorks, Lions Gate, and IFC Films. [4] [5] [6]

Recent Film Releases

Photo courtesy of IMDb

Jean-Marc Vallée’s Dallas Buyers Club, is the story inspired by true events of Ron Woodroof’s refusal to accept his death. After being diagnosed as H.I.V positive, Ron is given 30 days to live. In search of better medication than the U.S can offer, Ron goes to Mexico and begins smuggling in different treatments. After befriending Rayon, who also is suffering from AIDS, the two form an underground “buyers club” to defy the scientific community, by providing H.I.V –positive people with non-approved medicine, and most importantly, hope. [7]

Dallas Buyers Club began its theatrical run in a limited release in only 9 theaters, but would eventually spread across the country to play in more than 1,100 theaters in its thirteenth week. The film has made a total domestic gross of more than $27 million, on a production budget of only $5 million. [8]

After its premiere at the 2013 Toronto Film Festival, Dallas Buyers Club received high critical acclaim, and the film went on to receive six Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, and won lead actor Matthew McConaughey Best Actor. [7] [8] [9]

Current Film Releases

Photo courtesy of IMDb

Bad Words is a dark comedy staring, and directed by, Jason Bateman. Guy Trilby is a 40-year old spelling bee loser, who fights his way back into the National Quill Spelling Bee to win as an adult. Outraging parents and their 8^th grade children alike, Guy befriends a 10-year old named Chaitanya, whom he shows the crazier side of living, while also changing his own life. [10]

Bad Words opened with limited release on March 14^th, than expanded wide on March 28^th, eventually to 1,074 theaters. On the weekend domestic chart for April 4^th, Bad Words ranked overall 11^th, with a weekend gross of almost $2 million. The comedy now has a cumulative box office of over $7 million (as of April 21, 2014). [11]

The R-rated comedy received a 7 out of 10 on IMDb, but a weaker 56% positive review on Metacritic. However, overall reviews for the film are positive, Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly praised Bad Words as “Grade A-Hilarious.” [12] [13] [10] [11]

Upcoming Projects

In the process of production-

Courtesy of Indiewire

Focus Features is looking to take the place of The Weinstein Company to handle the domestic distribution of Passengers, a 2007 Black-List approved project staring Keanu Reeves. On his way to a distant planet, Reeves is a passenger, who wakes up from his sleep chamber years before anyone else. He decides to wake up a fellow female traveler for company, and the two fall in love, making Passengers a sci-fi romance. Game of Thrones director Brian Kirk is set to direct the film.

Reeves hired Jon Spaihts to write Passengers, and afterwards Reeves agreed to produce and star in the film. Spaihts is best known for co-writing Prometheus, another futuristic thriller that jump-started his career. While The Weinstein Company withdrew from the project after female lead Rachel McAdams left, Focus Features must see commercial potential in this high-value screenplay. [14] [15]

Courtesy of Focus Features

Focus Features has acquired rights to the 2014 Sundance Film Festival premiere Under the Electric Sky. The 3D film follows the Electric Daisy Carnival, and explores the phenomenon of electronic and dance music today.

The movie is interactive, with Focus Features encouraging audiences to use social media to spread word about the movie. Fans will also be able to create their own movie screening events. Under the Electric Sky is directed by Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz. [16]

Coming Soon

Courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter

The Signal, set to release this June, is a sci-fi thriller directed by up-and-comer William Eubank. The film premiered at the Sun-Dance Film Festival. [17]

Courtesy of IMDb

The Boxtrolls is a 3D animated adventure coming alive next October. Based on the children’s novel Here Be Monsters by Alan Snow, is the story of a orphan boy, Eggs, who is raised underground by a group of ‘boxtrolls.’ The family film is created along with animation studio Laika.

Laika is known for their successful films like Coraline and ParaNorman, leaving The Boxtrolls set to have high expectations. [18]

Sources

[1] About Focus Features

[2] About Peter Schlessel

[3] About Adrian Alperovich

[4] Focus Features Yearly Comparisons- Box Office Mojo

[5] Focus Features “Failed Profit”- The Wrap

[6] Focus Features Competition- Hoovers

[7] About Dallas Buyers Club- Focus Features

[8] Dallas Buyers Club- Box Office Mojo

[9] Oscar Winners and Nominees

[10] About Bad Words- Focus Features

[11] Bad Words Box Office- The Numbers

[12] Bad Words Rating- IMDb

[13] Bad Words Rating- Metacritic

[14] Passengers heads to Focus Features- The Wrap

[15] Jon Spaihts Passengers on The Black List- The New York Times

[16] Under The Electric Sky– Focus Features

[17] The Signal- The Hollywood Reporter

[18] The Boxtrolls- Deadline

Paramount Pictures

Link

By Rachel Heffler

Paramount Pictures logo [1]

PARAMOUNT PICTURES

5555 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA

www.paramount.com

KEY EXECUTIVES

Brad Grey

Brad Grey, CEO [2]

Since 2005, Brad Grey has held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Paramount Pictures. Grey is responsible for all development and production for the Paramount Motion Picture Group. Under Grey’s leadership, Paramount has seen the successes of hits including “Transformers Dark of the Moon“, “Mission Impossible“, “Star Trek“, “Paranormal Activity“, as well as many other top grossing films. [2]

Rob Moore

Rob Moore, Vice Chairman [3]

Rob Moore was named the Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures in 2008, making him responsible for overseeing several divisions of the studio. He has been involved with Paramount since 2005. [3]

Frederick Huntsberry

Frederick Huntsberry, Chief Operating Officer [4]

In 2006, Huntsberry took on the position of Chief Operating Officer for Paramount Pictures. With this title, he manages the worldwide strategic planning and operations for the studio, with a focus on IT, human resources, and studio operations. [4]

Adam Goodman

Adam Goodman, President of Paramount Film Group [5]

Adam Goodman has held the position of the President of Paramount Film Group since 2009, after serving as the President of Production for a year. Before joining Paramount, Goodman was the President of Production at DreamWorks Studios. [5]

Paramount – 100 years [6]

BRIEF OVERVIEW

Paramount Pictures Corporation is the longest operating major studio in Hollywood, having just celebrated its 100th year in show business in 2012. This corporation is a subsidiary of Viacom, a global mass media firm. Adolph Zukor founded Paramount Pictures in 1912 under the name Famous Players Film Company. Paramount took home its first Academy Award for Best Picture in 1927 and has only grown from there, evident in its success of the highest grossing blockbuster of all time, “Titanic“. In the past 100 years, this company has emerged as an international leader and a front-runner of film and television entertainment production. [7] [8]

RECENT RELEASES

In the past four months, Paramount has released five films, including Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues; The Wolf of Wall Street; Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones; Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit; and Noah. [9]

http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=anchorman2.htm

– box office mojo [10]

Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues was released on December 18, 2013 and is a comedy film. It had a production budget of $50 million and a total lifetime gross of $172,952,707 worldwide, sitting at the number 2 rank on its opening weekend behind The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. This film almost doubled its total gross from the release of the first Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, which was distributed by DreamWorks. Anchorman 2 thrived on a domestic audience, accounting for 73.6% of its viewers. This film was the last one that Paramount distributed to theaters traditionally, using a 35 mm film. [10] [11] [12]

– box office mojo [13]

The Wolf of Wall Street was released on December 25, 2013, and this black comedy saw huge successes for Paramount, as seen by its nomination for five Academy Awards. This film features big name actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, and Matthew McConaughey. It had a production budget of $100 million and a worldwide lifetime gross of 389,600,694, being the number 5 rank in theaters on its opening weekend, behind The Hobbit, Frozen, Anchorman 2, and American Hustle. This film had a much higher foreign audience than it did domestic, with international revenues accounting for 70% of its total gross. Independent of its acclaim, this film is also monumental as it is the first major film to ever have been released to theaters through digital distribution, a major accomplishment for Paramount. [13] [14]

– box office mojo [15]

Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones was released on January 3, 2014 and brought in a worldwide total gross of $86,362,372. The production budget for this horror film was $5 million. This film obtained the number 2 rank on its opening weekend, behind Frozen, and appealed primarily to international audiences, who make up 62.4% of the lifetime gross of the movie. In comparison to the other Paranormal Activity films, the newest release had the lowest box office sales. This may be attributed to the fact that this was the first one in the series to offer a completely new cast and functions as more of a spinoff than a sequel, or the Paranormal series is becoming less of a commodity than it had been in the past. [15] [16]

– box office mojo [17]

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit is an action thriller starring Chris Pine, and was released on January 17, 2014. After spending $60 million in production, this film brought in $134,277,412 worldwide. It ranked number 4 in theaters on its opening weekend. The release date of this film was planned in order to correspond with the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. According to CinemaScore, more than 1/3 of the film’s opening weekend audience consisted of individuals over the age of 50 despite the casting of a young attractive male lead. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit was the first film of 2014 to reach over $100 million worldwide. International audiences account for 62.3% of this film’s total lifetime gross. [17] [18] [19]

– box office mojo [20]

Noah was released on March 28, 2014 and is a biblically-inspired film based on the story of Noah’s Ark. It grossed $290,674,000 worldwide and held the number 1 rank in theaters in its opening weekend. The production budget of this film was $125 million. Noah had an extremely large international audience, contributing to 67.9% of its total lifetime gross. As it takes on a biblical perspective, this film has faced some controversy. Prior to its release, Noah was banned in Pakistan, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Middle Eastern and North African countries as the film is thought to be contradicting to Islamic teachings. [20] [21]

WHAT’S NEXT?

Paramount is set to release multiple films in the next year, including Transformers: Age of Extinction; Hercules (2014); Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014); Paranormal Activity 5; Interstellar; Hot Tub Time Machine 2; Project Almanac; Spongebob Squarepants 2; and Friday the 13th (2015). [22]

Of the nine films listed above, it is noteworthy that only two of these films are neither sequels nor remakes. This is telling of today’s film industry and the newest trends that are developing. In recent years, the number of sequels and remakes that have been made has skyrocketed.

An explanation for Paramount’s numerous sequels and remakes can be explained by this company’s strategy when it comes to choosing films to release. Paramount takes on films that portray a mix of primary branded and franchise films and smaller productions, purchased films and distribution arrangements. In order to appeal to both worldwide and smaller audiences, Paramount is interested in a variety of genres and levels of investment. [23]

Spongebob Squarepants 2 [25]

Until their contract ended in 2012, Paramount Pictures had relied on DreamWorks Animation to head any animated films they released. DreamWork Animation’s Rango, which was released in 2011, came with huge successes and inspired Paramount to generate its own animation film division. Spongebob Squarepants 2, scheduled to be released on February 13, 2015, will be this new division of Paramount’s first animated film. The budget for the animated films will be around $100 million per picture and the studio has high hopes for this new division. [24]

Another thing that Paramount is working on is coming up with innovative promotion and marketing techniques for its films. Paramount has been a front-running film company since the beginning, and it does not seem like its accomplishments will be slowing down any time soon. [23]

Works Cited

[1] Paramount Pictures logo Retrieved 4/16

[2] Key Executive Brad Grey Retrieved 4/16

[3] Key Executive Rob Moore Retrieved 4/16

[4] Key Executive Frederick Huntsberry Retrieved 4/16

[5] Key Executive Adam Goodman Retrieved 4/16

[6] New Paramount logo Retrieved 4/16

[7] 100 Years of Paramount Retrieved 4/16

[8] History of Paramount Retrieved 4/16

[9] Paramount past projects Retrieved 4/16

[10] Anchorman 2 Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[11] Anchorman Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[12] New form of distribution Retrieved 4/18

[13] Wolf of Wall Street Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[14] December 26 Box Office Details Retrieved 4/18

[15] Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[16] Paranormal Activity Series Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[17] Jack Ryan Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[18] CinemaScore Retrieved 4/18

[19] Jack Ryan demographics Retrieved 4/18

[20] Noah Box Office Retrieved 4/18

[21] Noah faces ban in Arab world Retrieved 4/18

[22] Paramount upcoming releases Retrieved 4/19

[23] Paramount’s strategies Retrieved 4/19

[24] Paramount launching in-house animation division Retrieved 4/19

[25] Spongebob Squarepants 2 picture Retrieved 4/19

Columbia Pictures

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Alexander Hill

By Alexander Hill

10202 West Washington Boulevard,

Culver City, California 90232

Key Executives [1]

Michael Lynton
Chairmen and CEO

Amy Pascal
Co-Chairmen

David Hendler
Senior Executive Vice President and CFO

Michael Deluca
President, Production
Columbia Pictures

Charles Sipkins
Executive Vice President and CCO

History:

Two brothers, Jack and Harry Cohn, and their partner Joe Brandt founded Columbia Pictures in 1918. The studio was originally named Cohn-Brandt-Cohn Film Sales, before officially becoming Columbia Pictures in 1925. Over the following decades the film company would be propelled into the Hollywood spotlight, developing a national following and becoming one of the major film studios in America. The company would be sold to the Coca-Cola Company in 1982, before becoming an individual entity known as Columbia Pictures Entertainment under Tri-Star in 1987. In 1989 for a reported $3.4 billion [2], the Sony Corporation of Japan and its board approved the purchase of Columbia Pictures Entertainment, a move that would have a long-lasting impact on the future of the company. [3]

Financials:

Columbia Pictures, and Sony Pictures Entertainment are both privately traded companies. After the initial purchase of Columbia, there were some financial woes for Sony after a series of poor box office results during the early 90’s. More recently the studio has had a number of successes with the Spiderman and James Bond franchises, Hitch, and Hancock just to name a few. Columbia Pictures operates under the much broader Sony Pictures Entertainment and Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, and often works with other studios when producing films. This upcoming year Columbia plans to release two sequels (The Amazing Spiderman 2, and 22 Jump Street), whose predecessors grossed over $900,000,000 combined worldwide. [4][5]

Recent Releases:

American Hustle (2013)
Budget: $40,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $251,171,807 [6]

By far the biggest success recently for the studio is critically acclaimed film “American Hustle”. The film racked up 10 Academy Award Nominations, although it failed to bring home a single award against a stacked field that included “12 Years a Slave”, “Wolf of Wall Street”, and “Gravity” just to name a few. The plot follows con man Irving Rosenfeld (Christian Bale), and his redheaded girlfriend (Amy Adams), as they work with an FBI agent (Bradley Cooper) to fool a group of politicians, and mafia members. The star-studded cast, and clever script made American Hustle extremely profitable for the studio, garnering over $150 million domestically. [7]

The Monuments Men (2014)
Budget: $70,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $155,118,847 [8]

Part of the 2014 slate of movies for Columbia Pictures, “The Monuments Men” follows a group of American soldiers penetrating Nazi lines to recover precious artwork. The film is based on an actual group of soldiers and was developed in large part by George Clooney who was extremely invested in the production, in which he wrote, directed, and starred. Originally planned to release in 2013, the film was pushed back to 2014 due to a number of technically difficulties. It was greeted by mediocre reviews, and fairly lackluster box office results. [9][10]

RoboCop (2014)
Budget: $100,000,000
Worldwide Gross: $241,279,202 [11]

A reboot of the 1987 franchise, RoboCop returned in 2014 with actor Joel Kinnaman behind the robotic mask. With an enormous budget of $100 million the film failed to impress in the United States, bringing in a very low $57 million. This number may have come as a surprise to the studio who expected to see many old fans of the franchise return for the remake. The film opened just one week after the “Lego Movie”, and the stiff competition may have impacted the films earnings. Despite disappointing domestic totals, the film did manage to gain some traction overseas and was extremely popular in the UK and other parts of Europe. It is till unclear whether or not a sequel will be produced, but with the films international success it is certainly a possibility. [12][13]

Upcoming Releases

The Amazing Spider Man 2
Release Date: May 2nd, 2014
Trailer

In 2012, the studio released “The Amazing Spider Man” which drew in over $700 million worldwide. After the huge success of the Spider Man trilogy which featured Tobey Maguire, the franchise returned with Andrew Garfield in the title role. In just under 2 weeks Spidey will return to the United States, and should be the years largest draw for the studio. The film was already released internationally in some areas, and grossed $47 million in its first weekend; a number which is higher than the “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” opening in similar regions. Captain America currently sits atop the box office rankings for the second straight week, but Spider Man is looking poised to make a run at that position upon release. [14][15]

22 Jump Street
Release Date: July 13th, 2014
Trailer

In addition to doing a second Spider Man, Columbia Pictures is slated to release the sequel to “21 Jump Street” in 2014. “22 Jump Street” will see the duo of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum return in hopes of topping their $200 million dollar success back in 2012. The last film had Hill and Tatum attending high school, but they’ve moved on to college for the sequel which is sure to draw back the young audience they targeted the first time around who may have moved on to college themselves. [16][17]

Future of Columbia Pictures

As Columbia Pictures enters 2014 they seem to be focused on recreating and building upon already established brands. With two sequels headlining their summer release schedule,and reboots continuously showing large profits for the studio don’t expect their formula to change anytime soon. Also noteworthy is Sony Picture Entertainments recent interest in turning its existing video game titles into movies. Rumors have been circulation around the internet that a Sonic the Hedgehog movie could be in the works from Columbia, and this could be the first of many video games Sony sends to the production company as they continue to be one of the industries most vertically integrated corporations.

Sources

[1] Sony Pictures Entertainment Executives – Sony Pictures
[2] 1989 Article on Sony Purchase of Columbia – The New York Times
[3] History of Columbia – Sony Pictutes
[4] Google Finance: Columbia Pictures – google.com/finance
[5] Columbia Pictures – Box Office Mojo
[6] American Hustle – Box Office Mojo
[7] American Hustle – IMDB
[8] Monuments Men – Box Office Mojo
[9] Push Back of Monuments Men – Grantland
[10] Monuments Men – IMDB
[11] RoboCop – Box Office Mojo
[12] RoboCop Opening Weekend – Variety
[13] RoboCop – IMDB
[14] The Amazing Spider Man 2 Opening Weekend – Forbes
[15] The Amazing Spider Man 2 – IMDB
[16] 21 Jump Street – Box Office Mojo
[17] 22 Jump Street – IMDB

Photo Sources

Columbia Logo (courtesy truthcontrol.com)
Michael Lynton (courtesy sonypictures.com)
Amy Pascal (courtesy sonypictures.com)
David Hendler (courtesy sonypictures.com)
Michael Deluca (courtesy sonypictures.com)
Charles Sipkuns (courtesy sonypictures.com)
American Hustle Poster – (courtesy boxofficemojo.com)
Monuments Men Poster – (courtesy boxofficemojo.com)
RoboCop Poster – (courtesy boxofficemojo.com)
The Amazing Spider Man 2 Poster – (courtesy sonypictures.com)
22 Jump Street Poster – (courtesy sonypictures.com)

Buenavista/Disney Pictures

Posted on April 20, 2014 by Ahmed Sabih

By Ahmed Sabih

Image courtesy of thewaltdisneystudios.com

Company History

The Walt Disney Studios was founded in 1923 under the moniker “The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio”. The company built its early success on its slate of animated classics such as Alice in Wonderland and Snow White and maintaining success with these animated pictures with hits like The Lion King and Aladdin. [1] Buena Vista is the company, owned by Disney, which distributes the content from the divisions under Disney. These divisions include Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, Marvel Studios, Touchstone Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and others. Disney also has subsidiaries in Pixar Animation Studios and recently acquired Lucasfilm. [2] [3]

Key Executives

Robert A. Iger – Chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company

Bob Iger – Photo courtesy of thewaltdisneycompany.com

Alan F. Horn – Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios

Alan Horn – Photo courtesy of thewaltdisneycompany.com

Alan Bergman – President, The Walt Disney Studios

Alan Bergman – Photo courtesy of waltdisneystudios.com

Financials

Disney has begun its fiscal 2014 (Oct-Dec) strong, with revenues hitting just above $12.3 billion, an increase from fourth quarter fiscal 2013 revenues of $11.5 billion. Highlights of the past fiscal year include Earnings Per Share (EPS) values increasing 8 percent to a record $3.38. Disney also set records for Net Income, which increased rose 8 percent to $6.1 billion. [4] [5]

Current Slate

Frozen

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Frozen, Disney’s big animated hit of the holiday season, released on November 27th, 2013. Led by the voices of Kirsten Bell and Idina Menzel, Frozen is the tale of Anna and Elsa, two sisters whose lives change when Elsa’s magical wintery powers accidentally set off an eternal winter. Elsa retreats to the mountains and it is up to Anna, her friend Kristoff with his reindeer Sven, and childhood snowman come-alive Olaf to help Elsa tame her powers and rescue the village. [6] [7]

Much of Disney’s success during the past quarter can be attributed to Frozen, which saw record-breaking numbers. With a production budget of $150 million, Frozen‘s opening weekend saw domestic totals of $67.3 million. However, as of April 20th, Frozen is about to eclipse a whopping $400 million domestic total. Worldwide, Frozen has reached over $1.1 billion, which is the highest ever gross for an animated film. [8] With further windows opening later down the road, DVD sales, merchandise and soundtrack sales should help Disney cash in fully on the success of Frozen.

The film did well with regards to reviews. Metacritic gave it 74 out of 100 based on 43 critic reviews. [9] Many critics lauded Frozen as a return to the excellence of Disney’s pedigree. Certainly the numbers can back that statement. In addition, reviews praised the technical aspect of the film, citing the 3-D Animation to be top notch. Frozen won two Academy Awards — Best Animated Feature Film and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”).

Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Kicking off the blockbuster season, Disney continued the big-time Marvel franchise starting on April 4th. With big name stars such as Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson, the film follows the story of Steve Rogers, Captain America, as he must adapt to modern times and modern crimes. When a colleague at S.H.I.E.L.D is attacked, a conspiracy web is revealed, the consequences of which are dire. Captain America teams up with the Black Widow and Falcon in order to put an end to the plot, but they are met by unexpected foes. [10]

As the summer season is starting up, Captain America started strong on its opening weekend, grossing $95 million domestically. Its budget is estimated at $170 million, and as of April 20th, The Winter Soldier has grossed over $201 million domestically, with a worldwide gross of over $586 million. As we get into the thick of the summer season, it should have the legs to gain more money for Disney and deliver on its blockbuster potential. [11] One way Disney is helping to promote its long-term success is by offering fans their own S.H.I.E.L.D badge through May 25th and spreading the word of the film into the midst of the summer. [12]

Review-wise, The Winter Soldier has done well, scoring a 70 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 44 critic reviews. Generally, the film is praised among critics for its acting, and special effects and ability to deliver as a sequel in the superhero genre. However, the general consensus is that the film isn’t truly remarkable enough to stay in the memories of audiences for too long. [13]

What Lies Ahead

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Disney’s summer slate looks to fill the summer with star power. Million Dollar Arm, set to release May 16th, stars Mad Men’s front man Jon Hamm. Inspired by true events, the story follows baseball scout JB Bernstein’s quest to find the next star pitcher. He travels to India to make a reality-show competition to find a cricket player that will sign a league contract as a pitcher. The film co-stars Slumdog Millionaire actor Madhur Mittal, and it will likely look to capitalize on his international presence. [14]

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Opposite Million Dollar Arm is Disney’s Maleficent, starring blockbuster specialist Angelina Jolie. An homage to Disney’s roots, the film is about the untold story of Maleficent, the villain from the 1959 classic, Sleeping Beauty, and her transformation of heart to stone, revealing her reasoning to curse the baby Aurora. Elle Fanning brings extra star power in a supporting role, as does Charlto Copley and Sam Riley. [15] The soundtrack will feature hit-artist Lana Del Rey, with early commercials featuring her re-imagining of the song, “Once Upon A Dream” from the 1959 film.

Image courtesy of imdb.com

Looking even further ahead, Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm brings the biggest blockbuster of them all, Star Wars, to the horizon of Disney. Buzz is already being generated for the films, bringing out the big guns by signing J.J. Abrams as the director for the new trilogy. As of now, the first of the trilogy is set to release around December 2015. [16]

Sources

[1] The Walt Disney Studios Company History

[2] The Studios of Disney

[3] Disney acquires Lucasfilm Ltd

[4] Disney First Quarter Earnings 2014

[5] Disney Fourth Quarter Earnings 2014

[6] IMDB – Frozen

[7] Box Office Mojo – Frozen

[8] Deadline: Frozen Highest International Grossing Animated Picture of All Time

[9] Metacritic – Frozen

[10] IMDB – Captain America: The Winter Soldier

[11] Box Office Mojo – Captain America

[12] SHIELD Badge Promotion

[13] Metacritic – Captain America

[14] IMDB – Million Dollar Arm

[15] IMDB – Maleficent

[16] IMDB – Star Wars (2015)

DreamWorks Animation

Posted on April 12, 2014 by Michelle Kim

By Michelle Kim

Dreamworks Animation Logo [1]

1000 Flower St
Glendale, CA 91201-3007

Main website: www.dreamworksanimation.com

Executives

Jeffrey Katzenberg – CEO [2]

Lewis W. Coleman – CFO [3]

Ann Daly – COO [4]

Overview
Dreamworks Animation has gone through various phases during the winter and spring season. After years of releasing successful franchise movies such as Shrek and Madagascar, the company made plans to release two films for spring and summer. The first one, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, was released in theaters on March 7, 2014. However, it did not do well in the box office, setting back the animation company as it has for past recent films such as Turbo from July 17, 2013. Perhaps to make up for its loss from Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Dreamworks Animation is planning on releasing it’s biggest film this year, the sequel to its 2013, $500 million box office hit, How to Train Your Dragon, taking place five years into the future from the events of the first film. [5]

Dreamworks Animation Office [6]

Company Profile
Dreamworks Animation is an independent animation company founded in October 12, 1994 by current CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen. Located in Glendale, California, the company debuted in 1998 with The Prince of Egypt. In later years, Dreamworks Animation released major franchises such as Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda and is planning on releasing the second installment of How to Train Your Dragon for summer 2014.

Financial Snapshot
According to the newest filed annual 10-K report, revenue was reported to be $706.9 million in 2013, with a gross profit of $257.1 million and a net income loss of $55.7 million.

Stock-wise, prices ranged from 16.16 to 35.74 throughout 2013. In the fourth quarter, the highest stock price was $35.74 and the lowest was $27.05. [7] According to an article on entertainment news site “Variety,” Dreamworks Animation suffered from stock prices plummeting from $35 to $21 after the release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman on March 7, 2014, which grossed $65.4 million in U.S. from a budget of $145 million. [8] As of April 21, 2014, stock prices are 27.37. [7]

Recent Releases

Promotion of Mr. Peabody and Sherman [9]

On March 2014, Dreamworks Animation released Mr. Peabody and Sherman, directed by Rob Minkoff and written by Craig Wright. Based on the book by the deceased Jay Ward, Mr. Peabody and Sherman tells the story of genius and accomplished hyper-advanced dog Mr. Peabody and his adopted human son Sherman traveling though time and space in Mr. Peabody’s time machine, the WAMBAC to fix a problem that Sherman caused. In the midst of trying to impress his friend Penny Peterson, mischievous Sherman creates a rip in the universe, altering major events in history that would cause havoc in the present. During the journey the three go on throughout the film, Mr. Peabody learns how to do the hardest thing in all of history: how to be a parent.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Promotional Poster: Mr. Peabody (left) Sherman (middle) Penny (right) [10]

Prior to being released in theaters, Dreamworks Animation promoted the film through posters, banner ads, flyers, the film’s main website, the company’s social media platforms, and trailers that were released via the company’s Youtube channel starting October 25th of last year. The company also released the trailers in various languages so as to engage their audiences from non-American countries.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Trailer (Youtube)

Mr. Peabody and Sherman starred Ty Burrell (Mr. Peabody), Max Charles (Sherman), and Ariel Winter (Penny Peterson). It had an estimated budget of $145,000,000 and brought in $32,207,057 on the film’s opening weekend. As of April 15, 2014, the film grossed $105,851,321.

According to IMDb, Mr. Peabody and Sherman is rated PG, runs for 92 minutes, and received a 7.1 rating. [11] On the movie rating site Rotten Tomatoes, the film earned an approval rating of 78%. [12]

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Mobile Game Snapshot [13]

After the release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Dreamworks Animation added multimedia into the movie’s main website such as videos and games involving the three main protagonists. These games include a jigsaw puzzle and personality quiz. In addition to their online games, Dreamworks Animation also released a downloadable game app for mobile devices, consisting of the player going back in time on the WAMBAC from the movie and answering questions to proceed throughout the game.

Mr. Peabody and Sherman Main Website: http://www.mrpeabodyandsherman.com/

What’s Next for Dreamworks Animation

Hiccup and Toothless on Promotional Poster [14]

Following its release of Mr. Peabody and Sherman in the spring, Dreamworks Animation announced that they would be releasing the second movie for the How to Train Your Dragon franchise on April of 2014,. Simply titled How to Train Your Dragon 2, this sequel takes place five years after the events of the first film.[15]

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer (Youtube)

According to its IMDb website, How to Train Your Dragon 2 tells the story of the protagonist Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel), his dragon Toothless, and their friends discovering an ice cave inhabiting new dragon species and a mysterious being who calls himself the Dragon Rider. After running into the new dragons, Hiccup and Toothless find themselves in the middle of a major battle between humans and dragons, and must use their sense of justice and friendship to find a way to bring peace.

How to Train Your Dragon 2 Main Website: http://www.howtotrainyourdragon.com/

Dreamworks Animation Future Movie Release Table [6]

According to Dreamworks Animation’s most recently updated 10-K annual financial report, the company has made plans for its film releases up till December 23, 2015. From the graph, the upcoming films are titled Home, set for release on November 26, 2014; The Penguins for March 27; B.O.O. for June 5, and Kung Fu Panda 3 for December 23 of 2015.

Seeing that Dreamworks Animation has made plans for its future film releases two years in advance of when the 2013 10-K document was filed, the company aims to bring its film production up to another level and increase its popularity by releasing films at a faster rate.

Conclusion
Dreamworks Animation has released many films since its debut and has been increasing the number of films it releases annually. For 2014 and 2015, the company has put its sights on releasing three-four films each year.

For the spring and summer season of 2014, Dreamworks Animation has released Mr. Peabody and Sherman and is planning on releasing How to Train Your Dragon 2 in theaters later in June. Although Mr. Peabody and Sherman did not do well in the box office, setting the company back, the release of How to Train Your Dragon 2 is expected to make up for the loss and bring back the company’s past successes in animated franchise.

Works Cited
[1] Dreamworks Animation Logo http://logos.wikia.com/wiki/Logopedia RT: 4/15/14
[2] Jeffry Katzenburg Dreamworks Animation Profile http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/15/14
[3] “Photo Release — Northrop Grumman Board Names Wes Bush Chairman, Lewis W. Coleman Lead Independent Director” irconnect.com RT: 4/15/14
[4] Ann Duly Dreamworks Animation Profile http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/15/14
[5] ” ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Details Emerged” http://screenrant.com/ RT: 4/15/14
[6] Dreamworks Animation Office Photos http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm RT: 4/15/14
[7] Dreamworks Animation 10-K http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[8] “Dreamworks Animation Stock Takes Another Hit with ‘Mr. Peabody and Sherman’ “ http://variety.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[9] Mr. Peabody and Sherman Dreamworks Animation Page http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[10] “Go time traveling in the new trailer and clip for Dreamworks’ Mr. Peabody and Sherman” http://www.joblo.com/ RT: 4/17/14
[11] Mr. Peabody and Sherman IMDb Page http://www.imdb.com/?ref_=nv_home RT: 4/18/14
[12] Mr. Peabody and Sherman Rotten Tomatoes Page http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ RT: 4/18/14
[13] “Ludia launches Mr. Peabody and Sherman trivia game on IOS” http://www.insidemobileapps.com/ RT: 4/19/14
[14] How to Train Your Dragon Poster Gallery http://www.aceshowbiz.com/ RT: 4/19/14
[15] How to Train Your Dragon 2 IMDb Page http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1646971/ RT: 4/19/14

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Category Archives: Film Companies

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DreamWorks Animation

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Paramount Pictures

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Company History

Key Executives

Financials

Current Slate

What Lies Ahead

DreamWorks Animation