DreamWorks Animation

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Cori Rosen

By Cori Rosen

Photo Courtesy of collider.com [1]

1500 – A Seasport Blvd

Redwood City, CA

(650) 562-9000

www.dreamworksanimation.com

A BRIEF HISTORY

DreamWorks Studios was founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen in 1994. Katzenberg started DreamWorks SKG after he dashed from Disney following power struggles with Michael Eisner, former CEO of The Walt Disney Company. DreamWorks SKG built a new business division, DreamWorks Animation in 2000. Then in the autumn of 2004, Dreamworks Studios spun-off its animation division into DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc., a publicly traded company. [2] [3]

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Dreamworks Animation is a boast-worthy creative company that churns out high-quality entertainment. Dreamworks Animation has theatrically released a whopping twenty-seven animated feature films, including blockbuster favorites Shrek, How to Train Your Dragon, and this summer’s Turbo. Although the entertainment factory is widely known for its feature CGI animated films, the company also creates television specials and series as well as live entertainment properties. [4]

[5]

KEY EXECUTIVES

Jeffrey Katzenberg, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Photo Courtesy of DreamWorks Animation [6]

After co-finding DreamWorks SKG, Katzenberg was at the helm of DreamWorks Animation when it became an IPO. Under his leadership, DreamWorks Animation has blossomed into the world’s largest animation studio in the world and received nine Academy Award nominations and two Best Animated Feature wins. [6]

Lew Coleman, President and Chief Financial Officer

Photo Courtesy of DreamWorksAnimation.com [7]

Previously President and Director of the Company, Coleman took on his current position in 2007. Coleman recently oversaw the formation of a joint venture that established a prominent China-focused entertainment company between DreamWorks Animation with China Media Capital, Shanghai Alliance Investment, Ltd., and Shanghai Media Group. [7]

Heather O’Connor, Chief Accounting Officer

Photo Courtesy of DreamWorksAnimation.com [8]

O’Connor previously served as Director of SEC Reporting for DreamWorks Animation and also worked within the Accounting and Financial Planning & Analysis departments at DreamWorks LLC. [8]

Andrew Chang, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Photo Courtesy of DreamWorksAnimation.com [9]

Prior to his current position, Chang held positions as head technology lawyer and head of litigation starting in October 2004 when the Company became publicly-traded. [9]

Ann Daly, Chief Operating Officer

Photo Courtesy of DreamWorksAnimation.com [10]

Daly has worked as Chief Operating Officer since the company’s IPO in 2004. Previously, she served as head of the animated division of DreamWorks SKG since 1997. [10]

QUICK FINANCIALS

DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc.’s total revenue for its third quarter, which came to a close on Sept. 30th, was $154.5 million with a net income of $10.1 million, and earning per share a total of $.012 on a fully diluted basis. A contribution of $120.7 million and gross profit of $55.4 million derives from the feature film segment of the company’s revenue. The films Turbo, The Croods, Rise of the Guardians, and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted were released in the third quarter. Television series and segment specials contributed a revenue of $18.2 million and turned a gross profit of $4.2 million. AwesomenessTV, an online channel operator that Dreamworks recently acquired, contributed revenue of $3.6 million. The consumer products segment contributed $18.2 million in revenue and $4.2 million in gross profit. [11] [12]

Photo Courtesy of SeekingAlpha.com [13]

IN THE NEWS

Photo Courtesy of Zolmax.com [15]

• Netflix
Netflix announced a multi-year deal with Dreamworks for 300 hours of original television programming inspired by characters from the animation company’s franchises, such as Shrek, The Croods, and its upcoming feature flicks. Characters from Classic Media, which Dreamworks purchased a year ago, are also a part of this deal. Therefore, shows may develop that star familiar faces like Casper the Friendly Ghost, Lassie, and She-Ra. [14]

Photo Courtesy of Techcrunch.com [17]

•The Second Screen
M-Go, an online movie storefront, is a joint venture between DreamWorks Animation and Technicolor. Similar to Walmart’s Vudu and Apple’s iTunes, M-Go focuses on transactional movie sales and rentals. It already has deals with five major Hollywood studios, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox, and Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, to sell and rent movies to users. In effort to get M-Go on more devices, M-Go announced on September 4th that the M-Go app will be available on 2012 and 2013 LG Smart TVs. [16]

Photo Courtesy of Dailymail.co.uk [19]

• The More Characters The Merrier
DreamWorks Animation recently acquired the library of Chapman Entertainment, a U.K.-based children’s television company. DreamWorks snagged its television portfolio, which includes popular titles like “Fifi and the Flowertots,” “Roary the Racing Car,” “Raa Raa the Noise Lion,” and “Little Charley Bear”. This acquisition directly follows DreamWorks Animation’s purchase of Classic Media in July 2012. [18]

Photo Courtesy of zap2it.com [21]

•Dragons Dominates its Demographic
The second season of Dreamworks Dragons: Riders of Berk premiered on Cartoon Network on Sept. 19th. The first season of the cartoon, based on the Academy Award-nominated film How to Train Your Dragon, ranked number one in its timeslot among boys ages 2-14 versus all other TV networks. [20]

Photo Courtesy of cdn.funcheap.com [24]

• Turbo Races for Profit
Turbo just released on home video November 12th. Turbo underperformed at the box office, failing to rise to the success of last summer’s Madagascar 3. Rise of the Guardians also tanked in theaters, causing DreamWorks to take an $87 million write down. However, Rise of the Guardians later brought in $42.4 million through pay TV deals. Hopefully Turbo will see similiar results and reel in $46 million in consumer products necessary to make Turbo a lucrative endeavor. Wall Street analysts have commended DreamWorks ability to turn a mediocre box office performer into a hit on DVD, Blu-Ray, and Digital HD. [22] [23]

Photo Courtesy of Variety.com [26]

• Everybody was Kung-Fu Fighting
Oriental DreamWorks–a co-venture between DreamWorks Animation (45% equity stake), China Media Capital, Shanhai Alliance Investment, and Shanghai Media Group (combined 55% equity stake between the three)–is in the process of developing four feature films. Kung Fu Panda 3 in addition to one other co-produced U.S.-Chinese animated flick and two-live action projects in Chinese are currently slated for development. [25]

COMING SOON

• Mr. Peabody & Sherman

[28]

Mr. Peabody & Sherman, which features the voices of Ty Burrell and Max Charles, is set for release on March 7th, 2014. The Rob Minkoff directed film–coined as a big screen adaption of the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoon–follows Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman as they hurtle back in time to repair history and ultimately save the future. [27]

Photo Courtesy of http://media2.firstshowing.net [30]

• And They’re Back! DreamWorks Animation plans to give audiences a shot of nostalgia with a new short film Rocky & Bullwinkle, arriving in 2014. Directed by Gary Trousdale, the updated version of the original short will feature the voices of June Foray as Rocket “Rocky J. Squirrell and Tom Kenny (Spongebob Squarepants) as Bullwinkle J. Moose. [29]

Photo Courtesy of entertainmentwallpaper.com [32]

• How to Train Your Dragon 2
Riding on the success of 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon–a half-billion dollar player at the global box office and Oscar nominee–, DreamWorks Animation will release its sequel on June 13th, 2014. How to Train Your Dragon 2 reunites the voices of the first film, Jay Baruchel, Kristen Wiig, Gerald Butler, and Jonah Hill. [31]

SOURCES

[1] Collider.com – Dreamworks Animation Logo

[2] DreamWorksStudios.com – DreamWorks Animation History

[3] Forbes.com – DreamWorks Animation’s Complicated Legacy

[4] DreamWorksAnimation.com – About the Company

[5] Youtube.com – Behind the Scenes of DreamWorks Animation

[6] DreamWorksAnimation.com – Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Bio

[7] DreamWorksAnimation.com – Lew Coleman’s Bio

[8] DreamWorksAnimation.com – Heather O’Connor’s Bio

[9] DreamWorksAnimation.com – Andrew Chang’s Bio

[10] DreamWorksAnimation.com – Ann Daly’s Bio

[11] MarketWatch.com – Third Quarter Financial Report

[12] Tbvision.com – TV Sales aid DreamWorks Animation Revenue

[13] SeekingAlpha.com – DreamWorks Animation Skg Inc StockCharts

[14] Zolmax.com – Netflix Deal with DreamWorks Animation

[15] Zolmax.com – Netflix Photo

[16] TechCrunch.com – M-Go now on LG TVs

[17] TechCrunch.com – M-Go Photo

[18] Variety.com – Chapman Entertainment

[19] Dailymail.co.uk – Chapman Entertainment Photo

[20] BroadwayWorld.com – Cartoon Network

[21] Zap2it.com – DreamWorks Dragons Photo

[22] BizJournals.com – Turbo on Home Video

[23] Reuters.com – Turbo failed to Match Predecessor

[24] Cdn.funcheap.com – Turbo Photo

[25] Variety.com – Oriental DreamWorks

[26] Variety.com – Oriental DreamWorks Photo

[27] Screenrant.com – Mr. Peabody & Sherman

[28] Youtube.com – Mr. Peabody & Sherman Trailer

[29] Rocky & Bullwinkle Short – FirstShowing.net

[30] Firstshowing.net – Rocky & Bullwinkle Photo

[31] Deadline.com – How to Train Your Dragon 2

[32] Entertainmentwallpaper.com – How to Train Your Dragon 2 Photo

DreamWorks SKG Studios

Posted on October 28, 2013 by Jacob Warren

By Jacob Warren

DreamWorks SKG Studios Logo [1]

DreamWorks Studios Entrance [2]

100 Universal City Plaza Dr.
Universal City, CA 91608
Website: www.dreamworksstudios.com
Phone: 818-733-9300
Twitter: @DW_Studios

Key Executives

Steven Spielberg [3] Founder & Principal Partner

Stacey Snider [4] Co-Chairman & CEO

Jeff Small [5] President & COO

Brief History

DreamWorks Studios was founded in 1994 by filmmaker Steven Spielberg, animation specialist Jeffrey Katzenberg and recording industry expert David Geffen. The three

DreamWorks Logo [6]

founders initially planned to create DreamWorks as a diversified media firm, however they quickly realized that this was the wrong approach and transformed DreamWorks into a television and film developing, producing and distributing powerhouse. The partners sold DreamWorks to Viacom in 2005 and the majority of DreamWorks Studios’ films are now marketed and distributed by Walt Disney Studios. [6] [7]

Company Overview

Company Sign [7.5]

DreamWorks Studios is a mini-major motion picture company led by Steven Spielberg in partnership with the Reliance ADA group. DreamWorks develops and produces films and television programming with a goal of releasing or producing a minimum of five to six films each year. Since its inception, DreamWorks Studios has produced and developed over 75 motion pictures including three consecutive Academy Award Best Pictures in 1999, 2000 and 2001. With distribution outlets in North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and Russia, DreamWorks’ success in the film industry prompted the company to split into two separate entities in 2004, DreamWorks Studios and DreamWorks Animation. [8]

Financials

Unlike DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks Studios has remained a privately held company and is not required to release financial statements to the public. However, significant financial information about the company is available through research. Initially funded by the three founders who each contributed $33 million, DreamWorks was also initially capitalized by an investment of $500 million from Microsoft co-Founder, Paul Allen. Despite earning Academy Awards for Best Picture in 1999, 2000 and 2001, nu-

Reliance ADA Media Logo [8.5]

merous box office flops resulted in a $400+ million debt for the film company, which nearly declared bankruptcy twice. In February 2006 DreamWorks and Viacom agreed to terms that awarded Viacom control of DreamWorks Studios for an approximate $1.5 billion. Viacom assumed DreamWorks’ debt, however Viacom’s film distribution company, Paramount Pictures, also acquired DreamWorks’ film library that was valued at $900 million. [9] In 2008, DreamWorks ended its distribution deal with Paramount Pictures and inked another $1.5 billion deal with one of India’s largest media companies, Reliance ADA Group, which now owns 50% of the DreamWorks Studios. JP Morgan executives Clark Hallren and Alan Levine guided Reliance Media’s formulation of a business plan for DreamWorks Studios. [10]

Early Filmography

Although considered a mini-major film company, DreamWorks competes with major film studios. In 1997, DreamWorks released its first film, The Peacemaker. After several smaller films, DreamWorks made a significant impact in 1998 with the release of Saving

Battlefield scene from 'The Pacific' [23]

Battlefield scene from ‘The Pacific’ [10.5]

Private Ryan, featuring Tom Hanks. Grossing just under $500 million, the film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. DreamWorks Studios’ success was just beginning. During the next three years DreamWorks Studios films won Best Picture for American Beauty (1999), Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001), bringing in over $1 billion and 14 Academy Awards. DreamWorks Studios also enjoyed success in television with the HBO 10-part mini series, ‘The Pacific’ (2010). The series was nominated for 23 Emmy Awards, winning eight. [6]

Right Here. Right Now.

Radical Changes

Despite its film and television success, by 2012 DreamWorks Studios was losing tens of millions of dollars a year. In 2013, the founders began streamlining operations to focus on improving profits. Although DreamWorks has its history as a Hollywood film

'Lincoln' DreamWorks film co-financed by 20th Century Fox [24]

‘Lincoln’ DreamWorks film co-financed with 20th Century Fox [10.6]

company, the studio began slashing budgets and transitioning to more of an independent film company. Beginning by reducing annual films in production from six to two, they tightened film schedules from 60-days to 40-days as well as keeping film budgets under $30 million. DreamWorks now utilizes co-financing on almost all of its films to reduce its financial risk and has slashed its work force from 120 employees to a lean 80. [11]

2013 Film Releases

'The Fifth Estate' film released in 2013. [25]

‘The Fifth Estate’ film released in 2013. [11.5]

With DreamWorks’ new business plan they now have the flexibility to release three or four films a year. This year, DreamWorks produced and released three new films. The first, ‘The Fifth Estate’, released on October 18, 2013, chronicles the demise of the company WikiLeaks. The film “reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st century’s most fiercely debated organization.” Although a popular and compelling story, the film has yet to earn a fraction of its $28 million budget, only earning $3 million domestically to date. [12] [13]

The second film being released this Friday, November 22, 2013 is the comedy ‘Delivery Man’ featuring Vince Vaughn. This heavily marketed film presents the story of underachiever David Wozniak, whose uneventful life gets turned upside down when he finds out that he unintentionally fathered 533 children via sperm donations that he made in his youth. [14] [15]

The final film that DreamWorks has finished production on this year is the action-packed ‘Need For Speed’. A spinoff of the popular video game series set to release March 14,

'Need For Speed' action scene (2014). [26]

‘Need For Speed’ action scene (2014). [15.5]

2014, this film is DreamWorks’ attempt to grab a piece of the racing genre popularized by Universal Studios’ ‘The Fast and The Furious’ which has released six movies and is the most successful racing movie series ever. [16] [17]

2013 Acquisitions

Along with slashing budgets and modifying business plans, DreamWorks Studios has focused on purchasing rights to popular literary works. Early in 2013, they obtained the rights to Richard C. Morais’s best-selling novel, ‘The One-Hundred Foot Journey’. The film went into production on October 9, 2013 and is scheduled for release on August 8, 2014. Also in October 2013, DreamWorks Studios acquired an untitled pitch from screenwriting

Goodwin's best seller 'The Bully Pulpit' [27]

Goodwin’s best seller ‘The Bully Pulpit’ [18.5]

brothers Phil and Scott Rosenberg. “Plot details are being kept under wraps, but sources describe the film as a ‘modern-day-mission movie’ with a supernatural twist. [18]” Industry experts are waiting to see if DreamWorks will put the pitch into production. The most recent purchase occurred on October 30, 2013 when DreamWorks acquired the film rights to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin’s recently released book, The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism. Goodwin and DreamWorks successfully collaborated on the 2012 film ‘Lincoln’ which grossed over $275 million. [19] [20]

Sources:

[1] Broadwayworld.com: DreamWorks logo image

[2] Communitybranding.com: DreamWorks entrance image

[3] DreamWorks: Steven Spielberg image/bio

[4] DreamWorks: Stacey Snider image/bio

[5] DreamWorks: Jeff Small image/bio

[6] DreamWorks: Film history/image

[7] LA Times: DreamWorks & Walt Disney Studios deal

[7.5] ABClocal.go.com: Company sign image

[8] Google Articles: DreamWorks & Reliance Media deal

[8.5] Variety: Reliance ADA Group image

[9] Hollywood.com: Paramount buys DreamWorks

[10] Reuters: Reliance ADA Group deal

[10.5] Skymovies.com: ‘The Pacific’ scene image

[10.6] Gcmag.org: ‘Lincoln’ film image

[11] Hollywood Reporter: DreamWorks new business plan

[11.5] Benedictcumberpatch.co: ‘The Fifth Estate’ image

[12] DreamWorks: ‘Fifth Estate’ snapshot

[13] Contactmusic.com: WikiLeaks reaction to film

[14] DreamWorks: ‘Delivery Man’ snapshot

[15] Rotten Tomatoes: ‘Delivery Man’ Analysis

[15.5] Collider.com: ‘Need For Speed’ image

[16] DreamWorks: ‘Need For Speed’ snapshot

[17] IMDb: ‘Need For Speed’ Info

[18] Variety: Rosenberg script acquired

[18.5] Hollywood Reporter: Doris Goodwin’s best-seller image

[19] Movie Insider: Recent DreamWorks Acquisitions

[20] DreamWorks: Acquisition of best-seller

(Total Sources: 27)

20th Century Fox

Posted on April 9, 2013 by Rebecca Drootin

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp

10201 West Pico Boulevard,
Los Angeles, California 90035

Mail: P.O. Box 900,
Beverly Hills, California 90213
Phone: 310-277-2211
Fax: 310-203-1558
www.foxmovies.com [1]

20th Century Fox’s iconic logo.

Summary:

20th Century Fox is a film production and distribution company under Fox Entertainment

Recent Best Picture winner, Life of Pi, is a 20th Century Fox film.

Group which is a part of the media conglomerate, News Corporation. The company releases about 14 films a year many of which have been very successful [1]. 20th Century Fox formed in 1935 and has been one of the top film studios for almost a hundred years [2]. The subsidiary companies to 20th Century Fox include Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios [1]. 20th Century Fox is most notably responsible for James Cameron’s films Avatar and Titanic as well as classics such as the Star Wars series, Home Alone, the Ice Age series, Independence Day, The Sound of Music, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and hundreds more [4].

Fox Searchlight’s logo

Fox Searchlight is a speciality division under 20th Century Fox. The company tends to release smaller budget, niche-genre films. Many of Fox Searchlight’s films have earned Academy Award nominations and wins such as Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Slumdog Millionaire, The Descendants, and Black Swan [4].

Executives [15]

Rupert Murdoch

Chris Petrikin- Executive Vice President, Global Communications
Rupert Murdoch- Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Robert Marick- Executive Vice President
Ricardo Crespo- Senior Vice President of Global Creative
Thomas E. Rothman- Board Member
Robert Harpe- Board Member
James Gianopulos- Board Member

Financial Information

News Corp’s current share price is $30.9 up 36.6% from 19.58 at this time last year. Their revenue for the year 2012 was $34.33 billion a 2% increase from their 2011 revenue of $33.4 billion [3].

This graph represents the share price of News Corp stock since 2008 [9].

20th Century Fox is currently number 4 in the market, holding an 11.7% share. It has grossed $256.9 million. Compared to its position in April of 2012, it is down $40 million in revenue, with the same amount of films released. In 2012, they finished 6th in the market with a 9.5% share, releasing 15 films. 2012 was a successful year, having increased profits from 2011 by 4.9%, up from $977 million to $1 billion [4].

Fox Searchlight is currently 16th in the market with a .2% of the market share. It has currently grossed $4.5 million at the box office with the release of 4 films so far this year. Searchlight finished 2012 grossing $117.8 million, down 22.7% from the 2011 gross of $152.4 million. For 2012, Fox Searchlight was 12th in the market a slight decline from their 2011 position of 11th in the market. In 2012 they released 10 movies and in 2011 they released 11, most likely causing the decline in profits [4].

Competitors

The Weinstein Company is independently owned unlike most studios that fall under a media conglomerate.

20th Century Fox competes most closely with the five other major studios (Columbia Pictures, Warner Bros, Disney, Universal, and Paramount.) Universal is currently number one in the market, followed by the Weinstein Company, and Buena Vista. Universal has only released 2 films so far this year, one being the successful film, Identity Theif, and have still been experiencing profits from their late 2012 releases including the award winner Les Miserables. Beuna Vista released the high grossing, Oz The Great and Powerful. The recent wild success of the Weinstein Company has caused it to become more comprable in profits to 20th Century Fox than to Fox Searchlight though they release similar types of films. This has largely been due to their award winning films Django Unchained and Silver Linings Playbook. 20th Century Fox has held a high position in the market due to the success of The Croods. Other 2013 releases inclue Broken City and A Good Day to Die Hard [4].

Recent News

After a phone hacking scandal in 2011 and increased pressure from shareholders, News Corp will be splitting into two separate companies mid-2013. 20th Century Fox and all other Fox brands will become a part of a new company titled Fox Group. The publishing side of the company will remain News Corporation. Fox Group is slated to be led by Chase Carey, president and chief operating officer, Rupert Murdoch, chief executive and chairman, and James Murdoch, who will serve as the deputy chief operating officer [6]. Due to this split, 20th Century Fox’s co-chairman Tom Rothman will be resigning, leaving co-chairman, Jim Gianopolus, to lead the entire film division [11].

The 2013 release of The Croods has been notable for more than just its success at the box office. The film is the first to be released under DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox’s new partnership. Formerly, DreamWorks films were distributed by Paramount but the two companies ended this agreement late last year. This new deal has been very profitable for 20th Century Fox, as The Croods grossed $44.7 million in its opening weekend alone [7].

20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios are currently preparing for the release of the film Epic. Director, Chris Wedge, known for the Ice Age films, claims that Epic shows both technological advancement and genre evolution for Blue Sky [12]. The companies are heavily promoting the film that is set to release in May. Teaming up with Rite-Aid, the film will be an official charity partner of Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals [13].

20th Century Fox is taking initiative to lead the industry in the new medium of digital media. In September, the Home Entertainment division decided

to release digital copies of the film Prometheus three weeks before the DVD and Blu-ray release. In attempt to make online films more accessible and affordable, the company is also moving to dispel online piracy. 20th Century Fox is the first of the major studios to place such high importance on the release of digital content, calling the initiative Digital HD. Fox will release all recent films on Digital HD in addition to the effort to have over 600 Fox titles available on other digital platforms [8]. 20th Century Fox as well as other studios are currently in a prolonged legal battle with Google due to online piracy issues. The companies are requesting Google to remove links to pirated content but Google is responding by publishing the requests from these companies with direct links to the pirated content. This phenomenon is being called “copyright irony.” [14]

Fox Searchlight recently announced that it will be releasing the upcoming film, Twelve Years A Slave, rather than the parent company 20th Century Fox. The Steve McQueen film features Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, and the young Quvenzhane Wallis. It will premier in December [10]. Fox Searchlight currently has two films in theaters: Danny Boyle’s thriller Trance and Chan-wook Park’s Stoker which experienced festival success [10].

Sources:

[1] http://www.newscorp.com/management/20film.html

[2] http://www.cobbles.com/simpp_archive/zanuck-schenck.htm

[3] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=NWS+Key+Statistics

[4] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/studios

[5] TRF 235 Lecture Notes: Barbara Jones, Class 2

[6] http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/news-corp-announces-its-corporate-split-and-the-closing-of-the-daily/

[7] http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/25/movies/the-croods-and-olympus-has-fallen-lead-the-box-office.html?_r=2&

[8] http://adage.com/article/cmo-strategy/20th-century-fox-s-mary-daily-taking-digital-lead/238751/

[9] http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=NWS+Interactive#symbol=nws;range=20080103,20130401;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=undefined;

[10] www.foxsearchlight.com

[11] http://www.medialifemagazine.com/people-9-17-12/

[12] http://www.comingsoon.net/news/movienews.php?id=101806

[13] http://www.digitaljournal.com/pr/1149205

[14] http://businessofcinema.com/hollywood/twentieth-century-fox-and-others-in-piracy-battle-with-google/71643

[15] http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=35867

Photos

1.http://www.foxstudios.com/data/image/teasers/category_bg_home.jpg

2.https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/495817344/FoxLogo_FanfareVersion.jpg

3.http://www.impawards.com/2012/posters/life_of_pi.jpg

4.http://www.foxsearchlight.com/media/blog_post_images/fsl_logo2.jpg

5. http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowldc/files/2010/09/rupert-murdoch.jpg

6. http://cdn.pastemagazine.com/www/articles/2010/11/19/weinstein.jpg?1290168446

7. http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BODU3NzI5ODc1NV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwODQ2NDU1OA@@._V1_SX214_.jpg

8. http://www.wired.com/images_blogs/threatlevel/2011/09/FBI_Anti-Piracy_Warning.jpeg

Lionsgate Entertainment

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Taylor Kowalski

Taylor Kowalski

Courtesy of Lionsgate Entertainment [1]

Company Contact Information

Los Angeles Address:

Lionsgate Corporate

2700 Colorado Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90404

(310)-449-9200

[1]

Executives

Jon Feltheimer, CEO since March 2000.

Michael Burns, Vice Chairman since March 2000.

Steve Beeks, President since February 2004

Joe Drake, Preisdent of the Motion Picture Group since August 2007

Jim Keegan, Chief Financial Officer since April 2002

[1]

Company Overview

Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation is a leading multimedia entertainment company that maintains a presence in film and television production and distribution, home and family entertainment, digital distribution, as well as international distribution and new channel platforms. Committed to low overhead, entrepreneurial business models, cost discipline, and niche focus, Lionsgate has recently seen the success of their 12-year growth strategy, which led to Lionsgate becoming a major name in the world marketplace. [6]

Lionsgate Film’s list of successful films includes The Hunger Games, The Saw Saga, and a long list of Tyler Perry’s films. In addition, Lionsgate Television’s current programming includes successes such as FX’s Anger Management, AMC’s Mad Men, ABC’s Nashville, and Showtime’s Nurse Jackie.

Other Lionsgate holdings and subsidiaries include Lionsgate Music and Publishing, Tigergate, Mandate Pictures, Maple Pictures, Kix, Epix, Thrill, TVGuide.com, FEARnet.com, Debmar-Mercury, Elevation Sales, and Break.com.

Brief History

Lionsgate Entertainment Corporation was founded by Frank Giustra in 1997 in Vancouver, British Columbia. A majority of the funding for its founding was put forth by Yorktown Securities, a bank with stake in Frank Giustra’s mining assets. [2]

To further itself in the industry, Lionsgate acquired other small production houses, purchasing Cinepix Film Properties, which was then dubbed Lionsgate Films, as well as North Shore Studios, then renamed to be Lionsgate Studios. After more purchases, the Lionsgate Media subsidiary was founded to produce content for television. [2]

After Feltheimer became CEO, Lionsgate Entertainment acquired Trimark Pictures for approximately $50 million in June of 2000. Lionsgate also purchased Artisan Entertainment in 2003. They went on to purchase Rebus Film Distribution of the United Kingdom in October 2005, which became Lionsgate UK on February 23^rd, 2006. Also in 2006, Lionsgate sold Lionsgate Studios to Bosa Development Corporation. In June of 2007, Lionsgate Music and Publishing was founded. [2]

In 2009, Lionsgate acquired the TV Guide Network. [3]

In January of 2012, Lionsgate acquired Summit Entertainment, the producers of The Twilight Saga, which helped Lionsgate cross the $1 billion dollar threshold for the first time. This success is also attributed to the release of The Hunger Games. [1]

Courtesy of The Hunger Games [16]

Competitors

DreamWorks Studios

Imagine Entertainment

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Incorporated

[18]

Finances

As the fiscal year ended March 31^st, 2013, the annual financial reports for Lionsgate have not been released yet.

Their first-quarter financial report for 2013 reported revenue of $471.8 million, with a price of $.33 per share with the first quarter of fiscal 2013 ending June 30, 2012. [4]

The second-quarter earnings release reports revenue of $707.0 million with a price of $.56 per share with the second quarter of fiscal 2013 ending September 30, 2012. [4]

The third-quarter earnings release reports revenue of $743.6 million with a price of $.28 per share with the third quarter of fiscal 2013 ending December 31, 2012. [4]

View Available Financial Reports

Courtesy of Yahoo Finance [5]

At the closing of April 5^th, Lionsgate’s stock had gone up .74 of a point, a 3.29% increase.

With blockbuster films such as The Hunger Games: Catching Fire being released in 2013, Lionsgate is likely to have a comparable year to that of 2012, during which the release of franchised movies, including The Twilight Saga and The Hunger Games, led to more than $2.5 billion being made at the worldwide box office in 2012. [6]

Recent News

Courtesy of IMDB [14]

January 22, 2013– Lionsgate’s comic-based film DREDD achieved a DVD and Blu-Ray release that made it the best-selling new release title of the year. DREDD also became the top film download of the week, beating out all other films in digital sales as well. This feat adds to Lionsgate’s list of films that have made up for a lacking box office performance through DVD and Blu-Ray sales, helping Lionsgate be the industry leader in DVD-to-box office conversion. [7]

Official DREDD Trailer

February 12 and 13, 2013– Media Investor Gordon Crawford joined Lionsgate’s board of directors, increasing the size of the board to 13 members. In addition, Wayne Levin signed a long-term agreement to act as Lionsgate’s General Counsel and Chief Strategic Officer. [8] [9]

March 5, 2013– Andrew Kramer was named Chief Operating Officer of International Distribution. [10]

BD-2-wallpapers-breaking-dawn-part-2-32962100-1680-1050

Courtesy of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 [15]

March 5, 2013– Lionsgate reported that Summit Entertainment’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 sold 3.85 million DVD’s and Blu-Rays in its first weekend of release. This news is more significant due to the fact that 27% of the sales were Blu-Ray copies, up from the 22% seen for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1, which further indicates the growing acceptance of the Blu-Ray format. Similarly, 20% more transactions were electronic, such as Video On Demand, for this film. [11]

Official Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Trailer

March 21^,2013– Lionsgate and the new digital entertainment service M-GO announced that they are partnering to bring Lionsgate’s library of films and television programs, such as The Hunger Games, Twilight, Madea, and Mad Men, to the digital service for customers to purchase or rent. [12]

Courtesy of TV Guide [15]

March 26, 2013– CBS Corporation and Lionsgate officially partner in a 50/50 ownership of the TV Guide Network as well as TVGuide.com, a cable channel that reaches 80 million households. [3]

Future

Though Lionsgate may not have as profitable of a fiscal year in 2013 and 2014 due to The Twilight Saga wrapping up and no longer overlapping The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire as well as the rest of the trilogy are sure to be box office successes for Lionsgate.

Other upcoming films for Lionsgate include The Big Wedding, We the Peeples, You’re Next, I, Frankenstein, and Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas. Lionsgate is also planning to add to the Texas Chainsaw 3D franchise. [13]

Official We The Peeples Trailer

Official You’re Next Trailer

Official Tyler Perry’s A Madea Christmas Trailer

In addition, Summit Entertainment’s upcoming 2013 slate includes Now You See Me, Red 2, The Tomb, and Ender’s Game.

Sources

1. Lionsgate Official Website http://www.lionsgate.com

2. Lionsgate History http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/lions-gate-entertainment-corporation-history/

3. Lionsgate and CBS for TV Guide Network http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/lionsgate-eyes-sale-tv-guide-282649

4. Lionsgate Quarterly Earnings http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=quarterlyEarnings

5. Yahoo Finance Report http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=LGF

6. Lionsgate Company Overview http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-homeprofile

7. DREDD Press Release http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1776610&highlight=

8. Gordon Crawford Press Release http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1784145&highlight=

9. Wayne Levin Press Release http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1784588&highlight=

10. Andrew Kramer Press Release http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1792410&highlight=

11. Twilight Press Release http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1792214&highlight=

12. M-GO Press Release http://investors.lionsgate.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=62796&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1798829&highlight=

13. Lionsgate Films http://www.lionsgate.com/?section=film

14. DREDD on IMDb http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1343727/

15. Breaking Dawn – Part 2 Photo Page http://www.breakingdawn-themovie.com

16. The Hunger Games Official Website http://www.thehungergamesmovie.com/index.html

17. TV Guide Network http://www.tvguide.com

18. Yahoo Finance, Lionsgate Competitors http://finance.yahoo.com/q/co?s=LGF+Competitors

Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Carly Konsker

by Carly Konsker

Profile

The Walt Disney Company, including all of its subsidiaries and affiliates, is known across America and world wide as a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise. This massive corporation contains five main business segments: Media Networks, Parks and Resorts, Studio Entertainment, Consumer Products, and Interactive Media. [1]

History

On October 16, 1923, Walt and Roy Disney founded The Walt Disney Company, which was originally named The Disney Brothers Studio. The company got its start by producing Alice Comedies, which lasted for four years. They continued with their love of cartoons, and in 1928 the most famous Disney icon was created, Mickey Mouse. Disney won its first Academy Award for Best Cartoon in 1932. Fiver years later, the company shocked the world by developing their first full-length feature film in 1937. [2, 3, 4]

Courtsey of http://d23.disney.go.com/ Walt and Roy proudly displaying their first Oscar with the world's most famous mouse.

Walt and Roy proudly displaying their first Oscar with the world’s most famous mouse. [5]

Walt Disney, the visionary behind the Disney empire, dies at age 66 on December 15, 1966. After his younger brother’s death, Roy Disney took it upon himself to control the financing and construction of Walt Disney World, his brother’s last wish. Since the beginning, Roy was always in charge of the business side of the Disney company, while Walt was the creative genius behind the fantasies. On December 20, 1971, Roy O. Disney passed, three months after the opening of Walt Disney World. [2, 4]

Today, The Walt Disney Company continues to thrive while sticking to their roots of turning dreams into reality. Disney reinforces their past by keeping the Disney legacy alive, but the company also creates new content with ground-breaking technology.

Current Chairman and CEO of The Walt Disney Company is Robert A. Iger. [6]

Courtesy of http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/

Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios [7]

Financials

The Walt Disney Company: NYSE:DIS quotes & news https://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE:DIS

Walt Disney Studios/Walt Disney Pictures

The Walt Disney Studios includes the creation, production, promotion, sales, acquisition, and national and international distribution of live-action and animated motion pictures, home entertainment releases, music and soundtrack recordings, and live stage plays. The Walt Disney Studios is the home to Marvel, Touchstone Pictures, Disney•Pixar, Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Live-Action), Disneynature, and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (Live-Action)

On July 19, 1950, Disney released its first life-action feature film, Treasure Island. Since then, filmmakers have created some of the most successful live-action family films including the Pirates of the Caribbean films, Alice in Wonderland, and Oz the Great and Powerful. Many of these films, as well as movies in other divisions, are distributed under the brand name, Buena Vista. [10]

Courtesy of www.boxofficemojo.com

Recent News:

On March 14, 2013, Disney and Showtime announced the extension of their output deal, which allows DreamWorks Studios’ films that are theatrically released by Disney to be available to Showtime subscribers through 2018. [8, 9]

As of April 7, 2013, Oz the Great and Powerful has topped the US Box Office with an estimated gross of $212,767,000. [11]

In 2015, Disney looks forward to releasing Star Wars: Episode VII, the first film produced since Disney’s acquisition of Lucasfilm Ltd. in October 2012. The film will be directed by J.J. Abrams, who is famous for directing the hit television series Lost. “Standalone movies” featuring Star Wars characters are in the works. [12, 13]

Future Releases: The Lone Ranger (July 3, 2013), The Delivery Man (October 4, 2013)

Marvel Studios

Marvel Entertainment is a completely-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. Marvel Studios, founded in 1996, is a successful facet of Marvel Entertainment that creates, develops, and produces life-action films based on the characters and story-lines from the iconic marvel comic book empire. [14]

Iron Man 3 Trailer

The success of their film franchise will continue to grow with the upcoming releases of Iron Man 3 on May 3, 2013, The Avengers 2, Thor: The Dark World, and the studio has already started production has on the sequel to Captain America. Marvel’s The Avengers was not only the highest grossing movie of this past year, but it was also the 5^th highest grossing feature film of all time. [14, 15, 16]

Walt Disney Animation Studios

Walt Disney Animation Studios was founded in 1923. The studio’s first fully animated feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, became the highest grossing film of its time. Disney paved the way for a new type of family entertainment. Some of their masterpieces include the Disney Fairies films, Tangled, Bolt, and The Lion King. [16]

Future Release: Planes (August 09, 2013) featuring the voices of Dane Cook, Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, and Cedric the Entertainer. [17]

Pixar Animation Studios

Pixar Animation studios was founded in 1986 when Steve Jobs bought the Computer Graphics Division of Lucasfilms from George Lucas and started an independent company, Pixar. [18] Pixar has built a name for itself through some of the most successful movies in animation. For example, all the Toy Story films, Finding Nemo, WALL•E, and all Cars movies. [18]

Starting in 1991, Disney and Pixar have continuously signed deals over the years to make and distribute animated films together. The Walt Disney Company officially agreed to acquire Pixar Animation Studios in a $7.4 Billion stock deal on January 24, 2006. This deal allowed Disney to revert back to its traditional animation roots, and gave Steve Job’s, the former CEO of Pixar, tremendous power in Hollywood by becoming the largest individual shareholder of Disney. [19]

On April 1, 2013, Pixar announced the title sequel to the 2003 Academy Award winning film for best animated feature, Finding Nemo. The upcoming film, Finding Dory, will be released on November 25, 2015, thanksgiving weekend. Ellen DeGeneres will once again be the voice behind the film’s leading character Dory, who learns about the meaning of family as she is reunited with her loved ones in the film. [20, 21]

Touchstone Pictures

Touchstone Pictures is one of several film labels of The Walt Disney Studios, owned by The Walt Disney Company. This American film production studio was created in 1984 in order for Disney to have a brand that released more adult-oriented material. Touchstone Pictures is also the banner under which live-action films from DreamWorks Studios are distributed since their agreement finalized 2009. [22]

Touchstone’s first film released was the 1984 comedy, Splash. Since then, over 200 films have been released from Touchstone Pictures including Pretty Woman, Father of the Bride, Step Up, and The Proposal. [23]

Lincoln (2012), distributed under Touchstone Pictures, was nominated for 12 Oscars at the 85th annual Academy Awards. Lincoln received the most nominations among those released in 2012, and it won the award for Best Production Design and Best Actor. [24]

Future Release: The Fifth Estate (November 15, 2013) [25]

Sources:

The Walt Disney Company Corporate http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/
Timeline of The Walt Disney Company http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/disney-history
History of The Walt Disney Studios http://animation.about.com/od/industryprofiles/p/waltdisney.htm
History of Disney – Excerpt From The Walt Disney Company Archives http://waltdisneystudios.com/static/The%20History%20of%20TWDS.pdf
Walt and Roy Disney Photo http://d23.disney.go.com/
Bob Iger CEO of The Walt Disney Company http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about-disney/leadership/board-directors/robert-iger
Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/6/bio/1015
Disney and Showtime DreamWorks Deal Extended http://variety.com/2013/film/news/disney-to-keep-its-dreamworks-films-at-showtime-1200194681/
Showtime and Disney Renew DreamWorks Contract http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/showtime-dreamworks-studios-contract-extension/
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures (live-action) http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/74
Oz the Great and Powerful Tops US Box Office http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=oz.htm
Disney Acquires Lucasfilm – Press Release http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2012/10/disney-acquire-lucasfilm-ltd
CEO Bob Iger Discusses Star Wards in CNBC Interview http://www.deadline.com/2013/02/disney-to-release-additional-films-based-on-star-wars-characters/#more-422357
Marvel – Walt Disney Studios http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/246
Marvel’s The Avengers http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=avengers11.htm
Walt Disney Animation Studios http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/76
Disney’s Planes Press Release http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/news/1288
Pixar Animation Studios History http://www.pixar.com/about/Our-Story
Disney Agrees to Acquire Pixar http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/25/business/25disney.html?_r=1&
Finding Dory Announced http://variety.com/2013/film/news/pixar-finds-title-release-date-for-finding-nemo-sequel-1200331933/
Finding Dory Press Release http://waltdisneystudios.com/corp/news/1293
Walt Disney Studios Corporate http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-companies/studio-entertainment
Touchstone Pictures http://www.waltdisneystudios.com/corp/unit/264
Lincoln (2012) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_accolades_received_by_Lincoln_(2012_film)
Production Begins on DreamWorks’ WikiLeaks Project “The Fifth Estate” http://waltdisneystudios.com/corp/news/1250

DreamWorks Animation

Posted on April 7, 2013 by alwenner

by Alex Wenner

1000 Flower St.
Glendale, CA, 91201, United States
(818) 695-5000
dreamworksanimation.com

Origins:

DreamWorks’ Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen on the cover of Time Magazine, March 27, 1995. Coutesy of malibucomplete.com

Co-founded in 1994 by entertainment veterans Stephen Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, DreamWorks Animation SKG has released a total of twenty-six animated feature films that have grossed over $10 billion worldwide (as of 2012). In 1995, DreamWorks embarked on a co-production venture with Pacific Data Images. This new unit was created to produce computer-animated motion pictures, beginning with 1998’s Antz. In 2005, Viacom purchased the live-action division of DreamWorks, only to end this partnership in 2008. Reliance Entertainment now acts as its parents company. 20th Century Fox took over international marketing and distribution for SKG in 2012, and the SKG studio now handles its own domestic distribution. In addition to feature films, DreamWorks produces television programming and other family entertainment. [1] [2]

Key Executives:

Spielberg, Courtesy of static-I3.org

Jeffery Katzenberg, Courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com

Jeffrey Katzenberg – CEO and Director: Directed Disney‘s animation unit to successes like The Little Mermaid (1989), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Aladdin (1992), and The Lion King (1994) before co-founding DreamWorks Animation in ’94. Heavily involved in early SKG animation hits.

Lew Coleman – President and CFO: Spent 37 years in the banking industry before joining SKG in 2007.

Stephen Spielberg– Principal Partner: One of Hollywood’s most recognizable names and

Lew Coleman, Courtesy of dreamworksanimation.com

talents, Steven Spielberg co-founded the studio. From 1997 to 2008’s Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , all Spielberg films were released through DreamWorks live-action division. [3] [4]

Financials: [5]

Revenue: $749 million (2012)

Operating Income: -$65 million (2012)

Animation Portfolio:
DreamWorks has enjoyed considerable success, both commercial and critical, with its large library of animated films. SKG’s films boast a $430 million gross average, an astounding number second to only Pixar. Four of DreamWorks films rank amongst the fifty highest-grossing films of all time, and the studio can lay claim to sixteen of the fifty highest-grossing animated features of all time. Though the studio has a history of traditionally-animated films (The Road to El Dorado, Sinbad), SKG has confirmed that all future films will be computer-animated. [6]

Chicken Run (2000)

Courtesy of impawards.com

Co-financed and distributed by DreamWorks for Aardman Animation, the stop-motion animated Chicken Run marked one of the company’s first forays into animated motion pictures. It was a decisive success, grossing nearly $228 million worldwide with a $42 million budget.

Shrek (2001)

DreamWorks found solid gold with the release of Shrek, a box-office smash-hit that

Courtesy of traileraddict.com

catapulted the studio to the forefront of film animation alongside studios like Pixar and Disney. The green ogre grossed $485 million worldwide and earned the Academy’s first award for Best Animated Feature. The computer animation used in Shrek was different from the traditional animation methods used in previous DreamWorks features, and the film’s release marked a subtle change in direction for the studio; now it would focus its efforts almost entirely on computer animation. Its sequel, Shrek 2, would go on to shatter box-office records in 2004 ($920 million worldwide gross).

Madagascar (2005)

Courtesy of impawards.com

Following the computer-animated tradition of Shrek, Madagascar continued the string of massive success for SKG, taking in $530 million worldwide in ’05.

Kung Fu Panda (2008)

impawards.com

Jack Black stars in this computer animated comedy that marked DreamWorks biggest opening for a non-sequel, and the highest grossing animated feature of the year ($632 million worldwide).

Rise of the Guardians (2012)

Expected to launch a new franchise, Guardians (featuring a re-envisioning of classic characters Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, etc.) was considered a flop despite being well-received critically and grossing over $300 million worldwide. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Feature Film. [7]

Courtesy of yodale.org

Recent Activity:

February 26, 2013 – DreamWorks Animation reported a quarterly loss of nearly $83 million, mainly due to the disappointing performance of Rise of the Guardians (which still brought in over $300 million to an estimated $145 million budget, excluding marketing costs). CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg attributes Guardians lackluster performance to poor marketing. Another film in production, Me & My Shadow, was sent back into development, accruing more losses for the studio. As a result of the studios reset setbacks, SKG announced a series of layoffs that will see around 350 employees lose their jobs by the end of the year. This resulted in a small drop in SKG stock.[8]

March 13, 2013 – Despite watching its stock price drop in the wake of its 4th quarter earnings report, DreamWorks Animation SKG stock experienced an 8% rise after an analyst predicted the studio’s new release, The Croods, will exceed box office expectations. As of April 7th, The Croods has earned over $330 million worldwide in two and a half weeks. [9] [10]

March 20, 2013 – DreamWorks Animation releases the theatrical trailer for its upcoming summer 2013 animated feature, Turbo. Starring voice talent such as Ryan Reynolds, Snoop Dogg, Paul Giamatti and Luis Guzman, the film chronicles a snail’s dream of becoming a racing legend, and will be distributed by 20th Century Fox. [11]

Upcoming Projects- Even with the recent theatrical release of The Croods and the summer release of Turbo, DreamWorks Animation SKG has a full slate of movies set for production. Two sequels to SKG’s acclaimed How to Train Your Dragon (2010) are set for release in 2014 and 2016. In fall 2013, SKG plans to release Mr. Peabody & Sherman, a Rocky & Bullwinkle spin-off. With five planned releases including new films from the Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda franchises, 2015 figures to be a huge year for Animation SKG. [12]

Sources:

[1] http://animation.about.com/od/industryprofiles/p/dreamworks.htm

[2] http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/company

[3] http://quotes.wsj.com/DWA/company-people

[4] http://www.forbes.com/companies/dreamworks-animation/

[5] http://quotes.wsj.com/DWA?mod=DNH_S_cq

[6] http://animation.about.com/od/industryprofiles/p/dreamworks.htm

[7] http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/series/DreamworksAnimation.php

[8] http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/dreamworks-reports-82-7-million-loss/

[9] http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dreamworks-animation-stock-surges-8-428424

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

[11] http://www.firstshowing.net/2013/watch-dreamworks-animations-speedy-theatrical-trailer-for-turbo/

[12] http://screenrant.com/dreamworks-animation-lineup-2013-2016/all/1/

DreamWorks Animation

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Alexander Benis

by Alex Benis

DreamWorks Animation SKG

Location

1000 Flower Street, Glendale, California 91201

(818) 695-5000 ; www.dreamworksanimation.com

Key Executives

Jeffrey Katzenberg (Chief Executive Officer/Director/Co-Founder) [pictured below]

Lew Coleman (President/Chief Financial Officer)
Ann Daly (Chief Operating Officer)
Anne Globe (Chief Marketing Officer)
Heather O’Connor (Chief Accounting Officer)
Michael R. Francis (Chief Global Brand Officer)
Andrew Chang (General Counsel/Corporate Secretary)
Rich Sullivan (Deputy Chief Financial Officer)

About

DreamWorks Animation SKG is an animation studio located in Glendale, California that produces animated films, television series and live entertainment for audiences worldwide. With a staff totaling more than 2,100 employees facilitating production, DreamWorks creates and distributes on average roughly three feature-length films for theatrical release in addition to many other smaller-scale projects. Boasting the rank of being the fourteenth best place to work according to Fortune Magazine, the animation studio is the one of the most versatile in the world and is the birthplace of stories that wrestle with the imagination.

Historical Background

DreamWorks SKG was jointly founded on October 12, 1994 by the triumvirate made up of: director & producer Steven Spielberg, music executive David Geffen and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg. With its formation, artists from Spielberg’s previous unsuccessful animation studio, Amblimation, were attracted for employment. In 1995, the young animation studio signed a co-production deal with Pacific Data Images, forming the subsidiary PDI, LLC which split the ownership 60/40 favoring PDI. The new business partition would go on produce its first-ever feature film: Antz. In 1997, DreamWorks partnered with British stop-animation studio Aardman Animation to co-produce Chicken Run. At the turn of the century, DreamWorks SKG created the business division DreamWorks Animation and halted the use of hand-drawn animation following the production of Shrek (which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film). In 2004, the studio became the first to produce two computer-generated animated feature films in a single year with the theatrical release of Shrek 2 and Shark Tale. The same year, DreamWorks Animation was further divided into DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. managed by Katzenberg under the terms that 12 new films be distributed by the end of 2010’s fiscal fourth quarter.

Financials

For 2012, the animation studio raked in an impressive $749.8 million – topping its previous year’s revenue by $42 million dollars which can be credited to the release of Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. Additionally, DreamWorks ended 2012 with $82.7 million in revenue with their total assets reaching $1.945 billion and a total equity of $1.346 million. Their fiscal fourth quarter results are as follows:

From June to September, DreamWorks increased their annual revenue from $162.8 million to $186.3 million. Following the month of October, profitability increased much more rapidly – with the most likely cause being related to the marketing of their newest movie at the time: Rise of the Guardians. By December 31st, the studio’s revenue stream for the quarter was capped off at $264.66 million, slightly over a third of their annual earnings. Overall, DreamWorks incurred a $36.4 million loss over the course of the entire year in comparison to their overall revenue of the previous year.

In The News

Dreamworks’ fourth quarter holiday release, Rise of the Guardians, proved successful at the box office: being largely responsible for just over one-third of the animation studio’s overall revenue for that year. Centering around an evil spirit named Pitch, the character archetypes of imagination (The Sandman, The Tooth Fairy, Santa Clause, etc.) are given no choice but to join forces in order to defeat a looming enemy that threatens childrens’ beliefs. Starring heavyweights Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman and Jude Law, the film was described by one critic as being “one for the kids, [but] fun enough to put a smile on parents’ faces.” Domestically, Rise of the Guardians grossed $103 million, which was surprisingly only 34% of its $303.5 million worldwide gross. In the weeks that followed its release, the film was rewarded with a 74% fresh tomato overall.

Released just last week on March 22, DreamWorks Animations’ The Croods grossed a total $72.8 million its opening weekend. When a prehistoric family’s home is destroyed, they are forced to embark on a journey across an unfamiliar land in search of a new home. Written-and-directed by Chris Sanders (Lilo and Stitch, The Lion King) and Kirk de Micco, the feature film boasts a talented cast starring Nicholas Cage, Emma Stone and actor Clark Duke, who is best-known from roles in the ABC series GREEK and the acclaimed superhero movie Kick-Ass. The film is currently the highest-grossing film at the box office – concluding the weekend at $43.6 million. The Croods also holds a 67% fresh rating on rottentomatoes.com and a 7.5/10 on imdb.com. After just two weeks at the box office, Dreamworks first animated feature film of 2013 has grossed $227 million in total and is currently the number one ranked movie worldwide. So far, The Croods is in position to exceed studio’s 2012 revenue profitability – with two other feature-length theatrical releases later this year.

Upcoming Animations

July 19, 2013: Turbo

Following the story of a snail who gains superior speed after a freak-accident, Turbo aspires to escape his slow-paced world to compete in the Indy500. Ryan Reynolds, Paul Giamotti and Ken Jeong are all attached to the project set to be the studio’s primary summer release.

November 1, 2013: Mr. Peabody & Sherman

Mr. Peabody & Sherman is DreamWorks’ adaptation of the well-known Rocky and Bullwinkle side-cartoon about an exceptionally smart dog who owns a human as a pet. When they travel back in time, they are tested when they realize they could potentially unravel the fabric of their universe. The feature film is set to be directed by Rob Minkoff (The Lion King) and will star Ty Burrel (Modern Family) and Max Charles (The Amazing Spiderman) voicing Mr. Peabody and Sherman, respectively.

March 14, 2014: Me and My Shadow

Lesser-known than DreamWorks’ two previously-mentioned feature films, Me and My Shadow follows the story of a seemingly boring man’s shadow that craves for a more exciting lifestyle.

Other Projects Currently In Production

June 20, 2014: How To Train Your Dragon 2

November 26, 2014: Happy Smekday!

March 27, 2015: The Penguins of Madagascar

June 5, 2015: Trolls (working title)

November 6, 2015: B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations

[Seth Rogan supposedly attached]

December 19, 2015: Mumbai Musical (working title)

[Kevin Lima (Tarzan, Enchanted) will be directing with music composed by A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire)]

March 18, 2016: Kung Fu Panda 3

June 18, 2016: How To Train Your Dragon 3

Sources

[1] http://dreamworksanimation.com

[2] http://ycharts.com/companies/DWA/revenues

[3] http://finance.yahoo.com/q/is?s=dwa

[4] http://ir.dreamworksanimation.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=743403

[5] http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/snapshots/14.html

[6] http://screenrant.com/dreamworks-animation-lineup-2013-2016/all/1/

[7] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-croods/

[8] http://www.imdb.com

[9] http://boxofficemojo.com

20th Century Fox

Posted on March 13, 2013 by Bria Holness

by Bria Holness

Photo courtesy of fanpop.com

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp

10201 West Pico Boulevard,

Los Angeles, California 90035

www.foxmovies.com

A Brief History

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, also known as 20th Century Fox, was established on May 31, 1935 when the founders of Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures decided to merge into one. It is now one of the major American film studios that produces, acquires, and distributes motion pictures. Based in Los Angeles, California, it operates as a subsidiary of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. and is responsible for some of the top grossing movies, including Avatar and Titanic. [1] [2]

Quick Financials

During the first quarter, which encompasses the months of January, February, and March, 20th Century Fox brought in a gross income of $256.9 million, a 13.7% decrease in comparison to the first quarter of 2012; however, this is also an 123.7% increase in comparison to 2011. [19]

Key Executives

Keith Rupert Murdoch

Photo courtesy of biography.com

Murdoch is the founder of News Corporation, in which 20th Century Fox is a subsidiary of, and has been its Chairman since 1991. Since 1992, Murdoch has been the Chairman of Fox Entertainment Group Inc. and its Chief Executive Officer since 1995. He operates as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. [2]

Eduardo Echeverria

Photo courtesy of variety.com

Echeverria is Senior Vice President of Latin America at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and has served as so since 2001. [2] Echeverria manages the sales and marketing operations and theatrical distribution for all Fox Filmed Entertainment product in Latin America. [2]

Michael Peikoff

Since July 1, 2007, Peikoff has been Senior Vice President of Licensing and Merchandising of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. His duties include managing internal and external communication for the licensing division and managing retail marketing and licensed promotion initiatives in the U.S. [2]

Robert Marick

Photo courtesy of licensing.biz

As Executive Vice President since July of 2010, Marick manages the global licensing of Fox’s television and film assets across different platforms including television promotions, interactive gaming, literary publishing, themed entertainment, and consumer products. [2]

Ricardo Crespo

Photo courtesy of centralpa.aiga.org

Crespo has served as Senior Vice President of Global Creative at Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation since July 2010. [2] Prior to joining the 20th Century Fox team, Crespo held several leadership positions at Saatchi & Saatchi, Mattel Inc., Bozell Worldwide, and McCANN ERICKSON. [4]

In The News

Broken City

Photo courtesy of radionowindy.com

20th Century Fox Films released its first film of the year, Broken City, starring Mark Wahlberg, Russell Crowe, and Catherine Zeta Jones, on January 18th. The film told the story of a New York City cop, who one night gets involved in a scandalous shooting. He’s stripped of his badge but kept out of jail by the works of New York’s Mayor, who offers him a lump sum of money to investigate his wife. While doing so he finds himself in the middle of a much larger scandal as he realizes that the Mayor isn’t who he seems to be.

During its opening weekend, the film made about $9 million and $4 million the weekend after. With an estimated budget of $55 million, it has made an overall gross of $19,667,601 up to date. It has received mixed reviews ranging from being called a complete mess to being considered an entertaining thriller. Nonetheless, there seems to be a majority consensus—the cast and the numerous twists are great but can only keep the “weak” storyline going but so far, causing it to receive a B- from Entertainment Weekly. [5] [6]

20th Century Fox employed an interesting marketing strategy for the movie. Instead of featuring promotional quotes from legitimate movie critics, they chose to use tweets from the hashtag, #BrokenCity, in which basically anyone could be a critic.

Photo courtesy of cultureblues.com

The studio believed it was a way to be more personable and interactive and to get fans more excited for the upcoming film. However, the tactic raised many questions about the weight of movie critics’ opinions and whether or not they carry the same weight as the opinions of the fans. [7]

Wahlberg also held a special, early screening of the film as a fundraiser for the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation . He offered a chance to win tickets at Celebrities for Charity. [8]

A Good Day to Die Hard

Photo courtesy of movies.wikia.com

20th Century Fox released the fifth movie of the Die Hard franchise, A Good Day to Die Hard, starring Bruce Willis and Jai Courtney, on February 14^th. This is the first of the franchise to not be released during the blockbuster summer months and instead in the cold month of February. [9] The film tells the story of a cop, John McClane, who travels to Moscow to help his unruly son Jack, unaware that Jack is really a CIA agent attempting to stop a nuclear weapons robbery. Despite their differences, they are forced to work together to keep each other and the world safe. [5]

The film was produced for about $92 million. During its opening weekend, it made $24,834,845 domestically and $45,301,894 oversees, giving it the number one spot of films newly released that weekend. [10] However, this is over $70 million less than what the last movie of the Die Hard franchise made in the summer of 2007. With this comparison, it could be considered disappointing. [11]

Very unlike the previous films of the series, the film has been largely slated by various critics. Based on 40 “generally unfavorable” reviews, Metacritic has given the movie a 28 out of 100 and based on 184 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes has given it a score of 4 out of 10. On both sites, several reasons for such low scores have been cited but the majority seems to agree on a muddling plotline with too many holes and twists as the movie’s downfall. [12] [13]

The Croods

Photo courtesy of filmofilia.com

20th Century Fox teamed up with DreamWorks Animation for the first time in the production and release of The Croods, a prehistoric comedy for the family, starring Nicholas Cage, Ryan Reynolds, Emma Stone, and Catherine Keener. It officially premiered worldwide on March 22nd and brought in $43,639,736 during its opening weekend. [18]

The film follows the story of a caveman, Crug, who must lead his family across an unstable and dangerous landscape after an earthquake destroys their home. While doing so they come across a nomad who charms everyone but Crug with his revolutionary modern ways. [14] As of April 1st, with a budget of about $135 million, the film has made $93,893,394 domestically and $148,802,379 from foreign theaters, amounting to $242,695,773 worldwide. [18]

To build up anticipation of the release of the movie, DreamWorks made a deal with Rovio to create a mobile game based on The Croods, an impressive marketing strategy. In the game, the Croods, a family of cave men, find their way out of the Stone Age through the use of a new tool, the idea. They hunt and gather their way through new landscapes as they tame creatures they’ve never seen before.

Rovio released the game for Apple and Android devices on March 14, just about a week before the official release of the film. [15]

What’s Next for 20th Century Fox?

20th Century Fox plans to release another 3-D animated family film, Epic, which is based on the children’s book, The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. From the creators of Ice Age and Rio, Epic follows the story of a teenage girl, who finds herself magically transported into a secret universe. While there, she must team up with a group of capricious characters in order to save their world and her own from Queen Tara, the evil spider. [16]

Starring the voices of Amanda Seyfried, Josh Hutcherson, Colin Farrell, Aziz Ansari, Steven Tyler, Johnny Knoxville, Beyonce Knowles, and Pitbull, the film is scheduled to be released on May 24^th. [17]

Sources

[1] http://www.thestudiotour.com/fox/chronology.shtml

[2]http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=35867

[3] http://www.screendaily.com/echeverria-promoted-to-evp-latin-america-at-fox/4030307.article‘

[4] http://centralpa.aiga.org/previous-events/ricardo-crespo-creative-ronin

[5] http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235522/

[6] http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20483133_20657927,00.html

[7] http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Broken-City-TV-Spot-Turns-Podium-Over-Twitter-Fans-34876.html

[8]http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/blog/mass_roundup/2013/01/mark-wahlberg-broken-city-hingham.html

[9] http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/02/13/3852964/its-a-good-day-for-john-mcclane.html

[10] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/17/weekend-box-office-a-good-day-to-die-hard_n_2707284.html

[11] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/franchises/chart/?id=diehard.htm

[12] http://www.metacritic.com/movie/a-good-day-to-die-hard

[13] http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/a_good_day_to_die_hard/

[14] http://www.movieinsider.com/m2646/the-croods/

[15] http://variety.com/2013/digital/games/the-croods-go-mobile-with-angry-birds-creator-1200001701/

[16] http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/283733/cbb/20th-century-fox-presents-family-and-kiddie-films-in-2013

[17] http://www.movieinsider.com/m3739/epic/credits/

[18] http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=croods.htm

[19] http://boxofficemojo.com/studio/chart/?view=company&view2=ytd&compare=Q1&studio=fox.htm

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Posted on December 2, 2012 by jwu17

By Jimena Wu

Official 20th Century Fox 2012 Logo – Courtesy of Google Images

Company Information [2]

10201 W. Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA, 90064 United States

(310) 369-1000

http://www.foxmovies.com

Brief Overview

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation is a subsidiary of Fox Inc., owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. 20^th Century Fox Film Corporation’s motion pictures are produced or acquired by the company’s smaller units, including: Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Animation and Blue Sky Studios [1].

The company has had major success with motion pictures, including the huge hits Star Wars, Titanic, and it’s most successful in the box office yet, Avatar, released in 2009. Avatar recorded up to a gross of $749,766,139, including nine Academy Awards nominations and three wins. [23]

Top 3 Competitors [2]

The Walt Disney Studios

MGM Studios, Inc.

Columbia Tristar Motion Picture Group

Key Executives [3]

Keith Rupert Murdoch – Chairman of Board & CEO

Ricardo Crespo – Senior Vice President of Global Creative

Eduardo Echeverria – Senior Vice President of Latin America

Pam Kunick-Cohen – Senior Vice President of Twentieth Century Fox Consumer Products

Robert Marick – Executive Vice President

Brief History: The Formation of Twentieth Century Fox [5]

20th Century Fox was funded in 1935 with the merging of the Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures. It was co-founded by Joseph Schenck, president of United Artists, and Darryl F. Zanuck, former head of production at the Warner Bros. Studio.

Elaboration & Transformation of Company Logo after Fox Film-20th Century merged in 1935 [4]

The company separated itself from others, as the productions of The Grapes of Wrath in 1940 and How Green Was My Valley in 1941 won Academy Awards. However, by the 1950’s, movie attendance dropped, bringing film productions down as well. Consequently, studios couldn’t afford to keep contracts with directors and actors. This event of disappointment led to Zanuck leaving to Paris in 1956, striving to become an independent film producer. The company lost huge amounts of money in between the years of 1959-1962.

In 1962, Zanuck returned as president, and his film The Longest Day, released through 20th Century Fox, got an Academy Award nomination and earned enough revenue for the company to start producing again in 1963. During the 1960’s, Zanuck used the “blockbuster strategy”, consisting of releasing expensive productions. The Sound of Music, released in 1964, brought more than $79 million in revenues.

The 1980’s were hard times since many productions didn’t compensate for their production costs. However, with the entrance of Rupert Murdoch, owner of News Corporation, in 1985, the company made it to the top spot among studios, gaining more than 18% of the box-office share in 1991.

Right Here, Right Now

20th Century Fox at the Box Office

The company began the Fall of 2012 with the release of Won’t Back Down in September 28, 2012, starring Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis. However, despite its notorious casting, this movie was ranked as the worst saturated release ever, bringing only $2,603,370 in the opening weekend. The movie made a total of $5,310,554. [6]

Taken 2 Movie Poster – Courtesy of Google Images

In October 5, 2012, the awaited Taken 2, starring Liam Neeson, was released, making $49,514,769 in its opening weekend [8]. Despite all of the critics, Taken 2 was the reason the overall box office was up more than 40 percent over the same weekend last year [7]. The movie scored $361,060,485 worldwide, showing strong results for a $45 million production [8].

Following Taken 2, Chasing Mavericks, starring Gerard Butler, was released October 26th, disappointing with a $2,268,274 debut. The movie made a total domestic gross of $5,843,722, barely one-fourth of its $20 million production budget [9]. However, Hurricane Sandy could have affected this result, as it”may have suppressed business by about 10 percent.” [10]

Wreck-It Ralph Poster – Courtesy of Google Images

As the storm passes, Wreck-It Ralph came to the #1 spot in its opening weekend with $49,038,712 [11]. This movie has actually become the biggest box office ever for Disney Animations [12]. After five weeks in theaters, it still maintains itself in the top ten, recording a total domestic gross of $159,213,887 and a worldwide gross of $203,213,887 (as of December 5, 2012) [11].

Lincoln opened in limited theaters in November 9, 2012 and released worldwide November 16, recording $944,308 for the opening weekend, and $21,049,406 in its second place, getting into the box office’s top 3. Lincoln, a film produced by Steven Spielberg, remained at #3 for two weekends, including Thanksgiving weekend. As of December 5, 2012, the movie earned a total domestic gross of $87,088,719, already compensating its production costs of $65 million. [13]

Next up for 20th Century Fox was Life of Pi, released November 21, which was considered to be “tough to sell” and a “gamble” for the company [14]. This film’s production budget will definitely be hard to compensate as it cost $120 million to produce, mainly because of its unbelievable graphic effects. The movie did pretty good in the opening weekend, earning $22,451,514, and also performed fairly well during the Thanksgiving weekend in the 5th spot, behind Twilight, Skyfall, Lincoln, and Rise of The Guardians. However, it is still at half its production budget, reporting $51,676,132 in total domestic gross as of Dec. 5, 2012. [15]

Life of Pi – Movie Poster – Courtesy of Google Images

The next movie for Fox is called Parental Guidance, which was supposed to be released during the Thanksgiving weekend but will now be released December 25th, 2012. The movie has high expectancies as it has less competition during Christmas than what it would’ve had during Thanksgiving [16].

First-Quarter Earnings (Quarter ended Sept. 30) – See full News Corp. Earnings Release

Rupert Murdoch led the company to more strong results as the fiscal quarterly earnings for the first quarter, ending in September 30, 2012, reported earnings of $2.23 billion, compared with $738 million made last year. Revenue also rose in large amounts, from $7.96 billion to $8.14 billion. As for the role Twentieth Century Fox plays in this increase in earnings, filmed entertainment reported quarterly segment operating income of $400 million, $53 million higher than a year ago, when the segment operating income was $347 million. This is majorly due to the huge success Ice Age: Continental Drift had in box offices back in July. As of December 5, the $95 million film has earned a total worldwide gross of $874,920,192 [24]. Also, Fox made a licensing deal with Netflix back in May 2012, which contributed enormously to the rise in profit [17]. Through this licensing agreement, Fox classic films were distributed to Latin America. “Our alliance with Twentieth Century Fox continues to get stronger and benefit Netflix’s members across the globe,” said Jason Ropell, VP of content acquisitions at Netflix. [25]

Deals/News

August 2012

Fox to Distribute DreamWorks Animation Movies [18]

DreamWorks has decided to shift from Paramount Pictures to 20th Century Fox looking for a 5-year distribution deal. This deal will place DreamWorks’ animated titles in Fox’s animation division, Blue Sky Studios. This deal will go into effect in 2013.

DreamWorks Logo – Courtesy of Google Images

Company Perspective: “DreamWorks Animation is a great company that makes terrific films and everyone here feels privileged and honored to have been chosen to distribute their marvelous work throughout the world,” stated Fox Filmed Entertainment CEOs and Chairmen, Jim Gianopulos and Tom Rothman. “We are particularly excited to add DreamWorks Animation’s films to the strong and growing slate of movies from our outstanding Blue Sky Studios division, which is coming off another global blockbuster with Ice Age: Continental Drift, and has Epic and Rio 2in advanced production. Together we will be a dominant force in animated entertainment for years to come.” [19]

September 2012

Fox Hoped To Boost Movie Downloads By Offering Titles Ahead of Discs [20]

In order to increase movie downloads, Fox has decided to offer the option to downnload movies through Amazon, CinemaNow (Best Buy), iTunes, PlayStation, VUDU (Walmart), and Xbox, before the home video or DVR formats are available.

November 2012

Sony, Fox, and Universal Sign On For PGA’s Producers’ Mark Credit [21]

Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, and Universal Pictures signed on to apply the ‘Producer’s Mark’ Certification. This is a huge advancement in the industry and a step forward to protecting the right of producers and the ‘produced by’ credit.

Independence Day ‘3D’ Cancelled [22]

Independence Day (1996) – Movie Poster – Courtesy of Google Images

Plans had been made by 20th Century Fox to produce a 3D adaptation of the 1996 blockbuster, Independence Day. However, due to difficulties in reuniting the original cast, the company has decided to cancel it. The movie was due for July 2, 2013, which was perfectly timed for it to be released during the Independence weekend. This would’ve potentially help the movie top the box office during the opening weekend and gain high revenue for the company.

Coming Soon (Click to see the trailers)

Broken City

Parental Guidance

EPIC

A Good Day To Die Hard

The Heat

References

[1] News Corporation: http://www.newscorp.com/management/20film.html

[2] Hoovers: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Twentieth_Century_Fox_Television.ff69d030bb3d82da.html

[3] Bloomberg BusinessWeek: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/people.asp?privcapId=35867

[4] Logo Images: http://www.closinglogos.com/page/20th+Century+Fox+Film+Corporation

[5] History: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/history2/66/Twentieth-Century-Fox-Film-Corporation.html#ixzz2EFVbd3Ul

[6] Box Office Mojo – Won’t Back Down: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=main&id=learningtofly.htm

[7] Yahoo Movies – Taken 2: http://movies.yahoo.com/news/taken-2-blows-away-box-office-critics-50-163212681.html

[8] Box Office Mojo – Taken 2: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=taken2.htm

[9] Box Office Mojo – Chasing Mavericks: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=ofmenandmavericks.htm

[10] The Week – Hurricane Sandy: http://theweek.com/article/index/235648/6-ways-hurricane-sandy-affected-the-entertainment-world

[11] Box Office Mojo – Wreck It Ralph: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rebootralph.htm

[12] Wreck It Ralph: http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Latest-News-Wires/2012/1105/Wreck-it-Ralph-Biggest-box-office-opening-ever-for-Disney-animation

[13] Box Office Mojo – Lincoln: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lincoln.htm

[14] Company Town – Life of Pi: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-life-of-pi-tough-sell-20121119,0,5088507.story

[15] Box Office Mojo – Life of Pi: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lifeofpi.htm

[16] Parental Guidance: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118052479

[17] Hollywood Reporter – Quarterly Profit: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/news-corp-reports-huge-rise-387027

[18] Fox to distribute DreamWorks: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/2012-08-20/fox-to-distribute-dreamworks-animation-movies

[19] Company Perspective – DreamWorks deal: http://www.deadline.com/2012/08/exclusive-dreamworks-animation-to-fox/

[20] Movie Downloads: http://www.deadline.com/2012/09/fox-digital-hd-movie-download/

[21] Sign for PGA: http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/producers-mark-credit-program-pga-sony-fox-universal/

[22] Independence Day 3D: http://www.nme.com/filmandtv/news/independence-day-3d-cancelled/291343

[23] Box Office Mojo – Avatar: http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=avatar.htm

[24] Box Office Mojo – Ice Age: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=iceage4.htm

[25] Netflix and Fox Licensing Agreement: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/netflix-fox-agreement-latin-america-brazil-323988

Ion Media Networks

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Daniel Buczakowski

by Daniel Buczakowski

Address: 601 Clearwater Park Road
West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: (561) 659-4122
Website: ION Media Networks

Key Executives:

Brandon Burgess
Chairman and CEO

Chris Addeo
Marketing

Stephen Appel
Sales

Jeff Quinn
Finance

Terri Santisi
Administration

Marc Zand
Programming Acquisitions

Douglas Holloway
Distribution

: Dan Hsieh
Innovation

: Michael Hubner
Legal

Joseph Koker
Stations

: David Glenn
Engineering

: Russel Frederickson
On-Air Services

Major Competitors

Fox Broadcasting Company
Colombia Broadcasting System (CBS) Broadcasting Inc.
Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc.
American Broadcasting Company (ABC)
The CW Television Network

A Brief History

ION Media Networks was founded in 1984 as Paxson Communication in Clearwater Florida. Owning multiple radio stations and a few ABC and NBC network affiliate stations, Paxson Communication eventually became Florida’s largest radio group. In 1994, Paxson acquired 55 percent of American Network Group for $2.5 million. As American Network Group was a publicly held company, Paxson itself became a public company, and by doing this avoided the costs inherent with an initial public offering (IPO). This also gave Paxon access to public capitol to help the company grow through more acquisitions. In 1998 the company decided to build it’s own independent television company, and PAX TV (Later to be known as the PAX network) was born. 1994 was a big year for Paxson, this was the year they also acquired their first television stations, WPBF-TV in West Palm Beach, Florida, WTLK-TV in Atlanta and Rome, Georgia, and WYVN-TV in Martinsburg, West Virginia. By the end of 1997, Paxson had grown so large that it owned more then 60 stations and covered 60 percent of all US households, and had revenues that exceeded $88 million after selling it’s radio division to Clear Channel Communications for $693 million in cash. However, operating loss had also grown to $22 million, a major difference from the $4 million of 1996. This was just the beginning of Paxson’s financial problems, for by 1998, Paxson’s operating capitol had shrunk to $1.8 million and it’s net loss had risen to $137.9 million, while total revenue was only $134.7 million. By the year 2007 after lengthy legal battles with NBC Universal, the company’s founder Bud Paxon sold his shares of the company and retired. Branden Burgess replaced him as President and C.E.O. and the company was renamed ION Media Networks Inc.

History of Financial and Legal problems

1999 Paxson reports a negative cash flow of $102.6 million with a long term debt of $382 million.

September 1999: NBC buys 32% share in Paxon for $415 million. Effectively bailing Paxson out and to Paxon’s consternation, becoming effectively an equal partner rather than a minor shareholder.

December 4, 2001: Paxon files and arbitration to block NBC’s acquisition of Telemondo.

September 2002: Paxon arbitration against NBC was denied.

November 13, 2003: NBC requests redemption of it’s $549.2 million investment in Paxon.

August 2004: NBC Universal files lawsuit against Paxon.

November 7, 2005: In and agreement with NBC Universal, Lowell Paxon leaves the company and sells his shares to NBC Universal. He is replaced with Brandon Burgess.

November 2007: ION Networks is taken to trial by Positive Ions Inc. for trademark infringement. ION Networks loses and is forced to pay Positive Ions $1.7 million.

May 19, 2009: ION Media Networks files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with $2.7 billion of debt.

December 2009: Emerges from bankruptcy as a privately owned company under the ownership of its bondholders and secured lenders.

Today

Currently, ION Media Networks is one of the largest privately owned television networks in the country, with over 60 television stations in North America. Under Brandon Burgess’ direction, ION Media Networks has rewritten it’s policies to follow four main objectives:

Innovation

By fostering an environment which gives it’s employees the freedom to explore new ideas, while also helping them stay focused to the task at hand, ION Media Networks is able to create new opportunities as opposed to rehashing the same ideas over and over.

Diversity

Understanding that sometimes the greatest ideas come from differing viewpoints, ION Media Networks takes great pride in hiring a diverse group of employees. Their motto being that multiple inputs often yield the most valuable outputs.

Empowerment

By providing the tools and support needed to succeed, Ion Media Networks empowers their employees to take the necessary steps to accomplish their goals.

Accountability

ION Media Networks fully stands behind all of it’s employees. Holding themselves accountable not only to their audience, but to themselves as well. Each employee shares in the companies success as well as the burden of their failures.

Major Divisions

ION Media Networks is broken down into four major divisions: ION Television, Qubo, ION Life and Dyle.

One of the fastest growing television networks in the nation, ION Television focuses on syndicated network shows as well as introducing new original programming and special event programming. A leader in the Adult 25-54 and Women 25-54 demographics, ION Television reaches more than 100 million US households. Starting in October of 2012, ION Television adopted an 108-hour network programming schedule, providing general entertainment programming from 11am – 3am Mondays – Fridays, 1pm – 3am Saturdays and Sundays. All other times are filled with religious programming or infomercials.

Programs:

Cold Case
Criminal Minds
Flashpoint
House
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Leverage
Numb3rs
Psyche
WWE Main Event
My Name is Earl
Without a Trace
Married With Children
Monk

Specifically targeting children in the 5 – 8 age range, Qubo offers quality children’s programming 24/7. Available via over-the-air coverage, cable, satellite and telco, Qubo has won multiple awards from both the FCC and the US government in recognition of it’s dedication to improving children’s health and reducing childhood obesity. Qubo was also recognized by the US government as one of the most trustworthy sources of children’s television. Qubo is a joint venture between Ion Media Networks, NBC Universal, Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana, Scholastic Corporation and DreamWorks Classics.

Programs:

Taste Buds
Jakers
Harry and his Bucket Full of Dinosaurs
Timeblazers
Willa’s Wild Life
The Mysteries of Alfred Hedgehog
Artzooka!
Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego?
Animal Atlas
Dex Hamilton Alien Entomologist
Animal Exploration with Jarod Miller
Peralie
3 2 1 Penguins!
Gofrette
Turbo Dogs
Mighty Machines
Jane and the Dragon
Rescue Heroes
Babar
My Friend Rabbit
Jacob Two-Two
Vita Minix
Marvin the Tap-Dancing Horse
The Zula Patrol
Miss BG
Pecola
Pippi Longstocking
Rupert Bear

Focusing on adult viewers, ION Life is dedicated to helping people live healthier, more active lives. Featuring programs featuring: home design, wellness, healthy and active living, adventure and community engagement, ION Life is is focused on celebrating life’s positive adventures. Available via over-the-air coverage, cable, satellite, and telco. The Network was going to be named iHealth prior to Ion Televisions name change.

Programs:

Absolute X
Alive + Well
Body Fuel
Drop In
Gadget Girlz
Killer Comebacks
My Green House
Planet X
Positive Living
Power Yoga
Smart Cookies
Style by Jury
The Right Fit

The mobile branch of ION Media Networks, Dyle Mobile TV allows viewers to watch broadcast television shows right on their mobile Android and IOS devices. Partnering with major broadcasters ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox among others, the application also allows viewers access to live local and national news as well as sports and entertainment. Although currently limited in coverage, future expansion is expected soon. You can check availability in your area on their coverage map.

Recent News

June

ION Television debuts WWE Main Event.

August

ION Television acquires off-Network rights to Numb3rs

ION Television acquires Law & Order: Criminal Intent

September

Flashpoint debuts Season 5

October

ION Media Networks announces agreement with DirecTV

Refrences

[1] ION Media Networks Homepage: http://www.ionmedianetworks.com/
[2] Ion Television: http://iontelevision.com/
[3] Fox Broadcast Company: http://www.fox.com/
[4] CBS Broadcasting Inc.: http://www.cbs.com/
[5] Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc: http://www.sbgi.net/
[6] Qubo: http://www.qubo.com/
[7] ION Life: http://www.ionlife.com/
[8] Dyle: http://www.dyle.tv/
[9] Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ion_Media_Networks
[10] Press releases: http://www.ionmedianetworks.com/press
[11] Answers.com: http://www.answers.com/topic/ion-media-networks-inc
[12] ABC: http://abc.go.com/
[13] The CW: http://www.cwtv.com/
[14] NBC Universal: http://www.nbcuni.com/
[15] Corus Entertainment: http://www.corusent.com/home/default.aspx
[16] Nelvana: http://www.nelvana.com/
[17] Scholastic Corporation: http://www.scholastic.com/home/
[18] DreamWorks: http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/

* All images are courtesy of ION Media Networks *

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Tag Archives: DreamWorks

DreamWorks Animation

COMING SOON

DreamWorks SKG Studios

20th Century Fox

Summary:

Executives [15]

Financial Information

Competitors

Recent News

Sources:

Photos

Lionsgate Entertainment

Walt Disney/Touchstone Pictures

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation

20th Century Fox

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Ion Media Networks