Zynga

Posted on April 25, 2016 by Rebecca Duke

by REBECCA DUKE

[1] Zynga logo

OVERVIEW

In 2007, Mark Pincus founded Zynga, the first social gaming company. Named after his dog Zinga, the company was created in order to make gaming more accessible and turn it into a more interactive, friendly experience [2]. Zynga has created some of the most successful social games to date, including Words with Friends, FarmVille, and Zynga Poker. Over one billion users have played Zynga games and connected via the company’s franchises.

[3] A sampling of Zynga games

Additionally, in 2009, Pincus formed Zynga.org, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that allows the success of social gaming to give back to those in need by connecting revenues from gamers to other non-profits around the world. One of Zynga.org’s biggest projects was the creation of co.lab, a gaming development technology program that gives underprivileged San Francisco kids the opportunity to learn about game design hands-on.

INDUSTRY

The creation of Zynga spawned the entire social gaming industry, an industry of which Zynga continues to be a leader. According to IBISWorld, the industry has grown rapidly ever since its conception in 2007 [4]. Growth peaked during the 2008 recession, when many companies were downsizing and left unemployed Americans with more leisure time. In recovery from the recession, customers are slowly investing more and more in social games in order to unlock achievements and progress more quickly in the game (for example, while playing FarmVille, a user could pay a few dollars to expedite the growth of their crops and thus move on to bigger and better tasks).

[5] FarmVille 2: Country Escape

Before social gaming, those interested in playing interactive games were required to own some form of external console, such as an Xbox or PlayStation. With Zynga, users can play games and connect with other gamers all across the globe as long as they have an internet connection and an account on a social networking site. The number of broadband connections in households has grown steadily each year, widening the potential market of social gamers. The social network aspect of gaming has introduced new customers that were not previously active gamers, namely females over 40.

KEY EXECUTIVES

[6] Mark Pincus – Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board

[7] Frank Gibeau – Chief Executive Officer and Board of Directors Member

Earlier in March, Mark Pincus stepped down as CEO of Zynga and was replaced by Frank Gibeau [8]. Pincus still sits as the Executive Chairman of the Board and oversees the company. Frank Gibeau is a 20-year veteran of Electronic Arts, one of Zynga’s leading competitors, so he is expected to bring positive change and expertise to the company and allow it to progress financially.

FINANCIALS

Zynga is a publicly traded company, listed on the NASDAQ under the ticker ZNGA. The stock price currently sits at 2.48, a relatively high number since averaging 2.15 over the past three months [9]. Zynga stock took a tumble in early and mid-February after the publication of a disappointing fourth quarter and annual report. After bringing in $185 million in revenue, the company’s operating income and net income amounted to losses of $55 million and $51 million, respectively. These numbers were a stark contrast to the third quarter, when Zynga brought in $10 million more in revenue and net income was $3 million. Zynga has two main revenue streams: advertising, namely video and banner ads, and the sale of “virtual goods” from in-game purchases [10].

[11] NASDAQ – ZNGA

One big change for Zynga that will bring in more cash flow is its future sale of real estate. Currently, Zynga operates out of a 670,000 square-foot office in Silicon Valley, a space that is now too large for its 2,300 employees [12]. Downsizing and liquidating their current office space could lead to a $300 million profit, given the astronomical increase in San Francisco properties since 2012.

[13] Zynga Headquarters

CURRENT PROJECTS

In January, Zynga announced a partnership with The Rubicon Project in developing SponsoredPLAY, a new form of native advertising that allows political candidates to take advantage of what mobile ads have to offer [14]. SponsoredPLAY beta ads have seen six times the engagement rate of normal mobile advertisements, a metric that is incredibly important in today’s age of distracted consumers. With these ads, players connect with brands through mini games that incorporate a piece of the brand’s image. Specifically, The Rubicon Project introduces political candidates as the brands, and encourages the candidates to use the technology to engage voters in a fun and educational way. The SponsoredPLAY ads are also linked to Twitter to create a social buzz around the political issues that the user finds compelling. Ads are expected to be finalized and placed in the games later this year, just in time for the presidential election.

[15] SponsoredPLAY Mockup

One of the two new Zynga games that launched on March 31, 2016 was Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Slots. This was the first game of many to be licensed from Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, thanks to a multi-year agreement signed in mid-2015 [16]. The partnership allows for a realistic representation of the characters, sounds, and visuals from the original film. Willy Wonka Slots provides the player with nine different slot machines to begin, in addition to a special “High Roller World” with more levels that unlock after the player has earned over 24 million credits. The basic format of the game is similar to other Zynga games, where the user can play completely for free but has many opportunities to progress further with small increments of in-app credit purchases. The game can be downloaded for free on iTunes, Google Play, and Amazon or played on Facebook.

[17] Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Slots

The second game that debuted at the end of March is Crazy Cake Swap, a variation on the wildly popular Match-3 genre [18]. Crazy Cake Swap is a mix of Candy Crush and Diner Dash, taking place in a bakery and offering different sets of goals for each level. The essentials are similar to other Match-3 games; of course, there’s the concept of matching three or more identical cakes to gain points. A player also only gets five lives and must wait or pay for more when they run out, and a similar wait-or-play model when the end of each “world” is reached. However, it provides a fun element of personalization by allowing users to upload their own photos or avatars, and has more of a storyline than other similar games. Crazy Cake Swap is distributed through the same outlets as Willy Wonka Slots and is free to play with the exception of optional in-app purchases.

[19] Crazy Cake Swap

FUTURE PROJECTS

Zynga has been promising investors two high-development games for awhile, CSR2 and Dawn of Titans, that are finally set to debut later in 2016 [20]. These games could bring in major revenue for Zynga if they become anywhere near as popular as Words with Friends or FarmVille. A recent trend with Zynga has been the overall decline in players, but huge increase in bookings for some of their popular games [21]. Essentially, this means that while there are fewer players, these players are spending a lot of time gaming. If Zynga can successfully recruit more of these avid gamers and grow their user base back up, they will continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the social gaming world.

[22] Dawn of Titans

SOURCES

[1] “Zynga Logo.” Pop Culture Blog. Dallas Morning News, 3 June 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[2] “Zynga Leadership.” Zynga. Zynga, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

[3] “About Game Cards.” Zynga. Zynga, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[4] “Social Network Game Development.” IBISWorld. IBISWorld, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

[5] “Farmville 2: Country Escape.” Google Play. Google, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[6] “Mark Pincus.” Catchafire. Catchafire, 25 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[7] “Frank Gibeau.” Live Geek or Die. Disqus, 29 Mar. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[8] Takahashi, Dean. “Mark Pincus and Frank Gibeau Talk about the Future of Zynga and Social Mobile Gaming.” Venture Beat. VentureBeat, 2 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

[9] “Zynga, Inc. (ZNGA).” Yahoo Finance. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[10] Gobry, Pascual-Emmanuel. “How Zynga Makes Money.” Business Insider. Business Insider, 28 Sept. 2011. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[11] “Zynga’s Opening Day.” Gigaom. Knowingly, 16 Dec. 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[12] Bruno, Alessandro. “ZNGA Stock: This Is Why the Bears Are Wrong on Zynga Inc.” Profit Confidential. Lombardi Publishing, 26 Feb. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

[13] “Zynga Headquarters.” Games.com. AOL, 12 Nov. 2012. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[14] Pakula, Kelly. “Zynga & Rubicon Project Announce New SponsoredPLAY Custom Mobile Advertising Product for Political Campaign Advertisers.” Global Newswire. Nasdaq, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[15] “Zynga Mockup.” Adweek. Adweek, 7 Jan. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[16] Shaul, Brandy. “Zynga Launches Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Slots on Facebook, Mobile.” Social Times. Adweek, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.

[17] “Willy Wonka Slots.” Zynga Blog. Zynga, 31 Mar. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[18] Allen, Jennifer. “Crazy Cake Swap Review: Sweet, Familiar, and ‘Friendly’.” Gamezebo. Gamezebo, 5 Apr. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016

[19] “Crazy Cake Swap.” Google Play. Google, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[20] Morris, Chris. “What Will It Take To Turn Zynga Around?” Fortune. Fortune, 11 Feb. 2016. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

[21] Nusca, Andrew. Here’s Why Changing CEOs Won’t Fix Zynga. Fortune. Fortune, 2 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

[22] “Dawn of Titans.” NaturalMotion. NaturalMotion, 5 Mar. 2015. Web. 25 Apr. 2016.

Zynga

Posted on December 2, 2015 by Corinna Vong

Corinna Vong

Source: Dakota Financial News, Zynga logo [25]

THE COMPANY

Source: Forbes, Mark Pincus, CEO [26]

Source: logos.wikia.com, FarmVille logo [27]

Zynga, a video game development company, has been creating and providing popular games for social network and mobile platforms since its founding in July 2007. The company headquarters are stationed in San Francisco, California [1]. Co-founder Mark Pincus is the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors at the company [2]. Zynga’s online social games can be accessed through Facebook and the Zynga game website. Two of the company’s most popular social games, FarmVille and FarmVille 2, have reached a total of more than 400 million users. Another, Zynga Poker, is played by more than 130 million people daily. Some of the social games are also available on mobile devices, while select games are exclusively offered as mobile applications. One well-known mobile-only video game is Draw Something! [3]. The company’s games are “Freemium”, meaning users can install and play them for free but have the option to upgrade and excel higher through in-app purchases [4]. With offices in locations around the world, such as India, Ireland and Canada, the company’s hope is to connect the world through its games [5].

FINANCIALS

[28] Zynga goes public, source: gigaom.com

Source: Gigaom Research, Zynga goes public on NASDAQ [28]

Zynga (ZNGA) began trading publicly on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange on December 16, 2011 [6]. The company released its third quarterly financial report for 2015 on November 3, 2015. The company reported a revenue of $196 million, a 2% decrease from the 2015 second quarter. Its profit of $3 million was unexpected due to the $27 million loss during the second quarter in 2015 [7]. The mobile game bookings made up 69% of the $176 million in total bookings, an increase from 66% in the second quarter and an overall 26% year-over-year growth from the third quarter 2014 results. Zynga’s three main mobile game franchises were the cause of this increase; these games include Words With Friends, Zynga Poker and Slots [8]. The majority of these franchises are social casino games, showing progression in social casino revenue [9]. As Zynga expands into the mobile game market, it competes with other top mobile game development companies, such as Electronic Arts [10]. Two of Zynga’s social casino games, Wizard of Oz Slots and Hit It Rich! Slots, are ranked among the top 50 grossing mobile apps of 2015 [11][12].

EXPANDING INTO THE SOCIAL CASINO GAME MARKET

Source: Zynga Blog, Rising Tide Games logo [29]

Zynga previously broke into the growing social casino game market as it has developed multiple popular social casino games throughout the years [13]. In order to expand in the thriving market, Zynga acquired Rising Tide Games, a social-casino-game development company, in September 2015. With this acquisition deal of $22 million, a number of former Zynga executives will return to the company, as they originally left to start Rising Tide Games [14]. According to the 2015 third quarterly earnings report, Zynga’s three casino games (Zynga Poker, Hit It Rich! Slots and Wizard of Oz Slots) altogether made up 45% of its online game revenue, encouraging the company to move forward with more social casino game development [15]. After success with the previously-released Wizard of Oz Slots, themed after the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, Zynga realized the powerful draw of user interest to games that correspond with certain films; usually fans of the film will be drawn to the game as well. The Wizard of Oz fans increased user traffic to Wizard of Oz Slots and the company saw an increase in downloads for the social casino app [16]. In November 2015, Zynga launched the free-to-play Princess Bride Slots game, an addition to its Social Slots franchise. Like Wizard of Oz Slots and The Wizard of Oz film, this new release incorporates the characters, settings and plot lines of the film, The Princess Bride [17].

TRANSITION TO MOBILE GAME DEVELOPMENT

The popularity of Zynga’s social games on Facebook is waning; due to complaints about the constant notifications that users receive from the games, such as FarmVille and Bubble Safari, Facebook has made policy changes in order to stop the bothersome notifications. As a result, user traffic to these online games has decreased, forcing Zynga to draw away from developing online games for the social network and push toward developing for the mobile game industry [18]. The mobile game market is growing rapidly and has constantly increased from 2013 onward. For 2015, market sales are estimated to reach above $30 billion [19]. Zynga’s mobile bookings make up a majority of its overall bookings, exhibiting the company’s potential in the mobile market. Though the launches of two mobile games, Dawn of Titans and CSR2, were scheduled for 2015, the company decided to delay the launches until 2016. These postponements are due to the company wanting to further develop the games and find ways to retain long-term players [8]. Zynga faces stronger competition as it continues to launch games in the mobile market and is currently in the process of determining tactics to create original games and attract user interest. The release of more than six mobile games was set for 2015 but, with the two postponements, the number of mobile launches this year is a total of five [20].

IN-APP BUYING AND ADVERTISING

Source: Giant Bomb, Empires and Allies logo [32]

In order to increase overall profits and draw attention of sponsors, Zynga has introduced more in-app buying options and advertising tactics. In September 2015, the company incorporated an “Alliance vs. Alliance” group-based combat feature into its mobile game, Empires and Allies, in order to drive users toward in-app buying [21]. In October 2015, Zynga began creating and selling brand-sponsored levels in its game franchises with the introduction of SponsoredPLAY. The advertisements appear as incorporations to game levels that users can play, charging the sponsoring brand every time a level is played. Users are rewarded within the game when they play these sponsored levels. The game-level advertisements themselves are created by Zynga’s advertising agency, Studio E. Among the first brands to use Zynga’s SponsoredPLAY were Clorox and Naked Juice [22]. SponsoredPLAY was deemed a success as Zynga’s share price increased following the introduction of the advertising product [23]. Results show the company’s use of this interactive gaming tactic increase the average time users spend on a given advertisement, around 15 to 25 seconds, compared to the average time they would spend looking at a static advertisement [24].

[22] Zynga SponsoredPLAY, source: adage.com

Source: AdvertisingAge, Zynga SponsoredPLAY [22]

THE FUTURE OF ZYNGA

With the company growing and transitioning to developing games in booming markets, it is clear that Zynga will continue to focus on creating products for the social casino and mobile game industries specifically. The company hopes to have growth in its mobile bookings with the upcoming 2016 launches of Dawn of Titans and CSR2, games that will be first released to mobile devices [8]. Since the SponsoredPLAY campaigns are time-efficient and nearly effortless for the brand involved, Zynga will benefit by working with more advertisers because it will help with game subsidization [22].

SOURCES

[1] Connecting the World Through Games. Zynga. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
[2] Leadership. Zynga. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
[3] Our Games. Zynga. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
[4] F., Alan. May 22, 2012. Zynga’s top mobile executive talks games, freemium model, OMGPOP purchase and more. PhoneArena.com. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
[5] Career Listings. Zynga. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
[6] Mangalindan, JP. December 16, 2011. Today in Tech: Zynga goes public. Fortune. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
[7] Lynley, Matthew. November 3, 2015. Zynga Beats Expectations on Earnings, Posts A $3M Profit. TechCrunch. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
[8] Zynga Announces Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results. Zynga. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
[9] November 8, 2015. Zynga: Pulse Getting Weaker. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
[10] Zynga, Inc. Competitors. Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[11] Top Grossing Android Apps. Google Play. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[12] Top Charts. AppShopper. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[13] Jain, Aman. September 15, 2015. Zynga Buys Rising Tide Games. ValueWalk. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
[14] Takahashi, Dean. September 14, 2015. Zynga buys Rising Tide startup, bringing back one of its former casino game execs. VentureBeat. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
[15] November 13, 2015. Zynga: More Slots. Seeking Alpha. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
[16] November 19, 2015. Zynga achieves the “inconceivable” with Princess Bride Slots launch. GamingIntelligence. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
[17] November 19, 2015. As You Wish! Zynga Launches Princess Bride Slots Worldwide. CNN Money. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
[18] Gambone, Greg. September 24, 2015. Can Anything Save Zynga Stock From Its Deathbed? (ZNGA). InvestorPlace. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
[19] Keating, Lauren. September 3, 2015. Gaming On-The-Go. Tech Times. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[20] November 3, 2015. “Farmville” creator Zynga delays game launches, CFO steps down. Reuters. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[21] Leftovich, Devon. September 24, 2015. Zynga, Inc. Capitalizing Empire & Allies Sales with CommScope Holding Company, Inc. Knowles Corporation. StreetWise Report. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
[22] Peterson, Tim. October 8, 2015. Zynga Starts Selling Sponsored Levels Created by In-House Agency. AdvertisingAge. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
[23] Leftovich, Devon. October 12, 2015. Gaming Stocks Grabbing New Market: Zynga, Inc., Electronic Arts Inc., Activision Blizzard, Inc.. StreetWise Report. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[24] October 12, 2015. Zynga launches SponsoredPLAY advertising solution. GamingIntelligence. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
[25] Zynga Logo. Dakota Financial News. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[26] Mark Pincus. Forbes. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[27] Logopedia – Farmville. Wikia. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
[28] Taylor, Colleen. December 16, 2011. Zynga’s road ahead: 4 things to watch for, post-IPO. Gigaom Research. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[29] September 14, 2015. Zynga Rides the Social Casino Wave and Acquires Rising Tide Games. Zynga Blog. Retrieved December 1, 2015.
[30] ZyngaNetwork. Princess Bride Slots Trailer – Las Vegas Casino – Free Slot Machine Games – Best, Spin & Win. YouTube. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
[31] ZyngaNetwork. Dawn of Titans – Announce Trailer. YouTube. Retrieved November 29, 2015.
[32] January 2, 2015. Empires and Allies is a Turn-based, Strategy Combat game made by Zynga, and is Free-To-Play on Facebook. Giant Bomb. Retrieved December 2, 2015.

Columbia/TriStar Pictures

Posted on December 7, 2012 by David Jocson

by [David Jocson]

— Courtesy of Flavorwire.com

— Courtesy of Google Images

Columbia/TriStar Pictures

10202 W Washington Blvd [1]

Culver City, CA 90232

Telephone: 310-224-4000

Website: www.sonypictures.com

Executives

Michael Lynton: Co-Chairman & CEO, Sony Pictures Entertainment [2]

Amy Pascal: Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment | Chairman, Sony Pictures

Entertainment Motion Picture Group

Doug Belgrad: President, Columbia Pictures [3]

Holdings

Sony Pictures Entertainment [4]:

Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group:

Columbia Pictures

TriStar Pictures

Locations

Headquarters: Culver City, CA [1]

Columbia Pictures Production Asia [5]: Hong Kong

Columbia Pictures Producciones Espanolas: Madrid, Spain

Columbia Pictures Producciones Mexico: Mexico City

Additional operations in: Japan, Brazil and the UK

Competition

Warner Bros. Pictures [1]

The Walt Disney Studios

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

Company Description

Columbia and TriStar Pictures operate as divisions under the Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) [5]. Columbia Pictures produces Sony Pictures’ commercial feature films [1]. TriStar Pictures distributes and markets SPE’s films, delivering entertainment to over 150 countries [6] [7].

Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Group has released many notable franchises such as the James Bond and The Amazing Spider-Man franchises [8]. Its movies make up the bulk of the Sony Pictures’ library that includes over 3,500 films, 12 of which are Best Picture Academy Award winners [5].

The “Columbia Lady” precedes every feature film by Columbia Pictures [9]. It is the studio’s iconic trademark, having appeared in its motion pictures since the very beginning of the company.

History

Columbia Pictures began in 1918 when Jack Cohn, Joe Brandt and Harry Cohn began making short films [10]. CBC Films, as it was named after its founders back then, produced its first feature film, More to Be Pitied Than Scorned, in 1922 with great success. Two years later, the founders changed the name of CBC Films to Columbia Pictures Corporation.

The company rose to fame after signing legendary director Frank Capra to direct its feature films in 1927 [10]. Capra won Columbia Pictures its first Best Picture Academy Award for his film, It Happened One Night, in 1934. He also directed the studio’s first complete “talkie” motion picture.

In 1982, The Coca-Cola Company purchased Columbia Pictures [10]. (reuters)

In 1983, Columbia together with CBS and HBO, formed TriStar Pictures [10]. It was the newest production studio in decades. It quickly emerged as a major contender in the industry by releasing major blockbusters such as Rambo: First Blood Part II.

Sony Corporation purchased Columbia Pictures from Coca-Cola in 1989 [10]. The new owner placed Columbia under its new division, Sony Pictures Entertainment. Sony also moved the Columbia Pictures studio from Burbank to Culver City, CA. The studio operated on the former MGM lot where classics such as Citizen Kane and Gone With The Wind were produced.

In 2000, Sony created Sony Pictures Digital [10]. Sony Pictures Digital comprised of Sony Pictures Imageworks and Sony Pictures Animation. Imageworks developed CGI and VFX for Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Group and the animation division. The animation division produced Sony Pictures’ animated feature films.

Today, the Columbia TriStar Motion Pictures Group releases Sony Pictures’ biggest films such as The Amazing Spider-Man, 21 Jump Street and Men In Black 3 [8].

Fall-Winter 2012

Looper [11]

Action | Sci-fi | Crime

Budget [12]: $30 million

Worldwide Gross: $165 million

U.S. Release Date [11]: Sep. 28

— Courtesy of IMDb.com

Directed by Rian Johnson

Featuring:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joe

Bruce Willis as Old Joe

Emily Blunt as Sara

Looper tells the story of Joe, an assassin for the mob, who is sent back in time to kill himself in order to “tie a loose end [11].”

Hotel Transylvania [13]

Family | Animation | Comedy

Budget [14]: $85 million

Worldwide Gross: $296 million

U.S. Release Date [13]: Sep. 28

— Courtesy of IMDb.com

Directed by Genndy Tartakovsky

Featuring:

Adam Sandler as Dracula

Andy Samberg as Jonathan

Selena Gomez as Mavin

Kevin James as Frankenstein

Hotel Transylvania is about Count Dracula overprotecting his teenage daughter from falling in love with a human boy who stumbles upon Dracula’s “monster resort [13].”

The film is Genndy Tartakovsky’s first feature motion picture. Tartakovsy is a three-time Emmy Award winner known for creating famous cartoons such as Samurai Jack and Dexter’s Laboratory [15].

Hotel Transylvania became the best opening movie of all-time for September. It also became Sony Pictures’ most successful animated feature at the box office [16].

Skyfall [17]

Action | Crime | Adventure

Budget [18]: $200 million

Worldwide Gross: $872 million

U.S. Release Date [17]: Nov. 9

— Courtesy of IMDb.com

Directed by Sam Mendes

Featuring:

Daniel Craig as James Bond

Javier Bardem as Silva

Judi Dench as M

Skyfall is the 23rd installment of the Bond franchise. It is about a former agent of M who comes back to seek vengeance upon her while terrorizing MI6 and battling agent 007 [17].

In early December, Skyfall became the highest grossing film ever in the UK [19].

The movie also marked Judi Dench’s final role as M [20].

Zero Dark Thirty [21]

Action | Drama | History

Budget [22]: n/a

Worldwide Gross: n/a

U.S. Release Date [21]: Dec. 19

— Courtesy of IMDb.com

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Featuring:

Chris Pratt as Justin, a member of Navy SEAL Team 6

Jason Clarke as Dan

Jessica Chastain as Maya

Zero Dark Thirty recounts the hunt for Osama bin Laden that began after 9/11 and culminated in his death by SEAL Team 6 in May 2011, after a decade of searching for the “world’s most wanted man [21].”

Zero Dark Thirty was the last feature film Sony Pictures Entertainment was going to release before the end of 2012 [23].

Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, the minds behind The Hurt Locker, collaborated again to produce the widely-anticipated movie [23].

News

Sony Pictures Entertainment became the highest grossing movie studio of the year, having earned $1.7 billion in the U.S. alone [24]. Internationally, it earned over $4 billion, beating its previous record of $3.5 billion in 2009 [23]. The new record was achieved in large part to Skyfall, the highest grossing Bond film ever. The film received a cumulative $669.2 million during its opening weekend alone. However, other blockbusters helped too. The Amazing Spider-Man earned $754 million, Men In Black 3 earned $624 million, Hotel Transylvania earned $283 million and 21 Jump Street earned $201 million. Sony Pictures Entertainment released a total of 9 No. 1 movies at the domestic box office in 2012.

Kazuo Hirai, CEO of Sony Corporation, told The Hollywood Reporter that Sony was not going to sell Sony Pictures Entertainment amidst rumors that Sony was going to sell the film division due to financial losses [25]. The Hollywood Reporter quoted him saying, “There is no reason to sell these industry-dealing businesses and no consideration is being given to the idea.” Hirai made it clear that Sony Pictures Entertainment was not going to be sold anytime soon.

Sony Pictures Entertainment joined video game company Electronic Arts to raise $1 million in donations for American troops [26]. EA planned to release its new game, Medal of Honor Warfighter, on Dec. 17th after its rival, Activision, released its game Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The release date was also planned to coincide with Columbia Picture’s Zero Dark Thirty that premieres on Dec. 19th. EA prepared exclusive maps that featured locations from the feature film available for purchase. The company said it would take a portion of the proceeds to donate a minimum of $1 million to nonprofit veterans organizations.

On October 5th, Columbia Pictures joined MGM Pictures, Passion Pictures and Red Box Films in commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Bond franchise by releasing Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 [27]. The documentary chronicles the lives of the franchise’s author Ian Fleming and producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli.

October 5th also became Global James Bond Day [28]. The worldwide event included an online and live auction charity event in London, a franchise exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and an evening of Bond music hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in Los Angeles.

Works Cited

[1]: http://www.hoovers.com/company-information/cs/company-profile.Columbia_TriStar_Motion_Picture_Group.9a3fb312ea9f08a6.html

[2]: http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/management.html

[3]: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=8033824

[4]: http://www.cjr.org/resources/?c=sony

[5]: http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/divisions.html

[6]: http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=7913345

[7]: http://www.sonypictures.com/corp/aboutsonypictures.html

[8]: http://www.imdb.com/company/co0071509/

[9]: http://www.sonypicturesmuseum.com/studio/history/columbia

[10]: http://www.sonypicturesmuseum.com/studio/history