Comcast/NBCU

Posted on October 16, 2016 by Tanya

Thomas Meis, Tanya Motwani

The Comcast Corporation

History

Comcast began its history as American Cable Systems, a smaller cable operator from Mississippi. It was purchased by Ralph Roberts and his business partners in 1963, and in 1969 was moved to Pennsylvania. Here it was renamed “Comcast”, a mixture of the words Communication and Broadcast. It then went public in 1972, and from there has been ever expanding.

It is considered to be one of the least-liked media conglomerates, winning “Worst Company in America” twice. Most experts believe this to be true because of the large number of assets owned by Comcast, as well as the monopoly-like power they have in terms of pricing for their various subsidiaries.

Key Executives

[1] Brian L. Roberts, Chairman and CEO, Comcast Corporation

[2] Stephen B. Burke, CEO, NBCUniversal

[3] Michael J. Cavanagh, CFO, Comcast Corporation

Financials

Comcast has bought or merged with many different companies, including Spectacor, Microsoft, AT&T, Sony Pictures, and NBCUniversal.
Not only have they expanded into the telecommunications market, they have also bought stakes the sports market, because of their controlling stake in the Philadelphia Flyers [4].
In 2014, they tried to buy Time Warner Cable, but were denied by many different fronts, the largest being that the government was worried that the merger would lead to Comcast having a monopoly in the broadband and video markets. Concerned citizens wrote to the government expressing their fears about the influence that a merged Comcast-TimeWarner conglomerate would have on the broadcast and TV-streaming platforms. The deal was officially abandoned in April of 2015 [5].
Comcast’s most well known acquisition has been NBCUniversal, which has many different assets, ranging from professional sports to entertainment. Today, Comcast is one of the biggest telecommunications companies on the planet, with assets in television, film, gaming, distribution, and sports.

Comcast has seen a steady increase in their stock price over the last year, which sits at $70.14 currently. In comparison to other media conglomerates, whose stocks have been seeing a decline, Comcast Cable Communications and NBCUniversal have both been doing well, leading to the surprising upward movement of the company’s stocks.

Comcast’s stock prices over the period of a year.

NBCUniversal

NBCUniversal- Divisions

NBCUniversal (NBCU) is a media conglomerate that is a subsidiary of Comcast, after the latter acquired the former in a $6.5 billion deal in 2011.

NBCU was originally formed in 2004[6], when GE’s National Broadcasting Company merged with Vivendi’s Vivendi Universal Entertainment. Comcast expressed interest in buying NBCU from GE and Vivendi in 2009, bought a 51% stake in 2001, and fully owned the company by 2013 [7].

NBCUniversal recently announced its extended partnership deal with BuzzFeed [8], after a successful year-long initial deal. The two companies plan to collaborate on promotional and original content for both platforms, and aim to create new digital content for NBCUniversal’s premium users.
Another deal that NBCUniversal announced was with Apple. Starting from January 2017, NBCUniversal will be the sole provider of advertising inventory on Apple’s app, Apple News [9].

NBCUniversal is made up of two main divisions: NBC and Universal Studios.
Apart from these two divisions, NBCUniversal also owns a part of the streaming service Hulu, along with Fox Entertainment Group, ABC, and Turner Broadcasting System.

NBC

NBC [10] is an american television broadcast network, with its headquarters in the Comcast Building in Rockerfeller Center, in New York City.
As of 2015, NBC owns ten owned-and-run stations, and over 221 network affiliates in 48 states. The network has a national reach of 95.52% of all american homes.

Cast of Saturday Night Live

NBC Programming broadcasts some of the most popular network television shows on air currently, including The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Voice, Late Night With Seth Meyers, and Saturday Night Live.

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group

Universal Studios

Universal Studios is the American film studio owned by the Universal Filmed Entertain Group, and is considered to be the oldest surviving film studio in the United States. Its film studios are based in Universal City, California.
Universal Studios is credited as the first studio to release three films that each crossed over $1 billion in the box office, a feat the company achieved in 2015. The studio has a large number of successful film franchises under its roof, including Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, and the Jason Bourne series.

Universal Studios also has a large list of upcoming movies, including Pitch Perfect 3, The Mummy, and Fast 8 [11].

Universal Studios Orlando

Universal Studios OrlandoUniversal Parks & Resorts is a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and operates all of the Universal theme parks and resorts all around the globe. It is known for its various rides and attractions that are based off of pop culture characters and has attracted over 50 million yearly visitors to its parks.
The first Universal Studios theme park opened in Hollywood in 1965. Since then, Universal Studios has opened parks in 3 different countries, and has 3 new parks upcoming in Moscow, South Korea, and Beijing [12].

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation Logo

DreamWorks Animation, an animation studio based out of Glendale, California, was founded in 1994, by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. The studio is known for its animated talking animal franchises (Shrek, Madagascar), and has 33 feature films that have grossed over $13.48 billion worldwide [13].

NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, announced its intention to acquire DreamWorks Animation (DWA) in April 2016. By August 2016, NBCUniversal has successfully acquired DWA for $3.8 billion. DWA is now a division of Universal Studios [14].
After the acquisition, Universal Studios was supposed to take over distribution for all of DreamWorks Animations’s films, however, DWA had signed a 5-year deal with 20th Century Fox, and intends to honor the deal until the end of the contract, with the film Captain Underpants. Universal will take over distribution in February 2018, beginning with the Margot Robbie and Hugh Jackman starrer, Larrikins.

DreamWorks Animation owns a themed land in the Dreamworld amusement park in Gold Coast, Australia, where they offer the DreamWorks Experience, which contains three distinct areas based on their most popular film franchises- Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda. Each area includes rides and attractions for people of all ages. DreamWorks Animation also has a deal with the Royal Caribbean Cruiseline, and announced in 2010 that the DreamWorks Experience would be offered as part of the cruises.
DreamWorks Animation has a list of movies scheduled to release in the next few years, each one anticipated to receive positive reviews and do well in the box office. The movies include How To Train Your Dragon 3, Shrek 5, and The Boss Baby.

Bibliography

[1] Brian L. Roberts. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/leadership-overview/brian-l-roberts

[2] Stephen B. Burke. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/leadership-overview/stephen-b-burke

[3] Michael J. Cavanagh. Retrieved November 27, 2016. http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/leadership-overview/michael-j-cavanagh

[4] Kay, P. (1999, July 5). Comcast: Not Just Cable Anymore. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/1999/07/05/story2.html

[5] Wiggers, K. (2015, April 24). It’s over! Comcast abandons plan to rule 57 percent of all U.S. broadband Internet. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://www.digitaltrends.com/home-theater/comcast-abandon-time-warner-cable-merger/

[6] History of NBCUniversal. Retriever November 27, 2016. http://www.nbcuniversal.com/our-history#decade_9

[7] Chozick, A & Stelter, B. (2013, February 12) Comcast Buys Rest of NBC in Early Sale. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/comcast-buying-g-e-s-stake-in-nbcuniversal-for-16-7-billion/?_r=1

[8] @. (2016, November 21). Buzzfeed and NBCUniversal Announce Expanded Partnership and Additional Investment. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/buzzfeed-and-nbcuniversal-announce-expanded-strategic-partnership

[9] @. (2016, November 7) NBCUniversal Announces New Partnership with Apple News. Retrieved November 27, 2016, from http://corporate.comcast.com/news-information/news-feed/nbcuniversal-announces-new-partnership-with-apple-news

[10] NBCUniversal. Retrieved 27 November, 2016, from http://www.nbcuniversal.com/

[11] Universal Studios Upcoming Movies. Retrieved 27 November, 2016. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/schedule/?view=distributor&id=universal.htm

[12] Young, J. (2016, February 26). Universal Theme Parks future expansion looking to steamroll competition – Theme Park University. Retrieved November 29, 2016, from http://themeparkuniversity.com/universal/universal-theme-parks-looking-to-steamroll-competition-with-future-growth/

[13] DreamWorks Animation The Company. Retrieved 27 November, 2016, from http://www.dreamworksanimation.com/company/

[14] Sneider, J. (2016, April 27) DreamWorks Animation History: From ‘Antz’ to ‘Shrek’ to Comcast. Retrieved on November 27, 2016, from http://www.thewrap.com/dreamworks-animation-history-from-antz-to-shrek-to-comcast/

DreamWorks Animation

Posted on October 5, 2014 by depark02

by Devon Parker

[1] The Dreamworks Animation Company Logo

History

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

Key Executives

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

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

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

Financials

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

In Theaters

[7] Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

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

Recent Success

[10] How to Train Your Dragon 2 Trailer

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

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

Upcoming Releases

[14] Courtesy of News.Mic

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

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

[18] Home trailer

Additions to Netflix

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

[20] Courtesy of Dreamworks Animation

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

Sources

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Principles & Practices

Website by the students of TRF235

Tag Archives: Madagascar

Comcast/NBCU

The Comcast Corporation

History

Key Executives

Financials

NBCUniversal

NBC

Universal Filmed Entertainment Group

Universal Studios

DreamWorks Animation

Bibliography

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation