The animated comedy Bee Movie was the biggest revenue generator for DreamWorks Animation SKG during the first quarter of fiscal 2008. The studio has reported total revenue of $156.6 million and net income of $26.1 million, compared to revenue of $93.7 million and net income of $15.4 million for the same period in 2007.
‘After a solid quarter for many DreamWorks Animation titles, we are now looking forward to our next theatrical release, Kung Fu Panda, which opens domestically on June 6th,” says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “This marks the start of an important 12-month period for the company, in which we will release three feature films, including our first in 3-D, and launch our first live entertainment show, Shrek the Musical, on Broadway this December.”
Home video sales additional international box office receipts for Bee Movie contributed $48.9 million of revenue through the quarter. Having earned approximately $287 million at the worldwide box office, the title sold an estimated 4.8 million units on home video, net of actual returns and estimated future returns. The 2007 blockbuster Shrek the Third generated almost as much income, bringing in $48.3 million primarily from the international home entertainment market. Through the end of the first quarter, the title had reached an estimated 19.8 million units shipped worldwide.
The company’s 2005 and 2006 releases, Madagascar and Flushed Away, contributed a combined $28.5 million mostly from international television sales and catalogue home video performance. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit kicked in an additional $8.1 million from domestic network television, and Over the Hedge earned around $4.1 million primarily from home video.
Kung Fu Panda isn’t expected to start driving profits until the second half of the year. The Company’s fall release, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, is scheduled to open domestically on November 7, and should begin generating significant revenue during the first quarter of 2009. DreamWorks announced its Q1 financial results during a conference call that can be accessed at http://www.dreamworksanimation.com.
