DreamWorks Animation has revised its strategy to release the upcoming Shrek spin-off Puss in Boots directly to video. The studio announced plans for a theatrical bow for the pic as it reported a profitable third-quarter driven by home video sales of Madagascar and pay TV sales of Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit. DreamWorks also revealed its theatrical release slate for 2009, sending its original concept Monsters vs. Aliens to the top of the development heap for summer and following it with How to Train Your Dragon, based on the book by Cressida Cowell, in the fall.
“Puss in Boots is a unique creative property that has the potential to be a valuable extension of the Shrek franchise,” says DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “We are excited to be developing this into a feature film where we think it has the greatest opportunity.”
Citing current market conditions, DreamWorks says it has decided to shift away from its direct-to-video strategy in favor of supporting new opportunities with Paramount and Nickelodeon. As previously reported, DreamWorks and Nickelodeon are developing a television series starring the penguin characters from Madagascar, as well as a weekly cartoon show based on the upcoming CG feature Kung Fu Panda.
For the third quarter of 2006, DreamWorks Animation reported total revenue of $55.6 million and net income of $10.5 million. This compares to revenue of $87.1 million and net loss of $0.7 million for the same period in 2005. Madagascar contributed approximately $24.1 million of revenue, shipping around 20.4 million units on home video. Meanwhile, Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit kicked in around $17.2 million from sales in the domestic pay television market and shipped an estimated 5.1 million hoe video units during the quarter. Though it grossed around $325 at the box office, Over the Hedge contributed just $2.1 million in revenue for the period. The title was recently released on home video and is expected to be a major revenue driver for the company’s fourth quarter.
Flushed Away, DreamWorks Animation’s latest collaboration with Aardman Animations, opens in theatres across North America this Friday, Nov. 3. Directed by Sam Fell and David Bowers, the adventure-comedy flick melds Aardman’s signature stop-motion style with computer animation and stars the voices of Hugh Jackman, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Andy Serkis and Bill Nighy.
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