DreamWorks Animation Working on a Distribution Deal With Sony
Posted July 16, 2012 04:01 PM by Webmaster
According to an unidentified source quoted by Reuters, DreamWorks Animation is apparently discussing a new distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment. DreamWorks' current distribution agreement with Paramount Pictures expires later this year. Last month, DreamWorks' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted opened in theaters across the U.S.
According to the Los Angeles Times, which first reported the news, 20th Century Fox could be DreamWorks' international distributor.
Dreamworks Studios, which is Steven Spielberg's live action film company, is a separate company whose films are currently distributed by Walt Disney Co.
Oh Boy!!! More exclusives for Sony. You wanted to get Ice Age: Continental Drift when? Or will it be Sony first than Best Buy then Every one else. Get rid of the exclusives.
DreamWorks Animation distribution sucks as is, this change is welcome. Please take a note out of Disneys play book on how to release 3D, yes they got Kung Fu Panda 2 right, but Blu Ray 3D and DVD combo packs? With no special features or Blu ray, come on.
Also, Over the Hedge and Flushed Away please.
Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if Paramount were in financial difficulties. They've gotten rid of a lot of their catalog titles by selling them to the highest bidder, have made stupid decisions regarding movie release dates (G.I. Joe 2 comes to mind) and have really dropped the ball in terms of releasing catalog titles on Blu-ray...
Well, that's because Columbia is where Sony MAKES their movies. TriStar used to make movies in the past, but is now an acquisition unit that promotes genre films. The scaled-back TriStar is very similar to Disney's Touchstone unit, whose few releases right now are all produced by the original DreamWorks (yes, the Spielberg-owned studio).
I prefer Paramount to Sony's distribution. The latest combo packs (3D, BD, DVD+DC) are superior to Sony's scattershot offerings where the 3D versions are wanting.
@indy - those 3D discs were all reissues. "Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Puss In Boots" were all first after wide distribution of 3D titles and they were pretty much perfect.
Paramount launched their own in house animation studio, their first movie was Rango. Paramount has been eager to actually own their own animation studio and produce their own animated movies and not just distribute for quite some time. DOnt feel bad for them, they have been waiting for this distribution deal with Dreamworks to end. so that they can continue making animated features they outright own such as Rango
also any of the Dreamworks/PDI features from before Dreamworks animation broke off into its own company still are part of the Dreamworks SKG catalog which PARAMOUNT owns the rights to.
personally I am surprised that Sony is considering this since they have a pretty healthy slate of animated movies on their own. Really no need for them to take on distributing movies for Dreamworks.
Same goes for Fox, even though Ice Age 4 slightly underpeformed domesticly this weekend, its still has done a lot of business overseas and has proved to be quite profitable.
Lionsgate if they were smart would have swooped in and worked out a distribution deal with DW animation
@WJWS Channel 13:Amity - "Rango" was done by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), so it is not a Paramount in-house production. It's ILM's first foray into feature animation. Paramount was the financier and distributor.
I don't see how we couldn't have gotten these other DW movies before, but this means we get Aardman now! Chicken Run BD with Sony quality? Dream come true.
According to an unidentified source quoted by Reuters, DreamWorks Animation is apparently discussing a new distribution deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment. DreamWorks' current distribution agreement with Paramount Pictures expires later this year. Last month, DreamWorks' Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted opened in theaters across the U.S.
