BK007 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 After Shrek 2, they never caught Pixar again. Since 2010, when new boy on the block Illumination swept in with Despicable Me (and so far, have not had a feature that has made less than $200m) and when Tangled reignited Disney's flailing animation department, they've now fallen to fourth in terms of box office per film. Sure, they make more overall with more films being released, but when those films don't make back their budgets, it counts for naught. Turbo was even outearned by Planes a month later. Now their films are on the level of Blue Sky. Perhaps the only real other competitor on the market. The rest are led by Sony, who have never had a big hit, and those that appear very briefly to make one badly animated, cheap smash and grab. In the coming years, Dreamworks have spread themselves out thin and really you wonder where they are going to get their next big hit. Penguins does not look like it. Kung Fu Panda 3 might not even make more than the second with Star Wars opening before it. At least it'll have reviews and quality on its side unlike the tanking Shrek and Madagascar franchises. Their overexposure has come to their detriment as studios like Sony and Blue Sky can yet expand further without much consternation for what they've done. They have yet to hit their prime or really created any identity to be criticized about unlike Katzenberg and his Dreamworks infamous for making celebrity-driven, poorly conceptualized, pop culture infused, forgettable drivel. Even the upturn in quality in the last half decade has not been able to stem the tide. Poor choices of making films like the questionably appealing Turbo and the acquisition of many dubiously appealing properties from Mr Peabody & Sherman to Captain Underpants have hurt and look to continue the hurt. BOO has now been delayed indefinitely after the reshuffle of Home and Penguins to help their bottom line, though it's not looking like it'll do much better, at least domestically. Without a real strong concept/story of an original story in sight despite their many projects, they have to rely on franchises that have not exactly had such great success at the box office with both Panda and Dragon disappointing greatly with their sequels financially despite critical acclaim and with decidedly mid-tier hits in the Croods and Puss in Boots. Personally, all I want is the ending to the Dragon trilogy and then whatever happens to them happens. Clearly all is not well with the structure on what makes the cut for pre-production and if this continues, they'll be done sooner rather than later. To be honest, I'm not sure they can make it to Dragon 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommycruise Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) Technically Hop was illumination's only failure but that was also live action, with some animation thrown in there. With what's going on with the company I wouldn't be surprised if they really do make a Shrek 5 at this point. None of their films since Shrek 4 have opened over 50m while Pixar has had 3 films make the mark and so has Illumination. Also reviews for penguins aren't looking good at this point either and Home looks like a flop at this point. I don't see them making it past 2017. Forgot Madagascar 3 opened to 60m Edited November 19, 2014 by BOOYAH SUCKAS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Tiki Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 I'm pretty sure they'll make it to at least the end of the decade, or a little after. If their movies keep losing money and they can't find a buyer (or if Katzenberg continues to self-sabotage deals) then they can always fire their American animators and outsource full time to their China and/or India satellite studios. That would drive down costs significantly and get the shareholders off their backs, at least for a while. DWA's biggest problem is that they grew complacent and refused to branch out beyond animation. They continued to operate as if they were still a branch of DreamWorks SKG even after spinning off ten years ago. It's only recently that they've made efforts to diversify, but all that's left for them now are a bunch of washed-up legacy properties through Classic Media. Had they diversified earlier then perhaps they could have afforded to get some bigger ticket items; maybe nothing the size of Marvel or Lucasfilm, but securing the film rights to things like The Smurfs, Dr. Seuss or Peanuts could have helped, especially since those ended up going to other animation studios anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TServo2049 Posted November 19, 2014 Share Posted November 19, 2014 (edited) Push comes to shove, Katzenberg will probably fold and sell DWA for less than he would want. I don't think he'd be arrogant and stupid enough to actually run the company all the way into the ground if he can't sell it for the same price Pixar got... Either that, or shareholders will get fed up with the multiple sale opportunities he ruined, and force him out a la Michael Eisner. (Which would be harder because there's no Roy E. Disney type to lead a revolt.) Edited November 19, 2014 by TServo2049 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAJK Posted November 20, 2014 Share Posted November 20, 2014 I think DWA can last (at least) a few more years; until 2020. They have some hits on the horizon, and just made like 150M in profit from Dragon 2. Katenberg isn't going to sell unless the situation becomes dire for him, which it isn't yet. Speaking specifically for movie finances, Penguins will make DWA a little bit of money, and if they can survive Home (which could be a hit, and may flop) they'll have another 600M movie with KFP3 next December. Not every movie that DWA puts out is a flop, they have had some hits in recent years, and many more on the horizon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonwo Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 The problem with DWA is that they've flooded the market with their 2-3 films a year and with the competition getting tougher, they've been able to keep up. I predict they'll likely downsize and Katzenberg will sell the company. I think Katzenberg was overambitious in thinking that he could make DWA into the new Disney just with animated films and that was never going to happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK007 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 And so it continues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorschach Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Captain Underpants definitely looks like it's going to kill the studio off. They're seriously making a movie that'll appeal only to toddlers?! Da fuq is wrong with you Katzenburg?! They better pull it together and make more worthwhile films. This is fucking pathetic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tupek Posted December 5, 2014 Share Posted December 5, 2014 They will depend on one more HTTYD movie and maybe one or two KFP movies for the future. Oh, and Madagascar 4. When those franchises have ended, then yes, Dreamflops will die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BK007 Posted December 6, 2014 Author Share Posted December 6, 2014 Penguins may not even beat Turbo to set a new record lowest grossing CGI film for Dreamworks. Unhappy Christmas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudolf Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 and after closing PDI they have a success like Home!!! that movie looked stupid to me, but the minorities in the US seem to love it Is it the voice actors? That won't help OS, where English is not used in movie theaters Who understands movie audiences? Predictions for this movie, were abyssmal (following recent catastrophes of DWA) and suddenly out of nowhere such a surprise 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chriss Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 I'd give them about two weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
That One Girl Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Dreamworks is staying alive after Home, and I'm happy. Home was actually not as bad as people say, and it definitely saved the company. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAJK Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Dreamworks is staying alive after Home, and I'm happy. Home was actually not as bad as people say, and it definitely saved the company. I really enjoyed Home, and am extremely happy for its success. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFanaticGuy34 Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Let's see...Home is now at $169M DOM and at $347M WW. Really not bad for a Dreamworks movie that had some things going against it... But we can all agree that next year in January..we will be looking at a monstrous blockbuster with KFP3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Well, KFP3 has a chance at doing 1B, Madagascar will be huge one again, and so will be HTTYD3 and I think we will see a Shrek sequel in the near future so they are not going anywhere anytime soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalo Posted May 30, 2015 Share Posted May 30, 2015 (edited) Well, KFP3 has a chance at doing 1B, Madagascar will be huge one again, and so will be HTTYD3 and I think we will see a Shrek sequel in the near future so they are not going anywhere anytime soon. How? KF2 did much less than the first, and a 5 year gap doesn't bold well for animated sequels, (most of the time) sure it did great internationally, but can't see it doing much over $700m. but yeah I generally agree with you, thanks to Home, and the love HTTYD2 got DWA should be safe for now. Edited May 30, 2015 by Mad Kalo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CelestialFairyIX Posted May 31, 2015 Share Posted May 31, 2015 "Home" has secured Dreamworks (Domestically speaking) for now but then they'll have to follow that up with a string of successes for them to truly be in the game again. "Home" doesn't feel like a resurgence as much as, "Tangled" or even, "The Princess and the Frog" did but I'm crossing my fingers that this truly begins a resurgence era because I love Dreamworks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFanaticGuy34 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 How? KF2 did much less than the first, and a 5 year gap doesn't bold well for animated sequels, (most of the time) sure it did great internationally, but can't see it doing much over $700m. but yeah I generally agree with you, thanks to Home, and the love HTTYD2 got DWA should be safe for now. Well...about the year gap between sequels.....MAD3 had a 4 year gap from MAD2 and it didn't affect that film. Even the 5 year gap between MI3 and MI4..(although that franchise is a different genre)..did that stop MI4 of making $209M DOM? No..since that film had great WOM and legs. I think there's so much room for KFP3 to make more than KFP2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrFanaticGuy34 Posted June 3, 2015 Share Posted June 3, 2015 Well, KFP3 has a chance at doing 1B, Madagascar will be huge one again, and so will be HTTYD3 and I think we will see a Shrek sequel in the near future so they are not going anywhere anytime soon. KFP3 is getting to $1B. No doubt about it. MAD4 could actually have a considerate increase in China. Penguins of Madagascar made $40M over there. HTTYD3 has an easy chance to outgross HTTYD2 WW. Cause by the time we get to 2018, China's markets would be much bigger and stronger by then. I think the goodwill and great WOM from Dragon 2 will have families, kids and fans be pumped up for the third one. The one smart thing they should do is to move it in January.. cause it's a more safer month rather than going in the crowded and competitive summer. But...has anyone mentioned The Croods 2? I mean the first one made $587M WW, two years ago..and the $63M came from China. That one could also increase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
