DREAMWORKS - KATZENBERG URGES THEATERS TO STEP UP PACE ON 3-D CONVERSION

While DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg has pledged to make all of his studio's future films in digital 3-D, he may not find a lot of theaters in which to show them. In a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, Katzenberg said that the conversion of theaters to 3-D has "dragged along, and it's been pretty disappointing." He noted that the addition of 3-D to the production of an animated film will cost the company $15 million more per film. But whether that additional investment will pay off, given the number of theaters that are currently equipped to show 3-D films, "is the thing up for grabs right now," he said. Meanwhile DreamWorks Animation said that its first-quarter profits came in at $26.1 million versus $15.4 million a year ago -- a 69-percent jump. Profits were driven by sales of Shrek the Third DVDs and the overseas ticket sales for Bee Movie.

NOTE:
In Tuesday's edition of Studio Briefing, we mentioned that United Artists was founded in 1919 by actors Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks. We neglected to mention that a fourth founder was the director D.W. Griffith.


30/04/2008