20th Century Fox has finalized a deal to distribute all DreamWorks Animation movies beginning next year. DWA is ending its distribution deal with Paramount (which had been going since 2006) at the end of the year with “Rise of the Guardians”.
DreamWorks’s upcoming movies include “The Croods” (opening in March – the first to now be distributed by Fox), “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” (opening November 8, 2013) and “How to Train Your Dragon 2” (2014). According to EW.com, DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said that even though Paramount distributed the first “Dragon” in 2010, that movie, and other future sequels, will not be hampered by the change.
They’ve announced a release date for an untitled project – Nov. 6, 2015. This is likely the “Penguins of Madagascar” film.
This isn’t an earth-shattering move by DWA. It’s not as if Fox will have a role in the production of these animated movies. But there are a couple of things to point out: Fox already distributes Blue Sky Animation studio releases (such as the “Ice Age” franchise). So how are these two rival animation studios, now under the same distribution roof, going to deal with conflicts over release dates?
As of now, DWA has three releases in 2013, Blue Sky just one (“Epic” in May). There are no conflicts as of now in 2014 either, so at least this should be a problem for the near future.
Also, Paramount is the big loser here, especially short-term. Paramount Animation’s first movie (which may be “The SpongeBob SquarePants 2”) won’t open until 2014, meaning the studio will have no animated film to attach it’s name to next year. And Paramount will now only have FIVE films total in 2013 compared to 14 for Fox.
Since I started as a film critic Paramount has always been attached to DreamWorks Animation’s movies and trailers. It’s now going to be pretty weird seeing the famous 20th Century Fox intro before the boy on the moon appears.