Dreamworks Animation | featured news

NEW YORK (AP) — The DreamWorks animated alien adventure "Home" beat out the Will Ferrell, Kevin Hart comedy "Get Hard" at the box office, but both films debuted strongly.

Netflix is buffing up its credentials as a popular way for parents to keep their kids entertained....

DreamWorks released onto the open market one of the primary software tools used to create the $145 million animated film, "Rise of the Guardians."

DreamWorks Animation has decided not to distribute its own films after its longtime deal with Paramount Pictures expires this fall, and it may strike a new pact with Sony Pictures, according to people close to the negotiations not authorized to speak publicly.

DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc., the maker of "Shrek," "Madagascar" and "Kung Fu Panda," is teaming up with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to help people convert their old DVDs into an online movie library.

A trio of new releases propelled the box office to a record weekend, and DreamWorks Animation’s and Paramount Pictures’ Megamind led the way with $47.7 million, according to studio estimates. The $130 million CG-animated comedy starring Will Ferrell, Brad Pitt, and Tina Fey got off to a slightly underwhelming $12.5 million start on Friday. But the superhero flick skyrocketed 65 percent on Saturday as parents, starved for a family film to take their tots to, stormed the local multiplex.

He'll executive produce ''Puss in Boots,'' and studio will produce his story ''Trollhunters,'' which he'll write and direct, in 3-D.

"Kung Fu Panda" is, in my opinion, the best DreamWorks Animation release to date. It is no surprise then that I am eagerly anticipating the 2011 sequel, "Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom." Moreso now following today's casting news. Jean-Claude Van Damme, Michelle Yeoh and Victor Garber are newcomers in a cast that already ...

So much for the public's hunger for anything in 3D. DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek Forever After" bowed even more lightly than some had feared, with the family comedy topping domestic rankings with just $71.3 million in estimated weekend boxoffice. The latest Paramount-distributed pic about a lovable ogre and his family debuted with significantly less green stuff than the two previous "Shrek" sequels, which each fetched $100 million-plus in their first three days.

FRIDAY PM: Sources have shared with me the following domestic Friday numbers as well as estimated weekend and cume figures ... Analysis coming ... Numbers will be refined in the morning:
1 - Shrek Forever After 3D (DWA/Par) NEW [4,359 Theaters]
Friday $20M, Estimated Weekend $70M
2 - Iron Man 2 (Marvel/Paramount) Week 3 [4,177 Theaters]
Friday $7.8M, Estimated Weekend $27M, Estimated Cume $251M