Comcast Buys Dreamworks Animation for $3.8bn

[Mad Dog]

The deal still needs to be approved by government regulatory agencies. Shouldn't be a problem though, since this isn't monopolistic. It probably won't be finalized until near the end of the year.

 

[UNIrd]

I wonder how much money Universal saves from licensing Shrek and Madagascar now..

 

[Scott W.]

I wonder how much money Universal saves from licensing Shrek and Madagascar now..

I'd imagine it's less than 1% of what they paid.

 

[graspthesun]

True, but the licensing won't come out of the park budgets for much longer.

 

[Disneyhead]

This gives them a great opportunity to roll out an awesome new parade, a couple of new stage shows, and a plethora of new meet and greets.

Some of that could probably help when KidZone goes down.

 

[Macfr3ak]

This gives them a great opportunity to roll out an awesome new parade, a couple of new stage shows, and a plethora of new meet and greets.

Some of that could probably help when KidZone goes down.

Didn't even think of that.. you are absolutely right! i would love to see this implemented at the parks.

 

[GadgetGuru]

This gives them a great opportunity to roll out an awesome new parade, a couple of new stage shows, and a plethora of new meet and greets.

Some of that could probably help when KidZone goes down.

Honestly, this gives them a chance to finally try and do those things right.

Disney destroys at parades (and parade logistics). Part of that is because they have better parade routes built in to the parks, but still. They destroy at shows - look at Nemo, which is basically a short Broadway show. And I think Disney does M&Gs way better too. Universal doesn't seem to allow their characters to interact much. I tried meeting Scooby + the gang, and it was basically take a picture and get out. No real socialization.

 

[Nick]

Honestly, this gives them a chance to finally try and do those things right.

Disney destroys at parades (and parade logistics). Part of that is because they have better parade routes built in to the parks, but still. They destroy at shows - look at Nemo, which is basically a short Broadway show. And I think Disney does M&Gs way better too. Universal doesn't seem to allow their characters to interact much. I tried meeting Scooby + the gang, and it was basically take a picture and get out. No real socialization.

Disney's parks (at least MK and DHS) are built much better for parades though. Hopefully they design Park 3 to be able to run a legit parade.

 

[Macfr3ak]

Disney's parks (at least MK and DHS) are built much better for parades though. Hopefully they design Park 3 to be able to run a legit parade.

The more I hear these things about park 3 the more excited I get. I stayed at The Castle boutique hotel by Marriott and my room had a clear view of what I think is part of the new land Universal acquired its a very nice area with already surprisingly large roads with minimal traffic

 

[quinnmac000]

Comcast CFO Outlines DreamWorks Animation's Financial Upside Inside NBCU - Hollywood Reporter

Explaining how the deal will boost animated output, Cavanagh said Universal and DWA will each continue to make about two animated movies a year, with each releasing one new film and one sequel. He added: "The characteristics of an animated film, profit-wise and risk-wise, volatility[-wise], is much better for animation than Iive-action movies. So we have long wanted to tilt the business more in the direction of animated films at the margin."

 

[GadgetGuru]

Interesting read. I disagree with the assertion that animated films carry less risk. I think that's just because there's not very many of them and most are created by brands (DWA, Pixar, Disney) or are franchises. With the market expanding, that may not hold true any more.

Plus, DWA has had a lot of misses for a lower-risk market.

 

[quinnmac000]

the Gov ok'ed the deal. Its clear to go through. The waiting game is now.

Comcast/NBCU DreamWorks Deal Gets Government OK | Multichannel

 

[quinnmac000]

from interview yesterday:

That challenge of cutting through the clutter is one reason NBCUniversal bought DreamWorks Animation. "We love the animation business and having a second animation company ensures that we'll have four films a year," said Meyers. Plus, DreamWorks Animation "has a great TV business, characters and attractions for our parks," said Meyer. "There's a tremendous amount of synergy.
[URL='http://forums.orlandounited.com/javascript:void(0)']
But as NBCUniversal waits for the deal to close, Universal has a strong slate, Meyer said. He points to the recent success of low-budget "Purge: Election Year," the upcoming "Jason Bourne" film and this weekend's "The Secret Life of Pets," which has an 84 percent critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Still, he had no illusions that Universal could possibly live up to its record-setting 2015. "Last year, as of the moment, we had the highest business of any studio in history, so we're not going to reach last year's number."

Meyer was bullish about the ongoing performance of the company's theme parks: "The parks business keeps growing," he said. "We're going to build a park in China. Our park in Japan is doing great business. ... We're not seeing any slowdown at all. We have a great well-priced product and people are enjoying it."



http://www.cnbc.com/2016/07/07/nbcuniversals-ron-meyer-heres-why-we-bought-dreamworks-animation.html[/URL]

 

[Galaxy Defender]

When you can make a high quality animated film for 75 million like Despicable Me or SLoP it makes for a very low profit threshold. Combine that with the ability of Comcast to promote, distribute, market and use in parks you get a great deal and better opportunity. The timimg just screams of use in the next park.

I think the meet and greets in the parks will be a big hit.

 

[Galaxy Defender]

Deleted.

 

[quinnmac000]

Shrek 5 and Shadows will be the first official films produced and distributed by Universal under the deal in 2019.

Shrek 5 and Edgar Wright's Shadows Coming in 2019

 

[ThemeParks4Life]

Shrek 5 and Shadows will be the first official films produced and distributed by Universal under the deal in 2019.

Shrek 5 and Edgar Wright's Shadows Coming in 2019

The 2018 movies are also being distributed by them, no?

 

[quinnmac000]

The 2018 movies are also being distributed by them, no?

up to FOX. It expires in 2018 but Fox can argue they still have for the rights.

 

[AlexanderMBush]

It's official, Comcast has officially acquired DreamWorks Animtion for 3.8 Billion dollars as of August 22nd.

 

[GadgetGuru]

Woop! Prepare for Shrek Land! And Shrek Park (Shrekcot?)! And Shrek World!

Interesting that Variety says Chris Melandandri will officially be in charge of DWA after a lot of speculation. I really hope that he doesn't just make DWA a clone of Illumination. It seems that Sony + WB Animation have been trying to become filmmaker-oriented animation studios by attracting pretty darn good moviemakers from both live action + animation - Phil Lord + Chris Miller, Genndy Tartakovsky, Nicholas Stoller, etc. I really hope DWA follows their lead, but without all of the dysfunction.