KATZENBERG SAYS SOME “SUCCESSFUL” FILMS AREN’T

While several media writers have written about how strongly animated feature films have been performing at the box office this year, DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg begs to differ. In a conference call following the release of first quarter financial results, Katzenberg remarked that some animated movies released this year have performed poorly, even though their studios’ publicity departments would have you believe otherwise. He particularly referred to Paramount’s Rango, which has so far earned $237 million worldwide. (Paramount also distributes DreamWorks Animation features and is wrangling with Katzenberg over the terms of a renewal agreement.) He pointed out Tuesday that the movie cost at least $135 million to produce and another $100 million for marketing — and gross revenue has to be split with theaters. (The Hollywood Reporter noted today that the most successful movie so far this year has been Insidious, which has taken in only $44.5 million in the U.S. but cost only $1.5 million to produce.) Meanwhile, in an SEC filing DreamWorks Animation acknowledged that profits in the first quarter plunged 60 percent, largely because of declining DVD sales.