Netflix Lines Up DreamWorks Animation Films for Streaming in 2013

Netflix and DreamWorks Animation announced their completion of an agreement for the streaming video service to begin offering DreamWorks films and television specials in 2013 (via The New York Times). For the studio, the deal—under which Netflix will pay an estimated $30 million per picture, according to analysts—replaces a licensing agreement between DreamWorks and HBO.

DreamWorks Animation chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg tells the Times that the deal is “game-changing,” in that it represented the first time a major Hollywood studio chose a video streaming service over a pay-TV network for distribution of its films. But others see the announcement—rumors of which first surfaced in July—as more of a stopgap publicity measure for Netflix, which is still responding to customer outcry over its price increases and further separation of the company’s discs-by-mail and streaming services.

CNET contends that the company needs to land major-studio streaming content sooner rather than later, as Netflix’s distribution pact with Starz (under which the company has offered streaming films from Disney and Sony Pictures) is due to end in February 2012.

Youkou Streams DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Panda’ Films in China

Chinese online video site Youku.com continues to add Hollywood content to its movie streaming service, announcing a deal Monday with DreamWorks Animation for distribution of the studio’s two “Kung Fu Panda” films.

Both “Kung Fu Panda” titles (which are distributed by Paramount Pictures) have debuted on Youku Premium, the site’s paid video-on-demand service. They  subsequently will screen for free on Youku’s Hollywood Movie Channel.

Youku also offers paid streams of Warner Bros. movies, including films from the “Harry Potter” franchise, under an agreement to distribute as many as 500 of the studio’s films. Prices per play are less than $1, as studios look to compete with China’s rampant disc piracy (via the Los Angeles Times). More on Youku and the Chinese market for streaming video at The Wall Street Journal.

In other Chinese movie market news, 3D technology developer RealD has signed an agreement with Beijing SAGA Luxury Cinema Management, a high-end cinema start-up, to outfit current and planned SAGA theaters with 3D projection equipment. SAGA says it currently has eight cinemas in operation or under construction; the RealD agreement envisions 3D screens in 100 auditoriums across SAGA’s circuit. RealD already has a deal with Wanda Cinemas, China’s largest cinema chain, to install 3D projection technology on up to 500 screens.

Netflix To Nab DreamWorks Animation Streams?

Netflix is close to securing exclusive streaming rights to films from DreamWorks Animation SKG, in a deal that would spell the early termination of a pay-TV pact between the studio and Time Warner’s HBO, Bloomberg reports.

A new agreement certainly would be high-profile for Netflix; the studio’s films include the “Shrek” and “Kung Fu Panda” franchises. But one analyst notes that with the DWA-HBO agreement running through 2014, “Any earlier deal would clearly need HBO’s consent, which it would obviously not provide unless there was a financial benefit” (via The Hollywood Reporter).

If the Netflix deal was the result of HBO offering the studio an early-exit option, says Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Tony Wible, it would “beg the question of whether Netflix won a DWA deal or was the buyer of last resort.”

Speaking at a conference last week, DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg didn’t hint at changes to the studio’s streaming distribution. But the executive did sound off on everything from the quality of theatrical films to 3D television and studios’ forthcoming UltraViolet digital rights initiative. See BTIG Research (registration required) for a link to Katzenberg’s comments.

Analysts Debate 3D Box Office Receipts

With 3D screenings accounting for less than half of the opening-weekend revenue for DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 2,” some financial analysts fear that consumers have begun to tire of 3D films’ premium ticket prices (via The New York Times). The performance of “Kung Fu Panda” — relatively soft compared to previous 3D movie openings — follows analyst disappointment in 3D receipts for Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides” earlier this month. Other analysts, however, continue to believe in 3D films’ general consumer appeal, attributing any underperformance of a given title to other factors (via Home Media Magazine).

Entertainment Merchandising: Walmart Stores Promote Universal’s ‘Hop’

In a tie-in deal between Walmart and Universal Pictures, some 3,000 Walmart stores are marketing 100 exclusive licensed products based on the studio’s Easter Bunny-themed film, “Hop.” While the retail campaign serves to promote the film, which debuts in theaters April 1, the range of value-priced “Hop” products focuses on items such as candy, toys, and apparel.

The campaign marks another evolutionary step in the merchandising relationship between Walmart, historically the top seller of DVDs in the U.S., and major studios. The “Hop” tie-in follows a similar program that Walmart unveiled with DreamWorks Animation ahead of that studio’s theatrical release of “How to Train Your Dragon” one year ago.

Samsung Nets Blu-ray 3D Exclusive On DreamWorks’ ‘Dragon’

Announcing a new slate of 3D electronics today, Samsung Electronics said that it would be the exclusive distributor this fall of the 3D Blu-ray version of DreamWorks Animaton’s “How To Train Your Dragon.” The disc will be featured in Samsung’s 3D starter kit, which also includes two pairs of Samsung 3D glasses for at-home viewing.

Samsung’s current 3D starter kit includes a Blu-ray 3D copy of the studio’s “Monsters Vs. Aliens.” Other 3D discs slated for distribution by the electronics company include IMAX’s original productions “Into the Deep” and “Galapagos,” and Giant Screen Films’ “Mummies: Secrets of the Pharoahs.”

Among the new 3D hardware is a portable Blu-ray 3D player and three standalone Blu-ray 3D decks, as well as four 3D LED and Plasma TVs.

DreamWorks Animation CFO Reviews ‘Shrek’ 3D Strategy

Speaking yesterday at an investor conference in Chicago, DreamWorks Animation CFO Lew Coleman acknowledged that his studio would probably have done “some things slightly different” if it had another chance to market “Shrek Forever After” (via Home Media Magazine). Though the film has topped $200 million in domestic box office gross, analysts and investors were expecting more — and some have pointed to a subpar 3D conversion of the “Shrek” franchise. “I think you have to make a compelling case to have a 3D movie in 3D, like ‘Avatar’ and [DreamWorks’ own] ‘How To Train Your Dragon,’” Coleman said. “I don’t think we made that case for ‘Shrek.’”

Reuters reports (via Yahoo) that “Shrek Forever After” has made more than $213 million in the U.S. and Canada since it opened on May 21. But that’s only three-quarters of the $285 million the last “Shrek” film earned over the same number of days in 2007 — without 3D. Indeed, higher prices for 3D tickets factor heavily into the revenue figures for the fourth “Shrek” installment: Coleman said that 3D accounts for 65% of the domestic gross, year-to-date, for “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Shrek Forever After” combined.

McDonald’s Recalling ‘Shrek’ Glasses Over Toxic Metal Concerns

Federal regulators are disrupting a major promotional tie-in between McDonald’s and DreamWorks Animation for the studio’s “Shrek Forever After,” over concerns that the restaurant chain’s Shrek-inspired premiums pose health risks to children.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) today announced a voluntary recall of drinking glasses that McDonald’s restaurants began selling last month, as part of the chain’s “Shrek” promotion.

The CPSC cited a potential risk of cadmium exposure, which can cause “adverse health effects,” from the designs on some 12 million “Shrek” glasses that McDonald’s either sold or had in stock.

The agency says it was made aware of the issue through the office of Congresswoman Jackie Speier, who represents the California district that includes San Francisco. Earlier this year, Speier sponsored a House bill that would ban cadmium and other toxic metals from children’s jewelry.

“Although McDonald’s did the right thing by recalling these products, we need stronger testing standards to ensure that all children’s products are proven safe before they hit the shelves,” Speier said in a statement.

The Congresswoman is proposing that the CPSC temporarily extend to all children’s products the cadmium standard that the agency already has in place for children’s toys.

The McDonald’s glassware recall follows several voluntary recalls issued by retailers this year for children’s jewelry containing cadmium, at the behest of the agency.

McDonald’s stresses on its website that the “Shrek” glasses were compliant with both federal and state requirements at the time of their manufacture. The chain says it is taking the “precautionary measure” of a voluntary recall “in light of the CPSC’s evolving assessment of standards for consumer products.”  Consumer Product Safety Commission

Amazon Offers 101 On 3D Home Entertainment

Amazon looks to raise awareness on 3D televisions, Blu-ray disc players, and other consumer electronics with an online customer education center, at www.amazon.com/3d. The site also runs promotions such as a free 3D starter kit from Samsung – including a copy of DreamWorks Animation’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” and two pairs of 3D glasses, when customers purchase a qualifying Samsung 3D HDTV and a Samsung 3D Blu-ray disc player. Via Business Wire

‘Dragon’ Deal Signals Evolution Of Entertainment Merchandising At Wal-Mart

Entertainment merchandising continues to evolve at Wal-Mart, with the retailer having struck an exclusive deal with DreamWorks Animation for toys, apparel, and other licensed products based on the studio’s “How To Train Your Dragon.”

Wal-Mart is selling “Dragon”-themed products from brands such as Kraft, Kellogg, Pepsi, and Spin Master in specially-designated areas of some 2,500 stores in the run-up to the film’s theatrical release March 26. The program was more than a year in the making, Wal-Mart says, with the retailer taking on a greater role in product development.

The agreement with DreamWorks Animation does not give Wal-Mart an exclusive on the “Dragon” DVD or Blu-ray, according to The Wall Street Journal. But the partnership builds on previous deals with bands such as AC/DC and Kiss, as well as videogame publishers Electronic Arts and MTV Games, which saw Wal-Mart devote store-within-a-store spaces to market packaged entertainment products alongside limited-edition themed goods such as t-shirts, razors and snacks.

Exclusive packaged entertainment SKUs are nothing new to big-box retailers, who began cutting such deals with studios and managers of high-profile talent long before DVD reached its sales zenith. But at a time when a new-release DVD, CD, or videogame is no longer guaranteed to bring shoppers into stores, the entertainment properties most likely to secure floor space at retail are those that carry with them a sales hook for other consumer product categories.

To this end, a Wal-Mart divisional merchandise manager recently met with music and movie executives to discuss potential deals for 2012, according to the Journal.

Samsung, DreamWorks Animation, Technicolor In 3D Home Entertainment Alliance

The three companies are joining forces to accelerate the worldwide deployment of in-home 3D to consumers. The solution includes a broad line-up of 3D-capable HDTVs from Samsung, its new 3D Blu-ray disc player, and an exclusive promotion that includes a first-time feature-length, 3D Blu-ray version of DreamWorks Animation’s 2009 release, “Monsters vs. Aliens.” Technicolor will handle production duties for the 3D Blu-ray release. Samsung will provide customers several additional 3D selections, including a short entitled “Bob’s Big Break” as well as trailers for 2010 DreamWorks Animation feature film releases “How to Train your Dragon” and “Shrek Forever After,” on Samsung brand HDTVs via the company’s Internet@TV feature. Via Samsung

Analyst: DreamWorks Animation In DVD ‘Sweet Spot’

The studio tells analysts that it recorded 10% year-over-year growth in home entertainment sales over the Thanksgiving holiday, with premium titles and Blu-ray Discs accounting for just less than 50% of the sales. By Home Media Magazine

THQ, DreamWorks Animation In Game Pact

THQ and DreamWorks Animation have struck a multi-year licensing agreement that gives the video game maker the exclusive worldwide rights to develop games based on upcoming animated films “Kung Fu Panda: The Kaboom of Doom” and “Puss In Boots,” as well as CG animated TV show “The Penguins of Madagascar.” By The Hollywood Reporter

Avery Heads Franchise Strategy, Distribution At DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation SKG has named, Kelley Avery, former president of Paramount Home Entertainment, to the newly created position of worldwide head of franchise strategy and distribution. The move marks a return of sorts by Avery to DreamWorks, where she once headed home entertainment for the studio’s non-animation unit. By Home Media Magazine

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