DreamWorks marks $87m write-down on blockbuster flop

DreamWorks Animations records disappoint losses for 2012 Q4 Los Angeles – Arabstoday DreamWorks Animation has announced an $87m write-down on last year's holiday season animated blockbuster, Rise Of The Guardians, AFP has reported. The write-down was part of a $165m charge reported in year-end 2012 financial results, which included a fourth quarter loss of $82.7m and a 12-month net loss of $36.4m, on revenue of $749.8m.
The $165m charge "includes a write-down of film costs for Rise Of The Guardians in the amount of $87m," as well as $54m linked to Me And My Shadow and $20m to a number of other projects, it said on Tuesday.
"While Rise Of The Guardians did not achieve the level of box office success that we have come to expect from a DreamWorks Animation film, we have made several changes to our future slate that we believe will position us well for the next two years," said DreamWorks boss Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"We are now looking ahead to our next release -- and our first under our new distribution agreement with Twentieth Century Fox -- The Croods on March 22 2013," he added.
In Rise Of The Guardians, which opened in November, a cutlass-wielding Santa Claus gangs up with the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny to save the world from the Boogeyman.
Featuring the voices of actors Alec Baldwin, Jude Law and Hugh Jackman, the movie had an estimated budget of $145m, according to the IMDb industry website.
The film has grossed $302.3m at the worldwide box office and contributed revenue of $6.1m to the fourth quarter, according to Tuesday's financial statement.
DreamWorks Animation is based in Glendale, California, just outside Los Angeles.