Independent Animation Article at AWN

Animation World Network has a really good article up right now about the budding independent animation push that's happening all around the world right now.



Blue Yonder Films' first animated picture, Hoodwinked, was self-financed and went on to success at the box office (where it generated $101 million) and on DVD. The company raised funding through a private investor and didn't secure The Weinstein Co. as a distributor until less than seven months before completion. A sequel is in development, this time financed by The Weinstein Co.

I had no idea that film made $101 million dollars. With the Weinstein Company involved, I'm guessing the budget for the sequel will double and probably land somewhere between 7 McDonald's Happy Meals and $50 bucks, so they stand to make a fortune from it as well.

Lots of good info in the article, including upcoming 3D films set to release in the next few years.

Animation World Network's Independent Animation Article

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There is a really interesting article that's been posted by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette on the similarities in many of Dreamworks' and Pixar's films.



It's worth a read, as it provides a little bit of a peak into the timeline of films such as "Finding Nemo" and "Shark Tale."

In 2003, Pixar scored its biggest hit yet with the underwater adventure "Finding Nemo." But while it was in production, word reached the company that DreamWorks had its own undersea comedy in the works. Aghast senior Pixar executives privately referred to their nemesis as "Copy Katzenberg," according to people close to the matter.

Whether you're a fan of either company or not, the article is worth a glance.

Pittsburgh Post Gazette Article

The New York Times Scares the Pants Off of Animators

The New York Times has published an article spotlighting the recent struggles that some 3D animated films have had at the box office recently.



This summer’s “The Wild,” from the Walt Disney Company, proved anything but for moviegoers, bringing in only $37 million at the domestic box office. The bigger disappointment was “The Ant Bully,” produced by the actor Tom Hanks and distributed by Warner Brothers Entertainment. That movie’s powerful ant wizard could muster only enough magic to garner $27 million.

By contrast, the debut of “Open Season,” the tale of a defiant grizzly bear and feisty mule deer who battle hunters, brought in $23 million over the weekend for Sony Pictures Entertainment, putting it in first place. But only the coming weeks will tell whether it will be widely embraced by moviegoers.

It's an extensive, and often scary, article for someone like me, who has dreams of being an animator, but it really isn't anything we haven't heard before. Heck, even this idiot managed to write an article about a similar topic, that still holds true in light of the NY Times piece: If companies choose to make quality animated films with solid stories and characters, they will find an audience, and they will turn a profit.

In any case, I've decided on a new dream... I'm going to become a professional body waxer. My first class start next week, so I'm off to buy wax and paper strips.

Wish me luck!

The New York Times Animation Article

A Little Box Office Mojo

Per Box Office Mojo and Animated News, here are the numbers for the 3D animated films currently in release:

10) Barnyard with $5,652,932 ($54,930,100 total; 4th week)
16) Monster House with $1,141,933 ($69,368,839 total; 6th week)
22) Cars with $734,162 ($240,555,222 total; 12th week)
25) The Ant Bully with $559,907 ($25,669,795 total; 5th week)
36) Over the Hedge with $172,121 ($154,767,362 total; 15th week)
76) Ice Age: The Meltdown with $9,860 ($195,316,542 total; 22nd week)

Again, it's a shame to see that "The Ant Bully" is underperforming at the box office. According to The Numbers it had a production budget of over $45 million, and it has grossed around $35 million worldwide. Hopefully with the few weeks it has left in theaters and DVD sales, it can at least scrape out $10-$20 million. Of course, that doesn't take into account what the advertising budget was.

Monster house currently sits at about $98 million worldwide, and I'm sure DVD sales will at least be decent for it. I'm sure it isn't the numbers that Sony had hoped for, but they should at least wind up with a little change in their pockets at the end of the day.

As for Barnyard, it's hanging in at number 10, with $55 million, though I have no idea what it's production budget was.

Now as for Cars? You know... the film that everyone is saying is Pixar's first film to "underperform" at the box office? Well, that "underperforming" little film has pulled in almost $400 million worldwide and currently sits at number 7 for all 3D Animated films, in terms of revenue generated in the U.S. theaters, where it has drawn around $240 million. So Pixar's little "clunker" is doing just fine.