Without a doubt, DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) really nailed it with its latest computer-cartoon sequel, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa. According to estimates at Boxofficemojo, the film, which is distributed by Viacom (NYSE: VIA), was number one at the box office over the weekend at domestic theaters.
That was expected. But I have to give kudos to the studio's marketing department for improving the previous film's opening weekend. Madagascar, which was released in May 2005, took in $47 million during its opening weekend. As of this writing, Escape 2 Africa has been credited with about $63 million. Considering that this isn't the summertime, I thought the sequel's debut performance was pretty cool.
And here's another equally cool fact: if the estimates hold, then Escape 2 Africa's first-weekend take will be slightly higher than Kung Fu Panda's opening weekend of $60.2 million. You've got to call that a success. Disney's (NYSE: DIS) Pixar brand definitely better take notice, especially if DreamWorks Animation can consistently put out blockbusters during both the summer and fall.
As for Disney's High School Musical 3: Senior Year project, that came in third this past weekend with $9 million, behind second-place winner Role Models from General Electric's (NYSE: GE) Universal. Total take stands at an estimated $75 million.
Senior Year stands a chance of hitting $100 million, but I'm still not convinced it will definitely make the mark. It could drop off in the coming weeks although, granted, it should do well over the Thanksgiving holiday. Maybe that will be enough to put it over the top if it hasn't reached the century level by then. And there's no question that Disney is going to offer DreamWorks Animation some stiff competition when its animated feature Bolt arrives in multiplexes on November 21. The Mouse certainly has its hands full this month.
As for DreamWorks Animation's stock, though, I personally don't think I'd buy it right now. The story is out in terms of the latest film. I'd wait for a pullback. Of course, I've said this before. I never ended up playing the stock, but I'd like to at some point. We'll have to see what happens. No matter what, though, DreamWorks Animation is shaping up to be a nice long-term thesis on movie animation.
Disclosure: I own Disney, GE; positions can change at any time.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-10-2008 @ 12:07PM
Mike O said...
Yeah, but watch copies of Wall-E fly off the shelves when it streets next week. It's going to do gang busters on DVD, Blu-ray, and in the rental market.