DreamWorks Swings To Loss On 'Mr. Peabody' Charges

(RTTNews) - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (DWA) Tuesday posted a loss for the first quarter from a profit last year, hurt largely by a hefty impairment charge due to the weak box office performance of 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman.'

Glendale, California-based DreamWorks' reported a first-quarter loss of $42.9 million or $0.51 per share, compared to a profit of $5.6 million or $0.07 per share last year. On average, 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected DreamWorks to post a loss of $0.14 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The first-quarter results included an impairment charge of $57 million related to the poor box-office performance of 'Mr. Peabody & Sherman.'

'Mr. Peabody', a time-travel movie about a smart talking dog and his adopted boy, misfired and only collected about $108.1 million in U.S. box office receipts and a worldwide total of $260.8 million on a production budget of $145 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

Although, 'Mr. Peabody' had got very good critical reviews, the continued strong competition from the blockbuster animation movies 'The Lego Movie' and 'Frozen' blunted its performance.

"The box office shortfall of Mr. Peabody & Sherman is evidence of the current challenges we face within our feature film segment, and restoring the strength in our core business is my number one priority today," said CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Katzenberg has placed his bets on the next release "How to Train Your Dragon 2", which releases in theaters on June 13.

DreamWorks, the studio behind 'Shrek', 'Kung Fu Panda' and 'How to Train Your Dragon,' said revenues rose to $147.2 million from $134.7 million last year. Ten analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $137.23 million for the quarter.

DWA closed Tuesday's trading at $26.37, down $0.12 or 0.45%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, further dropped $0.37 or 1.40% in after-hours trade.