Advertisement

DreamWorks Animation shares fall after downgrade

Share

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Wall Street wasn’t throwing green at DreamWorks Animation on Tuesday.

Shares of the Glendale company fell nearly 6%, closing at $34.13, after an analyst downgraded his rating on the company, citing a lower projected box-office haul from ‘Shrek Forever After.’

Benjamin Mogil, an analyst with Thomas Weisel Partners, told clients in a research note he expects the movie to generate $315 million in the U.S. and Canada, well below his previous estimate of $375 million.

Advertisement

Citing preliminary surveys, Mogil estimated that the latest ‘Shrek’ film would generate $75 million to $90 million in ticket sales during its opening weekend, far below both the $110 million-plus opening most analysts were expecting and the $121 million that ‘Shrek the Third’ generated in its opening weekend.

Shrek Forever After’ -- starring Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy -- is the fourth and ‘final chapter’ in the lucrative franchise. Nonetheless, the studio has in the works at least one spin-off, ‘Puss In Boots,’ set for release in 2011.

Investors reacted harshly this year when the studio’s previous movie, ‘How to Train Your Dragon,’ had a tepid opening. But investor confidence rallied as the film gained considerable traction among audiences, drawing more than $429 million worldwide and becoming a hit film for the company.

-- Richard Verrier

Advertisement