Dreamwork's massive layoff...
polycounter lvl 9
At first, we weren't sure on how this would end...
http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/dreamworks-employees-face-major-layoffs/?doing_wp_cron=1421728245.5123419761657714843750
But now it's confirmed.. 500 guys..
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/breaking-dreamworks-animation-will-shut-down-pdidreamworks-studio-over-500-jobs-will-be-eliminated-108161.html
What I don't get is that they blame their loss on the poor revenue from their latest movies; Penguins of Madgascar, Sherman and Peabody and Rise of Thue Guardians but then again, seeing how these titles seemed rehashed, were based on poor comedy/story and badly marketed (just like that upcoming title Almost Home with Rihanna which will surely fail), I don't know how they coudn't have predicted it...:(
Plus, when I look at the Total Budget versus Box Office Revenue of these titles, most of them werent even that bad, like actually grossing the double of the budget so they still get some sort of revenue don't they??:(
http://www.animationmagazine.net/features/dreamworks-employees-face-major-layoffs/?doing_wp_cron=1421728245.5123419761657714843750
But now it's confirmed.. 500 guys..
http://www.cartoonbrew.com/business/breaking-dreamworks-animation-will-shut-down-pdidreamworks-studio-over-500-jobs-will-be-eliminated-108161.html
What I don't get is that they blame their loss on the poor revenue from their latest movies; Penguins of Madgascar, Sherman and Peabody and Rise of Thue Guardians but then again, seeing how these titles seemed rehashed, were based on poor comedy/story and badly marketed (just like that upcoming title Almost Home with Rihanna which will surely fail), I don't know how they coudn't have predicted it...:(
Plus, when I look at the Total Budget versus Box Office Revenue of these titles, most of them werent even that bad, like actually grossing the double of the budget so they still get some sort of revenue don't they??:(
Replies
Sherman and Peabody wasn't entirely contrived, either, even if it wasn't incredible.
Anyway, arguments on subjective statements aside, 500 jobs...
Made by animal logic, in Sydney Australia.
(dude, it was made within driving distance of you!!!!)
EDIT:
Da hell, Turns out rise of the guardians isn't legend of the guardians.
Confusing titles much?
Sorry dude, carry on >_>.
Also this sucks.
Poignant illustration of the situation around their films?
This industry feels so very unstable at the moment and it's really weird. None of the films out-right tanked and bankrupted the company.
Very sad, but they're very talented people, I'm sure they'll land on their feet.
Little to none, as I understand it. The Shanghai studio is focused on content for the Chinese market.
That's what I heard a year ago. But one of their high end productions is already intended for a global audience: Kung Fu Panda 3. I wouldn't be surprised if they change the plan and add more titles.
I'm just thinking it would be odd to produce for the local market if they can pull off movies that can succeed domestically and internationally. The domestic feature animation market is already full of western productions which seem to do quite well. If there were Chinese feature animation, the state would already push it, because here in China the government decides what cinemas show (ouch!), but apparently there isn't.
My take is that the local content is rather for direct-to-video or TV.
(sounding like a conspiracy nut):
The main reason for Kung Fu Panda to be produced by ODW could be to get bonus points with the communist party. Many Chinese weren't happy that an "evil" American company dares (is able) to make a "Chinese" movie like Kung Fu Panda while the Chinese themselves can't! Nationalist emotions got a bit high when the last installment was released here.
Obviously, making such a movie IN China by Chinese staff would get Dreamworks a lot of bonus points in a potentially very big market - especially since the communist party decides what gets into the cinemas and what doesn't.
Now I don't think that's the case. Except maybe for the last paragraph. The nationalists will sure feel better if the next Kung Fu Panda is made in China.
For the life of me, I couldn't tell you what a Dreamworks film is. I think most people still think of them as "Shrek sequel maker". They eventually progressed out of that though and had some good films - How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda and Croods are great to me. They've just dug themselves a pit in terms of reputation because of their early track record so they don't generate the same excitement as Pixar. Sadly, because of bean-counter decisions artists are paying the price.
Kung Fu Panda 2 (Profitable: 450% return).
Puss in Boots (Profitable: 425% return).
Madagascar 3 (Profitable: 520% return)
Rise of the Guardians (Profitable: 210% return).
The Croods (Profitable: 435% return).
Turbo (Profitable: 225% return).
Peabody and Sherman (Profitable: 190% return).
How to Train Your Dragon 2 (Profitable: 430% return).
Penguins of Madagascar (Profitable: 220% return)*.
*Penguins has only been released in China and North America so far, European run still to come.
Dreamworks Animation have only ever had one unprofitable film (Road to El Dorado), and that was fifteen years ago and the return on all of their products is double the investment (bar one, which was pretty close); clearly stable growth. Most film studios have a few blockbusters with these kind of numbers, and a number of duds that barely break even or turn a big loss. Dreamworks on the other have consistently proven profitable.
They might not be turning profits as massive as Pixar, but they're still solid.
Edit: actually, I wonder if they're laying off their television studios. Dreamworks TV shows are pretty terrible.
Are you just comparing production budget to box office returns to get those numbers? Because studios don't get all the money from the box office, and marketing costs add a ton on to the budget. Dreamworks definitely lost money on Peabody:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/apr/29/dreamworks-posts-1q-loss-on-peabody-write-off/
I don't think anyone has mentioned that?
They could probably, in the long term, move more to China.
It's not cheap, but cheaper. One year ago they were still hiring for major positions, so I don't think they're ready yet to ramp up. Getting experienced people is still difficult in China, which may also be a problem. Giving up in the US right now, just to move operations, appears risky, if that's really the motivation (but I don't think so).
As volatile as the games industry it's shocking to me how much more film/vfx is.
The USA REALLY needs to address this overseas outsourcing crap
Look up 'Hollywood Accounting'. Thanks to shady-as-fuck reporting practicies, just because a company posts a loss, doesn't mean they actually made a loss. This is also the same in the games industry, as it happens. Return of the Jedi "never made a profit", despite having earned $475 million at the box office (a staggering amount given it's real budget of around $33 million).
Dreamworks never even came close to losing money on Peabody.
FYI, I'm using total reported budget versus reported worldwide gross box office sales. Reported budget includes development, distribution and marketing overheads.
Gotta keep the top guys in the billions
The LOTR trilogy claims to have made losses despite making $6 billion at the box office.
In both of these cases, people entitled to profit based royalties were cheated out of them and got absolutely nothing.
Good luck to everyone.
Here's the receipt for Order of the Phoenix.
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100708/02510310122.shtml
"In that statement, you'll notice the "distribution fee" of $212 million dollars. That's basically Warner Bros. paying itself to make sure the movie "loses money.""
A few other examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_accounting
Not to say that's what justified the layoffs. As others have noted, these movies are still profitable, but I still can't help but think they wasted their talent on sub-par films.
If you want to make money, fart out sequels until people hate the franchise.
Plus that doesnt includes the overpaid voice actors which salaries are worth ten times that of one animator..
Capitalism for you..
$60-120k for 2 days of work.
Quite easily 100x an animator.
Huge difference is they are unionized and can collectively bargain.
The moment we start to complain too much here, they will simply get themsevles some cheap labor from India or Korea...-_-
If your work can be sent over a wire and your skills can be easily replaced, of course they are going to choose the cheaper option.
Alternatives:
- don't be easily replaceable
- use the system to make money independently
- create things that can't be sent over a wire
We are all doing project-based work. Layoffs will happen. Be prepared.
But there must be / is a way to counter this. As much as we complain we are doing just that. Create worldwide union and go independent. We are those who create the content from script writers to all sorts of cg artist.
Imagine, if we worked as one, we could be in way better position.
Easy enough to track down. Dreamworks release all their numbers in their annual statements, which are available on their website.
Real numbers for 'Hollywood Accounting' usually come out when there's a lawsuit; i.e. when someone has a profit based royalty contract, but never received a penny for it courtesy of the film 'making a loss' when it really didn't.
Return of the Jedi never paid David Prowse (Darth Vader) for his work:
http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/09/how-hollywood-accounting-can-make-a-450-million-movie-unprofitable/245134/
http://www.slashfilm.com/lucasfilm-tells-darth-vader-that-return-of-the-jedi-hasnt-made-a-profit/
Tom Hanks and two other actors sue over not receiving a penny from My Big Fat Greek Wedding:
http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/08/business/fi-hanks8
Tolkien Estate sue New Line Cinema for the same:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2008/feb/12/lordoftherings.jrrtolkien
You'll find loads of other references if you just search of 'FILM-TITLE-X Hollywood Accounting' - it's everywhere.
My googling showed me some really sinister examples in here too:
https://allthetropes.orain.org/wiki/Hollywood_Accounting
Pretty much everyone working on these things except massive names are paid union minimum wage + profit based royalties. People working on $500 million+ smash hits are deliberately and systematically cheated out of their earnings. Hollywood Accounting doesn't even stop there - the MPAA claims that movie piracy is costing the US economy $200-250 billion a year, a number which is just as fabricated (think about it, that number is utterly impossible) as the loss statements on the movies themselves.
The next time someone tells you that piracy is killing the film industry, the music industry, or even the games industry, ignore them. Greed is usually the thing putting people out of work.