Dreamworks’ Reliance on Disney
Just in case you actually might have been living in Fantasyland for a portion of last month, and missed the news of the Disney/DreamWorks (with Reliance funding) deal here’s a recap, background info and a few innovation questions good measure. Walt Disney Studios will be marketing 6 DreamWorks live-action features per year. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Disney will earn at least an 8 percent fee off the box office gross of DreamWorks films, and would lend the studio $150 million.
“Big Entertainment’s” Reliance: With financing commitments at 69 films and $1B it seems Dreamworks’ (and Mouse-House partner) may not have been exaggerating by their choice of company name. (see Forbe’s profile of “Big Entertainment” for more.)
What does this deal mean in terms of innovation: It will be interesting to see what pans out. Does this mean Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (well, Paramount holds these ‘first sequel’ Hasbro rights, we assume, but what about co-produced sequels or prequels from here, as nobody does better merchandising/park attractions for kids than Disney) are going to be put out under the Disney label?
Will we be seeing a mix of DreamWorks/Disney properties at theme parks? Paramount Studios is already smartly leasing its lot for outside events and concerts – could this deal reciprocate, so to speak, via Paramount getting more rides (yes, we know they have the Indy ride at Disneyland…) and merchandising out of the Mouse House? Talk about a whole new world of co-productions. And could Disney India (Mumbai or New Delhi) be too far out a concept?
What was particularly interesting was shortly after the announcement: a Former DreamWorks Animation executive David Porter, most recently head of worldwide product distribution, is off to Microsoft.
There are tremendous opportunities ahead for Microsoft to create a world-class shopping experience for our customers,” David Porter said. “I am excited about helping consumers make more informed decisions about their PC and software purchases, and we’ll share learnings from our stores with our existing retail and OEM partners that are critical to our success.
Thinking differently, so to speak, for Bill Gates’ empire (aka “the MS House”). Perhaps there’s real hope for some “Apple”-type retail magic in the software giant’s much anticipated foray into retail stores.
As we see more innovative economic partnerships, we’ll closely monitor the effect of A-list content – yes, Spielberg is still ‘da man’ – on other industries and brands. But, seriously, wouldn’t a Transformers Ride, or live show, rule…?
watching your articles daily, nice work! How are things going with the prime discoveries? Keep in touch, unc.