Dreamworks Animation

DreamWorks Animation said Tuesday night that it is pushing back the release date for its animated movie "Mr. Peabody & Sherman" by four months. The Glendale studio said it was changing the release date for the film from Nov. 1 to March 7, 2014, at the recommendation of its distributor, Twentieth Century Fox. As a result of the decision, " Me & My Shadow," which had previously been scheduled for release in March 2014, will go back into development....

Disney's "Wreck-It Ralph" was named best animated film of 2012 at the 40th Annie Awards on Saturday evening at UCLA's Royce Hall. Rich Moore also was named best director for the animated comedy about a video game villain who dreams of being a hero, and Alan Tudyk won the Annie for voice acting as King Candy in the box-office hit. Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee won for their screenplay and Henry Jackman, Skrillex, Adam Young, Matthew Thiessen,...

Hollywood studios aren't known as easy places to work. But DreamWorks Animation once again has made Fortune magazine's list of the 100 best employers. The Glendale studio behind the "Shrek," "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar" movies ranked 12th in the 2013 list, just above Quicken Loans (which ranked 13th) and semiconductor company Qualcomm (11th). Google once again was ranked No. 1. DreamWorks, with 2,350 employees, was the only Hollywood studio to make the list, which will be released Thursday.

DreamWorks Animation may end up losing nearly $100 million on its recent holiday release "Rise of the Guardians. " That's the sobering prediction of Lazard Capital Markets analyst Barton Crockett.  In a research note on Wednesday, Crockett said he expects the Glendale-based studio will take a $96 million write-down on "Rise of the Guardians," which has been a rare box office flop for DreamWorks. 'Rise of the Guardians,' which cost about $145 million to make, has generated $261 million in global box office ticket sales since its debut in late November, well below that of a typical DreamWorks Animation movie.  The movie -- about a group of folk heroes, including the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus, who join forces to protect children from an evil nemesis -- has yet to open in New Zealand, Poland, Turkey and Japan.

"Hotel Transylvania" director Genndy Tartakovsky was watching TV when the Golden Globes nominations were announced Thursday morning and didn't hear his movie -- or any other animated titles -- named. Instead, Tartakovsky found out by text that the Hollywood Foreign Press Association had nominated his film for best animated feature, along with Mark Andrews's "Brave," Tim Burton's "Frankenweenie," Peter Ramsey's "Rise of the Guardians" and Rich Moore's "Wreck-It Ralph. " "Animators, we're always the last to know," said Tartakovsky, the sixth director to come aboard the monster comedy, which ended up being a surprise hit for Sony Pictures Animation.

After the coffee. Before stopping this cold before it gets started. The Skinny: My voice is hoarse from yelling during Sunday's Redskins game. Fortunately it was worth it. Monday's headlines include a recap of the weekend box office, a look at the marriage between college sports and cable TV, and an appreciation of singer Jenni Rivera. Daily Dose: Bounce TV, a broadcast network aimed at African American viewers, has struck a deal with Univision to be distributed on several of the Spanish-language broadcaster's digital channels.

DreamWorks Animation -- the Glendale studio that created the "Shrek" "Kung Fu Panda" and "Madagascar" movies -- on Sunday named former  J.C. Penney President Michael Francis to the newly created position of chief global brand officer. Calling it one of his most important executive appointments, DreamWorks Animation Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg said in an interview that Francis will play a pivotal role in helping the studio find new ways to build its branded characters around the world and across multiple outlets, including television, video games, books and theme parks.

"Brave," "Frankenweenie," "Hotel Transylvania," "ParaNorman," "Rise of the Guardians," "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," "The Rabbi's Cat" and "Wreck-It Ralph" have earned nominations for  animated film of the year for the Annie Awards. Notably missing from the best picture list were "Ice Age: Continental Drift" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted. " The announcements Monday for the 40th annual Annie Awards, presented by the International Animated Film Society, ASIFA-Hollywood, encompass 30 categories including film, TV production, commercials, short subjects, video games, student films and honorary and achievement awards.

After the coffee. Before auditioning for "Two and a Half Men. " The Skinny: Isn't the week after Thanksgiving the most depressing of the year? You had this great short week and now this week will feel like two. That's weak! Tuesday's headlines include a look at why "The Hobbit" will look different from any movie you've seen before; Warner Bros. renews with Village Roadshow; and "Two and a Half Men" co-star Angus Jones would like a new gig. Daily Dose: Lifetime's "Liz and Dick" movie starring Lindsay Lohan drew 3.5 million viewers in its Sunday premiere.

Shares of DreamWorks Animation took a hit in the wake of a poor box office debut for "Rise of the Guardians. " DreamWorks' stock fell as much as 5.8% on Monday after some analysts warned that the Glendale-based studio could be forced to take a significant write-down on its latest computer animated movie.  The 3-D movie pulled in $32.6 million over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday period, marking a rare misfire for a studio that has reaped big...