DreamWorks Animation history

By 1995, Microsoft had invested $30 million in DreamWorks to co-develop interactive games, which spawned a new division, DreamWorks Interactive.

In April 1996, DreamWorks, Sega, and Universal founded Sega GameWorks, a chain of electronic game centers in Seattle, Las Vegas, Ontario, California, and other cities.

In 1997, DreamWorks turned out its first movie, The Peacemaker, with George Clooney and Nicole Kidman, but it was considered to be far from a success, reaching only $12 million during its opening weekend.

By November 1998, they bought about 47 acres of land just west of Los Angeles for $20 million, the focal point for a larger 1,100-acre development for high-tech companies, new housing, and a man-made lake.

In 1999, the label had only three albums that earned industry distinctions for sales.

2000: DreamWorks Interactive sold to Electronic Arts.

May 19, 2004 – DWA releases its most expensive film yet, “Shrek 2.” It proves to be worth the gamble, as the sequel pulls in $919 million worldwide, proving the first film’s success was no fluke.

May 27, 2005 – The company launches its second franchise with “Madagascar,” which pulls in $532 million worldwide.

3, 2006 – DWA ends its partnership with Aardman prior to the release of “Flushed Away,” citing “creative differences.” The companies had signed a five-film deal, though only three films came out of the arrangement.

March 13, 2007 – DWA announces it will release all of its films in stereoscopic 3D, beginning with “Monsters vs.

June 6, 2008 – DWA unveils its third franchise, “Kung Fu Panda,” which quickly becomes the company’s most successful release outside of the “Shrek” franchise.

Aliens (2009), DreamWorks Animation released all its feature films in 3-D, or stereoscopic, format.

March 26, 2010 – DWA launches its fourth franchise, “How to Train Your Dragon,” which becomes the company’s most successful film outside of the aforementioned three franchises.

In 2011 Comcast acquired a 51 percent stake of NBCUniversal from GE; two years later Comcast bought the remaining shares.

July 2012 – With a bid of $155 million, DWA acquires Classic Media and renames the company DreamWorks Classics.

April 11, 2013 – DreamWorks Animation announces it has acquired the intellectual property for the popular “Trolls” franchise.

September 2014 – Reports emerge that Japan’s SoftBank is in talks to acquire DWA for $3.4 billion, though the offer is reportedly withdrawn the following day.

Following this restructuring, DreamWorks released only one movie in 2015 (Home). They cancelled a few projects that were supposed to be released around that time, notably Me & My Shadow, B.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations and Bollywood Monkey Superstar.

In 2016, DreamWorks was purchased by Universal, the parent company of competing animation studio Illumination Entertainment.

Since the acquisition, two movies were cancelled: a Croods sequel planned for 2018 and an original project called Larrikins.

45% is owned by DreamWorks and 55% is owned by Chinese companies (China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment). It co-produced Kung Fu Panda 3 alongside DreamWorks and it will co-produce a movie called Everest, which is set to be released in 2019.

Furthermore, Universal just announced a Trolls sequel for 2020.