The Storyboard Conversation on "Brew"

A couple of days ago, Cartoon Brew put up a post linked to "Storyboard Deadlines ... Storyboard Timelines". The back and forth has been lively.

My drawing arm was destroyed working on a 4 week TV schedule. I'be been on leave for almost two years because of it!! Maybe they got their episode in on time and under budget. But they have jeopardized my entire career in the process. Producers need to value their artists over their deadlines! ...

Today storyboard artists are creating complete animatics for the show. They are also slugging the voices for characters not yet recorded. An animator isn't handed an x-sheet with timing but rather a quicktime movie they have to follow.
They've taken several jobs and combined them into one. ...

The big issue here is NOT that board artists now do animatics at a variety of studios, but that there is no time built in for the new job in the schedule.

The issue here isn't that animatics work is now part of the job description, but that board artists don't get paid for the animatics work. The expectation is that they just squeeze this extra task into the same four or five week schedule without asking for extra compensation. Because (don't you know) "We can't change the schedule, and we don't have any money in the budget for overtime!"

(Don't tell anybody, but the "no money in the budget" declaration is actually a non-sequitor, because the studio has already agreed to pay overtime where warranted, but Oh Well. ...)

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Your American Box Office

Where the fox and the bunny (as in the Middle Kingdom) prosper.

WEEKEND GROSSES -- U.S. & CANADA

1). Zootopia (DIS), 3,827 theaters (0)/ $12.2M Fri. (-38%)/ 3-day cume: $49.1M (-35%)/Total Cume: $141.7M/Wk 2

2).10 Cloverfield Lane (PAR), 3,391 theaters/ $9M Fri. / 3-day cume: $24.5M / Wk 1

3). Deadpool (FOX), 3,331 theaters (-293) / $3M Fri. (-36%) / 3-day cume: $10.5M (-37%) / Total Cume: $327.8M / Wk 5

4). London Has Fallen (FOC), 3,492 theaters (+2)/ $3M Fri. (-60%)/ 3-day cume: $10.2M (-53%)/Total Cume: $38.4M/ Wk 2

5). Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (PAR), 2,413 theaters (+39)/ $1.3M Fri. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $4.5M (-40%) /Total Cume: $14.5M /Wk 2

6) The Perfect Match (LG), 925 theaters/ $1.6M Fri. / 3-day cume: $4.1M-$4.5M / Wk

7) The Young Messiah (FOC), 1,761 theaters/ $1.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.8M-$4M / Wk 1

8.) The Brothers Grimsby (SONY), 2,235 theaters/ $1.2M Fri. / 3-day cume: $3.1M / Wk 1

9). Gods of Egypt (LG), 2,306 theaters (-811)/ $653K Fri. (-51%) / 3-day cume: $2.5M (-52%) /Total cume: $27.3M/ Wk 3

10). Risen (SONY), 2,095 theaters (-412) / $629K Fri. (-41%) / 3-day cume: $2.28M (-42%) / Total cume: $32.4M / Wk 4

The other animal cartoon feature Kung Fu Panda 3, which has now fallen out of the Top Ten, is closing in on $140 million, remaining in 1650 theaters in its 44th day of release.

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The Fox Tale Has Big Mo in China

And it will likely overtake Kung Fu Panda 3 soon.

Tomorrow, on its 10th day of release in China, Disney charmer Zootopia will cross $100M.

The Middle Kingdom gross through today sits at $89M. With second-weekend takings that are far outstripping last frame’s debut, the Byron Howard/Rich Moore-directed tale of an earnest bunny cop and a con artist fox who team to uncover a conspiracy has become the biggest-ever Disney animated film in the market. That pushes it past Big Hero 6 which was the previous champ at $83.5M.

No sloth, it’s being fueled by strong word of mouth and has a shot at overtaking Kung Fu Panda 3 (about $152M as of today) as the top animated title of all time in the PROC. ...

To do a reversal on Sam Goldwyn: "When you have a picture that people want to see, you can't stop them from seeing it.".

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Charging Right Along

Disneys animal picture seems to be catching on here and there.

Disney Animation’s Zootopia crossed $200M yesterday in international markets and is on the verge of crossing $100M domestically to bring its global total after two weeks to $300M. The international grosses were lifted in both Russia and China during the holiday of Women’s Day.

The film currently sits at $299.7M worldwide. ...

As the Wise Old Cartoon Producer once said to me, "You can never go wrong with an animal feature."

By way of illustration, the other animal movie in the marketplace, Kung Fu Panda 3 is also doing well, though it's not as high-flying as Zoo. To date, Panda has earned $327,008,221.

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"Prince" Yanked

Oh my.

Paramount Pictures has confirmed to IGN that they will no longer release The Little Prince, which was set to open in theaters next Friday, March 18.

The studio didn't provide a reason for why they opted to drop the film so close to opening day.

The film's official site and trailer still bear the Paramount logo. The studio's publicity site still had assets for the movie available as of today, March 11. ...

So I'm guessing that this tested badly. Or the green eyeshade types didn't think it would work for Paramount.

Or else Sumner Redstone came out of his trance, stopped speaking in tongues and screamed: "I HATE it!! Get rid of it!! I thought the movie was going to be all CG, but this has stop motion in it!!""

I suppose we will find out, in due course, why the plug was pulled.

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The Night Prowl

So a little while ago, an artist at one of our fine, entertainment conglomerates (animation division) tells me:

"There's some storyboarders who're in here most weekends, also here working on Wednesday nights. They're here working uncompensated o.t., making sure they hit their schedules. The studio pays the overtime when somebody tells them about the overtime, but mostly this group doesn't. You want to maybe come and check it out? ..."

I tell the artist I will make a nighttime visit. And a couple of days later I do. ...

It's simple to get into the multi-story building. I have a card, and it works the elevator lock and outside magnetic swipe. What it doesn't do is open the doors off the small, upper floor lobby. Normally I call operations and they pop it right open, but late at night (sadly) there is nobody IN operations.

So I plunk down in an uncomfortable chair and wait. Six minutes later, somebody comes up in the elevator, somebody who has a magnetized card. And who recognizes me. He activates a door lock, the door swings open, and I stroll in with him.

Sometimes late-working employees can be a good thing. (When I ask, he says he's being paid to the nighttime labor.)

I wander between rows of cubicles, in search of telltale lights. Here and there I see bright halos, and there are artists under half of them, working at their Cintiqs. My interactions with them go like this:

Me: Hey, hi. How ya doing?

Artist: Oh...good. Really good.

Me: You getting paid for working late?

Artist: Oh ... yeah. Paid. Absolutely.

There's a few more late owls, all of them saying they're being compensated. I think they're lying, but it doesn't matter what the business representative thinks. If the employee/member says they're getting paid overtime, then that's what's happening. Whether it's the truth or not.

I do a circuit of the floor. Most cubes are empty but here and there not. Everybody I encounter claims to be working for cash money, absolutely. I smile, wish them a good night, and move on. I think I'm being lied to, but of course I might be wrong. There's no way to know with certainty.

When I make it back to where I started, I go out to the elevator and down. Another night of fun and frivolity.


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The Latest From Laika

Kubo and the Two Strings gets its second trailer ...



Laika topkick Travis Knight directs Kubo the studio's fourth feature, his first time helming a feature.


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Expanding a Franchise

A fine entertainment journal tells us ...

Not content with its upcoming all-female revival, [Sony Pictures has] been quietly developing a Ghostbusters animated movie via its Sony Pictures Animation, and that project has taken one step closer to reality.

Fletcher Moules, the rising animator and helmer behind the hugely popular animated Clash of Clans commercial spots, has signed on to direct the movie.

Ivan Reitman, co-creator of Ghostbusters and one of the stewards of the franchise, would act as one of the producers. ...

I'm not sure the world is waiting breathlessly for a new Ghostbusters movie, let alone a cartoon version. But it's not like Sony is awash in franchise opportunities. A studio does have to take its blockbusters where it can find them.

That being said, I always found the original Ghostbusters to be one of the major hoots of the 1980s.


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The Global TV Revolution

A DWA exec sees plenty of rainbows and lollipops in the way the worldwide television business is shaping up.

... The global TV industry [has been powered] into a new ‘golden age’, according to Eric Ellenbogen, the Co-Head of International TV & DreamWorks Classics, DreamWorks Animation.

“Today’s TV programming features the biggest stars in the entertainment industry,” said Ellenbogen during a keynote speech at the CABSAT Content Congress – a holistic, state-of-the-industry dissection presented by CABSAT, NAB Show and the former’s new Content Marketplace offering.

“TV is no longer a second-class medium, there are huge budgets and beautiful productions – we are in a new golden age and TV is thriving. The sky is not falling, the future is bright.”

With traditional or linear television channels’ historical dominance under increasing threat as global viewers turn towards the more flexible IPTV and OTT content streamed directly to handheld devices, game consoles and Smart TVs connected to broadband – models, Ellenbogen insists the entire television industry and, ultimately, viewers, will reap the benefits.

“Audiences want what they want, when they want it and on whichever device or platform they want it. ..."

DreamWorks Animation, of course, has no big, ultra-lucrative cash cows to defend in this Brave New World of content distribution. Diz Co. has a huge stake in the status quo. The linear cable channel EXPN has been massively profitable over a lot of years, and to see it unraveling must be painful for the Mouse.

But technologies and delivery methods morph and change as they will. Big companies that have stakes in The Way Things Used To Be often fight rear guard actions. And companies that have nothing to lose march into the future. DreamWorks hasn't had a problem pioneering Subscription Video On Demand because they had minimal investments in cable and broadcast platforms.

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Ten Years

Jeff Massie, my now-retired assistant, wrote to tell me that this is the 11th year for TAG blog.

My, how the time sails by.

The whole enterprise began on February 23rd, 2006 the collective brain-wave of President emeritus and myself. Blogs were getting birthed ;in all corners of the internet, and Dr. Koch and I decided to launch yet another. ...

Since the beginning, we've covered stockholder meetings, seminars hosted by Pixar directors and producers, Gina Davis panel discussions, and lots of interviews, both audio and video. ("The Golden Award Interviews", recorded in the 1980s, are now running each week.)

It's been an honor and privilege to host this blog over the last decade, and I hope people have found it worthwhile. It's been enjoyable to do, though as blogger Duncan Black said long ago, "Writing a blog is easy. Writing a blog every day? A wee bit more difficult."



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Chairman Iger Talks

... about amusement parks, sports, and a burgeoning movie business:

Bob Iger: Disney Lost $75M On ‘Finest Hours’ But Film Unit Profits Are Growing

Disney’s recent film disappointment Finest Hours will cost the studio about $75 million in the current quarter, CEO Bob Iger told investors today at the Deutsche Bank Media, Internet & Telecom Conference.

The film opened in late January and has generated about $40.5 million in global ticket sales.

He mentioned the loss in an account of the movie studio’s successes with blockbusters including Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Zootopia — which Iger says opened bigger than 2013’s hit, Frozen.

The movie business generated a return on invested capital of about 30% last year, up from about 20% in 2014 and 10% before then.

In response to questions, Iger says he’s upbeat about the prospects for the Shanghai Disney Resort, which opens on June 16. Some 300 million people live within a 3 1/2 hour trip to the site, he says. ...

What's often overlooked about Disney is, when the company is cooking, all the diverse and far-flung parts of the Mouse reinforce and bolster all the other parts.

The amusement parks need content from the movies, the better to build new attractions with which to attract customers. (Who wants to go on the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs dark ride endlessly?). The merchandising division needs more hot titles to license to eager toy and game companies. The cable networks and New Media sectors have got to be fed a continuing stream of enticing content.

These things have been true of the Disney company almost from its beginning when it was making shorts and licensing stuffed toys. Now that it's become the Berkshire-Hathaway of entertainment conglomerates, hosting not just Disney product but Pixar, Marvel, Lucas, etc., the synergy of its various parts is more hard reality than ever.


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"Zootopia" ... Under the Hood

So there's this video about the whys and wherefores of Diz Co.'s newest blockbuster coming into being ...



Word is out and about that the picture had a bigger opening than Frozen. The question now is how high will it go? And what its domestic multiple will be?

I'm thinking, using the Koch Multiplier, somewhere between $220 million and $290 million.


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The Retirement Investing Thingie

... Yet again.

The Three-Fund portfolio, is a portfolio design consisting of three “total” market index funds, covering the US stock market, the international stock market, and the US taxable investment grade bond market. Investors were able to implement this portfolio beginning in 1997, when Vanguard introduced a total international index fund. The firm had introduced a total US stock market index in 1992, and a total US bond market index in 1987.

The 2015 returns for the portfolios constituent funds (investor class):

Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund: 0.40%
Vanguard Total International Stock Index Fund: -3.39%
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund: 5.85% ...

For most investors, especially ones who don't give two hoots about following bond and equity markets ... and want low costs ... and superior results, the Three-Fund portfolio is a simple and elegant solution. In the lineup of funds offered in the Animation Guild 401(k) Plan, there are two methods that will come close to replicating the TFP.

The first is using one of Vanguard's Target Date Funds, which consist of the three funds directly above plus a dollop of international bonds, just to keep things interesting.

The second is to build your own Three-Fund portfolio from the Plan's suite of "core funds". We offer the Total International Stock Index Fund, the Vanguard Total Bond Market Indes Fund, and the S & P 500 Index, while not exactly the same as the Total Stock Market, does contain 80% of the same equities found in Total Stock.

Whichever way you choose to go, the important thing is to keep your costs low, your stock/bond portfolio well-diversified, and to keep investing through thick and thin. (The last item is the toughest of the three to do.)

So. Get started with an investing program soon. Below the fold, you will find upcoming 401(k) Enrollment meeting dates, times and locations. ...



401(k) Enrollment Meetings

Disney - Riverside
Feature
Tuesday, March 8th - 3:30 pm
Room 2401 "caffeine patch"

Disney Toon
Thursday, March 10th - 2:00pm
Room 102, 833 Sonora Ave


Robin Red Breast
Tuesday, March 15th - 2 pm
Large Conference Room
Santa Monica Bldg

Fox TV Animation
Wednesday, March 16th -
2 pm
Family Guy Conf. Rm.

Bento Box - Magnolia
Thursday, March 17th - 10 am
2nd Floor Kitchen

Bento Box - Lankershim
Thursday, March 17th - 2 pm
2nd Floor Conf. Rm.

Cartoon Network
Tuesday, March 22nd - 2 pm
Main Conference Room

Nickelodeon
Wed., March 23rd - 2 pm
Main Conference Room
321 West Olive Ave.

Sony Pictures Animation
Thurs., Mar. 24th, 2 pm
ImageWorks campus, North room 2000

Disney TVA - Empire
Tuesday, March 29th - 2 pm
Room 5223

Disney TVA - Sonora
Wed., March 30- 2 pm
2nd Floor Conf. Rm.


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Turnstile Record

The trades tell us:

‘Zootopia’ $75.1M Opening Is A Record For Original Disney Toon

... While Zootopia beat Frozen‘s $67.4M wide opening out of the gate, whether it beats that film’s $400.7M is another question. Non-Disney distrib chiefs don’t think it can, despite having a mass and critical groundswell of 99% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

Some have it with a final B.O. in the high $200M range. Frozen was a true fangirl movie that benefited from year-end holiday traffic, and Zootopia is playing to staggered spring break schedules. ...

Recent animated features headlining furry animals (and not named Norm of the North) have done remarkably well at the box office. The only animal misfire (or perhaps "reptilian under-achiever) is The Good Dinosaur, which failed to dazzle critics and ended up with $313,822,864.

A gross of $300 million is usually attached to a hit. But when the movie costs $200,000,000 and a lot more than that to market, profits will be non-existent. Nevertheless, outside of Dinosaur, both Disney's and Pixar's animation units have been on a roll.


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Storyboard Deadlines ... Storyboard Timelines

Let us take one more dip into the old mailbag*:

I've been doing TV storyboards for 25 years and this deadline thing is really getting ridiculous.

It was insane when they moved the deadline for 11 minutes of board from 6 to 5 weeks but 4 weeks for a finished board is NUTS. I am assuming that this squeezing of the deadline screws is just as bad for the rest of the preproduction folks out there but since storyboards are my area, I cover what I know best.

Here are the facts: every panel for a television storyboard based on a written script takes 10 - 20 minutes AVERAGE per panel WITHOUT revision time included. This is also based on a board that is done on paper with out adding the timing or dialogue tracts required in Toonboom Storyboard Pro or Adobe Flash.

So the fact is we are all doing a lot of unpaid overtime and not doing anything about it. If your production manager says that someone else is able to do the work in the 4 week time frame that 4 weeks is really 6 weeks and they have no life.

My suggestions :

1. KEEP TRACK OF YOUR TIME. Get one of those little paper book diaries and write down how many hours you REALLY work every day. You will understand yourself how much you are working, and you will have physical proof to show anyone exactly what's going on.

2. TALK TO OTHERS. Don't just complain, get a real consensus of what is happening and get them to keep track of their time as well.

3. GIVE A COPY OF TV STORYBOARD TIME REQUIREMENTS to your Production Manager / Associate Producer. If you are afraid to hand it to them personally, slip it under their door. If they actually read it, It might give them an understanding why they can never seem to get "those slow board artists" to turn in their storyboards on time. ...

And now, the Veteran Board Artist estimates the time that the storyboarding will actually take. ...

TV STORYBOARD TIME REQUIREMENTS

NOTE: The following is based on the actual PHYSICAL time requirements to create a storyboard for TV animation. Although there is some variance to the speed at which artists draw, the following is based on the AVERAGE time needed to create the necessary work based on a script with equal parts action and acting and NO REVISIONS.

The following is what is required in any fully cleaned-up panel of storyboard:

1. Suggested background
2. An on-model character – either a) establishing and/or b) acting / expressing story point.
3. Scene description, and camera action. special effects description.
4. (TBSBP) Initial rough timing / anamatic set-up

MINIMUM time required to complete panel: 10 minutes/panel

Average Time: 20 minutes/panel

(A complicated action with camera moves and armies can take over an hour.)
--------------------------------------------

For a 3 act script consisting of 36 – 40 pages:

#Panels / script page: 24 – 36 (8 -12 bd.pgs.) Time: 8 – 12 hrs, 1- 1.5 8 hr days*

#Panels / 1 minute of film: 60 – 72 (20 – 24 bd.pgs.) Time: 20 – 24 hrs, 2.5 – 3 8b hr days*

#Panels / 7 minute film: 420 – 504 (140 – 168 bd.pgs) Time: 140 – 168 hrs., 17.5 – 21 8 hr days (3.5-4wks)*

# Panels / 11 minute film: 660 – 792 (220 – 264 bd. pgs) Time: 220 - 264 hrs., 27.5 – 33 “ “ (5.5 – 6wks)*

# Panels / 22 minute film: 1320 – 1584 (440 – 528 bd. pgs) Time: 440 - 528 hrs., 55 - 66 “ “ (11 – 12wks)*

* (Time is based on average time of 20 minutes x panel count WITHOUT revisions and going straight to cleanup. If revisions are required, multiply all times above by 1.25X)

!!(Special Note: ACTION takes at least 2-3 times the amount of drawings that acting does. If the show is heavy on action, multiply numbers given above by 2X to compensate for the additional drawing and panels needed)!!

If working in Toonboom Storyboard Pro add .25X to the equation for the additional amount of work added to create a working animatic.

Simple formulas for calculating adjustments to the average time:

Average Show

Hrs x .75 thumbnail and rough only
Hrs. x 1 finished board no revisions
Hrs. x 1.25 finished board with revisions on the roughs
Hrs. x 1.5 finished board with revisions on the roughs in TBSBP

Action / Comedy Heavy Show

Hrs. x 2 action heavy board no revisions
Hrs x 2.5 heavy action board with revisions the on roughs
Hrs x 2.75 heavy action board with revisions on the roughs in TBSB

TV STORYBOARD TIME REQUIREMENTS

Parameters of 10 – 20 minutes for each panel described above is not an arbitrary figure. Consider the analysis below for the explanation of why it takes this amount of time for a professional storyboard artist to produce each frame for a cartoon’s blue print. Consider that every panel of storyboard requires the three steps: Planning, Drawing and
Description.

Usually a board artist considers a minimum of a scene at a time (3-10 panels) and how that scene works within a sequence (1/4 – 1 script page) and how that sequence works within a section (1 – 3 script pages) then how the sections work into each other and to the full script.

Storyboarding for animation is NOT just rapidly drawing a sketch. Even if a story artist is doing a pitch session and is quickly throwing up post-its, those sketches have to be taken down, reworked, and put into a blueprint like format so that the team working on the film can use them effectively.

Storyboarding for television requires that the artist do the following jobs: storyboarding as layout; writer of all action and gags and clerk for scene descriptions dialogue, action and camera action; and initial acting, action, camera, and timing direction. Also, sometimes, they are background, prop and character designer. All characters are required to be as close to “model” as possible, many times without the artist ever having drawn the characters before.

Every panel created requires the following:

1. Planning: reading the script to decide on the image

A. Staging – where and how to set up the shot in relation to:

1) Location choice
2) Camera position
3) Composition
4) Camera motion
5) Emotional Note
6) Cutting, timing and transitions

B. Acting - How the character(s) are to act in the shot with relation to

1) Personality of the character
2) Style of the show
3) Event taking pace
4) Actual action the character must commit
5) Point of dialogue delivery
6) Plot through line
7) Break down of action over successive panels
8) Action of relationship between multiple characters and their reactions

C. Continuity – maintenance of continued visual plot points

1) Correct costumes, props and locations
2) On-model / character proportions and physical attributes
3) Maintaining continued existence of Point of Interest characters, props or costumes not associated with on screen action but necessary for story through line or plot (Example: Evenrude in
the Disney series "Tail Spin")

2. Drawing : creating the image

A. Thumbnail – initial skeletal composition, staging, continuity, acting and action – work out unresolved story
and action neglected in script.

B. Rough – rework of initial ideas, draw in backgrounds, refine acting and action.

C. Cleanup – tighten all character acting and visual information.

3. Description: verbally describing the panel

A. Scene Description

1) Verbal description of action
2) Camera information
3) Staging requests (i.e. overlays, animating BG’s, Bi-pack)
B. Dialogue
C. Special Effects
3) Sound FX
4) Visual FX
5) Special timing requests

Here’s a given line of script: “The warriors attack the fort.” What has to be added that the writer left out? How many panels do you think it will take? How long will it take to execute??
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

* The above e-mail and attached notes (which appear below the fold) were triggered by a recent discussion with a veteran production board artist who has worked at most of the major animation studios ... and a good number of small ones ... over the last two and a half decades. I made the suggestion that they send along their descriptions and break downs of the time needed to execute storyboards of different styles and types.

Happily, they already had estimates ready to go. I said we would post the whole kaboodle here on the blog, which we are now doing. Understand this is one veteran's analysis of what's required to execute a professional cartoon storyboard. Other artists' mileage may vary.

-- Steve Hulett

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The Animation Guild Golden Awards Interview #14 -- Leo Salkin

Animation veteran Leo Salkin talks about breaking into animation during the depths of the Depression, and working as a layout artist revising storyboards "that don't work." (Only the storyboards happen to be his own).



Leo Salkin was hired as a cel cleaner on March 3, 1932 and considered it a signal accomplishment. ...

Why? Because 25% of the country was unemployed, and getting any job at that time was a big deal.

Mr. Salkin worked in almost every corner of the animation business for more than a half century: cel cleaning, in-betweening, animation, layout, storyboards, script-writing. While working at UPA, he was the visual inspiration for the short, squinty-eyed Mr. Magoo; Mr. Salkin also wrote story and continuity for Magoo's first feature, 1001 Arabian Nights.

And here's an interesting factoid (at least to me): Leo Salkin was one of the few Disney strikers re-hired by Walt Disney Productions in later years (apparently he didn't make Walt's "naughty strikers" list ... or else some studio bureaucrat goofed). Mr. Salkin ran his own studio, Leo Salkin Films, for a lengthy stretch and talks about it directly above.

Leo Salkin passed away in October, 1993 at the age of 80.

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Struggle and Contraction

Some entertainment analyst think there is hard slogging ahead.

The film industry faces an “increasingly dire” outlook as audiences continue to shrink in the U.S., with too many studios producing too many tentpole films, which end up cannibalizing each other’s audiences, analyst Doug Creutz reported Friday. ...

Creutz offers a welter of stats to back up his contraction argument: “Last year, over 25% of total box office came from just five films, well above the average of roughly 16% from 2001-14 and the prior peak of 19% in 2012.” He called this a “consistent phenomenon.” ...

Creutz predicts tough sledding for most of the studios in 2016, though he adds: “We expect that one or two of the companies will likely outperform our generally negative view; however, we also think picking the winners at this point is a high-risk proposition.” ...

Consolidation goes on in maturing industries all the time. Where 110 years ago, there were 20 or 30 American car companies. A century-plus on, there are 2 1/2, and one of those is owned by the French.

But in this corporatist age, Hollywood consolidates for survival. Viacom has hit an economic rough patch, and even Disney has problems with the incredible shrinking ESPN and feature films that don't perform. In the animated sphere, Hanna-Barbera was once a prolific independent that churned out animated TV hits. But that was in an era when conglomerates there were limits on corporate power and vertical integration was a no-no.

Today, our fine entertainment conglomerates are free to own content, content makers, and distribution networks. It's all one big vertically integrated money machine and Disney, Comcast-Universal-NBC, 20th Century Fox-News Corporation are taking advantage of the brave new world. Smaller film companies find it increasingly hard to finance and create big, competitive films, so they partner with ... or get gobbled up by ... one of the handful of monster conglomerates.

DreamWorks' live-action division has been partnered with larger companies for years. And DreamWorks Animation has been trying to become the subsidiary of a conglomerate for almost as long. As costs rise higher and advertising budgets sy-rocket, consolidation becomes the name of the game.

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Your International B.O.

There's a lot of animation sprinkled in global box office grosses.

... Zootopia stepped into China this weekend after bowing in Russia and Germany on Thursday to bring in a total of $63.4M. Added into the estimated $73.7M domestic bow, that means the litter critters took home a $137.1M global haul just this weekend for a total to date of about $232.5M. ...

Fox’s superhero Deadpool is No. 3 in the international marketplace. With an international cume of $362M and a global box office of $673.2M. ...

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip continues to do well, riding in with another $3.3M from 2,210 screens in 28 markets. While there were no new openings, the family film had excellent holds in several of its markets. Most notably, in the U.K. where it is in its fourth weekend of play, it logged in another $876K and is performing 32% better than its previous 2011 installment Chipwrecked through same point in release). The international cume is now $144M. Globally, the cume stands at just around $230M.

Kung Fu Panda 3 has hauled in $323.8M globally after taking in another $3.1M in the seven markets it is still playing in. ... It still has a big majority of territories yet to open. This weekend it debuted to an excellent opening in Brazil — it took No. 1 and opened 27% bigger than its predecessor Kung Fu Panda 2. It also opened 44% higher than Disney Animation’s Big Hero 6. Right now, it has $190M cumed abroad, with much more to come. ...

And here's what the movies grossed this weekend:

FOREIGN WEEKEND BOX OFFICE -- (WORLD TOTALS)

Zootopia -- $63,400,000 -- ($137,100,000)

Deadpool -- $21,200,000 -- ($673,158,132)

Kung Fu Panda 3 -- $3,100,000 -- ($323,831,833)

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip -- $3,300,000 -- ($228,873,528)

.

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Subscription Video

Netflix and other subscription services appear to be gobbling at cable and broadcast television's traditional trough:

Americans are spending less time with their eyes glued to a television screen, but that doesn’t actually mean they’re watching less … television. It’s a classic example of semantics trumping reality: While TV viewership went down 3 percent last year, a new study suggests that people aren’t trading in this time to be one with nature or engage in some other physically stimulating activity. Instead, they’re watching Netflix.

As per a report from Michael Nathanson of Moffett Nathanson, Netflix was responsible for around 50 percent of the overall drop-off in TV viewing time in the U.S. In fact, American Netflix subscribers are estimated to have streamed a stunning 29 billion hours of video in 2015, whereas the global Netflix community managed to binge on a total of 42.5 billion hours.

And this past year’s data, Nathanson says, isn’t an outlier. Rather, it represents a trend showing Netflix’s (and other streaming services’) increasing popularity. By 2020, the analyst says, streaming hours will account for 14 percent of all TV viewing. ...

New Media (aka Subscription Video on Demand) is a growing part of the Los Angeles animation business. DreamWorks Animation has hundreds of hours of SVOD shows in development and production, and a lot of our members are working on it. And other studios are edging their way into the newer distribution platform.

But New Media is covered by a TAG contract sideletter that gives studios a lot of leeway over wage rates. Many people are working at or above union scale, but some are working at lesser wages. This is a problem for every entertainment union and guild, since they all have new media sideletters identical to our own, but it doesn't make underpaid animation writers, artists and technicians any happier.

From all reports, the next round of contract negotiations in 2018 will be focused on leveling the playing field. The goal will be to put SVOD wage rates on a par with all the other minimums in the contract.

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Zooistic Weekend

From time to time the trades like to moan that the reason animated features are under-performing is that there's a "glut of cartoons" in the marketplace.

Uh, no.

The reason that some animated features don't do well at the box office is, few people want to see this one or that one. I mean, did The Good Dinosaur do badly because of some "glut"? I would submit that it was a picture that didn't grab the public's imagination. (Nobody argues that a given live-action movie does badly because of a "glut" of live-action movies. It's because the given movie is shitty, and nobody wants to see it.)

By most measures, we are now wading through a glut of animated features. (Norm of the North. Kung Fu Panda. Etc.) And if that is true, how do you explain this?

‘Zootopia’ $70M-$74M Opening Sets Record For Original Disney Toon ...

This weekend belongs to Walt Disney’s Zootopia, which is headed for a record opening of $70M-$74M, the best ever for an original Disney/non-Pixar animated film. That figure kicks aside Frozen’s $67.4M wide release debut. Inclusive of $1.7M in Thursday previews, Zootopia‘s opening stands at $19.5M, which beats Frozen’s first wide day of ZOOTOPIA$15.2M (the Wednesday before Thanksgiving). ...

DOMESTIC ZWEEKEND BOX OFFICE

1). Zootopia (DIS), 3,827 theaters/ $19.5M Fri./ 3-day cume: $70M-$74M/ Wk 1

2). London Has Fallen (FOC), 3,490 theaters/ $7.5M-$7.8M Fri. / 3-day cume: $21.4M-$21.8M / Wk 1

3). Deadpool (FOX), 3,624 theaters (-232) / $4.7M Fri. (-47%) / 3-day cume: $16.8M (-46%) / Total Cume: $311.4M / Wk 4

4). Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (PAR), 2,374 theaters/ $2.4M Fri. / 3-day cume: $7.2M / Wk 1

5). Gods of Egypt (LG), 3,117 theaters (0)/ $1.3M Fri. (-72%) / 3-day cume: $4.7M (-66%) /Total cume: $22.6M/ Wk 2

6). Risen (SONY), 2,507 theaters (-408) / $1.07M Fri. (-45%) / 3-day cume: $3.8M (-44%) / Total cume: $28.6M / Wk 3

7). The Revenant (FOX), 1,488 theaters (-157) / $888K Fri. (-8%) / 3-day cume: $3.6M (-10%) / Total cume: $176.2M / Wk 11

8). Kung Fu Panda 3 (DWA/FOX), 2,700 theaters (-596) / $774K Fri. (-60%) / 3-day cume: $3.5M (-61%) / Total cume: $133.8M / Wk 6

9). Eddie the Eagle (Fox), 2,044 theaters (+2) / $883K Fri. (-54%) / 3-day cume: $3.3M (-46%)/Total cume: $11.1M/ Wk 2

10). The Witch (A24), 1,715 theaters (-489) / $692K Fri. (-54%) / 3-day cume: $2.4M (-53%) / Total cume: $20.8M / Wk 3

Kindly note that there are two (count 'em) animated features riding in the Top Ten. But not unexpectedly, KFP3, which had been holding well through five weeks of release, has dropped 61% due to a second animal picture coming into release. (That's the blow-back from a "glut", defined as similar pictures in the market at the same time.)

Add On: Zootopia isn't just scoring at the box office; it's bowling over critics as well:

The Disney animated film has a perfect 100 percent score on more than 75 reviews
Disney’s newest animated film, “Zootopia,” currently holds a score of 100 percent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. A perfect score may not sound extraordinary, but when it is based on more than 75 reviews, that’s actually “pretty rare.”

“[More than 75] reviews at 100 percent is very unusual,” Rotten Tomatoes Editor-in-Chief Matt Atchity told TheWrap. “‘Zootopia’ could be on that road to breaking records.” ...

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