Animatiestudio Pixar stopt met Disney

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Door Koentjuh op zaterdag 31 januari 2004 - 17:38 (1)
Wat is nou eigenlijk de reden dat ze stoppen dan

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Op 01-31-04 20:44 schreef LIONHEART:
Dat is niet slim om te stoppen met hun. Hun brengen wel immers de meeste animatiefilms uit. Vaak kaskrakers. Dus meer geld in het laatje. Dan kijk je toch niet op een procentje meer of minder.

Immers 50 - 50 zou ik het eerlijkst vinden. Het werk denk ik wel gelijk verdeelt. Dus dan hoor je de winsten of verliezen ook voor de helft te krijgen.

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Computer animation studio Pixar, founded by Steve Jobs and creator of hits like 'Toy Story' and 'Finding Nemo,' poised to drop Disney and seek new distributor.


Pixar Animation Studios said on Thursday it ended talks with Walt Disney to renew a lucrative movie distribution deal that has resulted in such blockbusters as "Toy Story'' and "Finding Nemo.''

Pixar (PIXR, news, msgs), the computer animation pioneer founded by Apple Computer's (AAPL, news, msgs) Steve Jobs, said it would look for another studio partner to distribute its films starting in 2006, when its current deal with Disney expires.

The move was an unexpected blow to Walt Disney Co. (DIS, news, msgs), which reaped a financial bonanza and critical acclaim from the partnership and has struggled with its own strategy for animation.

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The five movies that Pixar and Disney have released since 1995 have earned more than $2.5 billion at the global box office and accounted for a large share of Disney Studios' operating profit in recent years.

"After 10 months of trying to strike a deal with Disney, we're moving on,'' said Jobs, Pixar's chief executive.

"We've had a great run together -- one of the most successful in Hollywood history -- and it's a shame that Disney won't be participating in Pixar's future successes.''

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Disney's Eisner faces challenges without Pixar
January 30, 2004 6:50:00 PM ET



By Peter Henderson

LOS ANGELES, Jan 30 (Reuters) - A day after ending talks for a new deal with Pixar Animation Studios Inc.(PIXR), Walt Disney Co.(DIS) Chief Executive Michael Eisner faced twin challenges of rebuilding the company's faltering animation division and fending off a sharpened attack on his leadership.

Disney rejected an offer to extend beyond 2005 the lucrative partnership that has produced $2.5 billion of box office receipts in movies from "Toy Story" to "Finding Nemo."

Disney characterized that decision as simple business math, saying that renewing the lucrative deal on Pixar's terms would have cost it hundreds of millions of dollars.

While some analysts agreed, Eisner also faced criticism for having mismanaged one of the most profitable tie-ups in the history of Hollywood and letting Pixar go its own way.

"He made them feel like second-class citizens when they were producing the best product in the country," said Stanley Gold, a former board member allied with ex-director Roy Disney who is campaigning for Eisner's ouster.

"It was no way to manage talent," added Gold, who is campaigning for shareholders to vote against Eisner and three other board members up for reelection at the March 3 shareholder meeting in a symbolic protest.

"Potentially more could have been done to retain some sort of relationship with Pixar that was profitable," said Fitch ratings agency analyst Randy Alvarado, who said Disney's credit outlook was shakier without Pixar when the deal expires in 2006.

Disney stands to lose more than just box office revenue, since the home of Mickey Mouse has built its business around popular characters, said Fulcrum Global Partners analyst Richard Greenfield.

"Disney unlike any other media company uses its movie studio to feed the theme parks, feed the consumer products division," he said.

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'EISNER WILL BE VINDICATED'

But short-term, analysts said, Disney would benefit, since it was not going to give away any of its profit from the two films left in the current Pixar deal, which had been part of the renegotiation.

"Eisner had no other choice in my opinion," said Schwab SoundView analyst Jordan Rohan who estimates Disney would have forgone up to $1 billion in pretax profit over four years.

"If my financial projections are correct... then Eisner will be vindicated, the company will be back and Roy Disney will find it hard to effect any change," he said.

Eisner's second problem is the state of Disney's own animation unit, an industry pioneer which has seen its staff slashed and its focus changed to computer animation from its hand-drawn specialty.

Its last mega-hit was "The Lion King" in 1994, although it has had some successes since, like 2002's "Lilo and Stitch."

"A lot of people are criticizing them for emptying out their brain trust. Disney seems to be letting a lot of people go and those people are moving on to other companies," said Ryan Ball, editor of Animation Magazine.

Disney says it can make sequels to Pixar films from its current deal and has "Toy Story 3" in development. It will put out its own first completely computer-animated movie, "Chicken Little" in the summer of 2005.

Lowell Singer, an analyst at SG Cowen, said Pixar had more than just technology.

"Disney has a long way to go to get to the level of performance that Pixar has achieved. There is no guarantee they will ever get there," he said.

However, investors might forgive that if Disney's profits continue to rise, he added. "If the company continues to perform well, the market is going to care a lot less that this relationship will end," he said.

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Op 01-31-04 21:56 schreef ZeroBlue[NL]:
Steve Jobs komt ook van Apple.
Niet lucasarts

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De besprekingen tussen Pixar en Disney over een verlenging van het bestaande contract hebben meer als een jaar geduurd.