DreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG and commonly referred to as DreamWorks) is an American

film studio A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company that makes films. Today, studios are mostly financing and distribution entities. In addition, they may have their own studio facility or facilities; how ...

and

distribution Distribution may refer to: Mathematics *Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations *Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...

label of

Amblin Partners Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American independent entertainment production company. It develops and produces films under the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, as well as ...

. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994, as a live-action and animation

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Jeffrey Katzenberg Jeffrey Katzenberg ( ; born December 21, 1950) is an American media proprietor and film producer. He served as chairman of Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios from 1984 to 1994, a position in which he oversaw production and busin ...

, and

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American film producer, record executive, and media proprietor. In music, he co-founded Asylum Records with Elliot Roberts in 1971 before founding Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1 ...

(which together form the SKG of DreamWorks SKG), of which they owned 72%. The studio formerly distributed its own and third-party films. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each. DreamWorks Pictures was sold to Viacom, parent of

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

in February 2006 (this version is now named DW Studios). In 2008, DreamWorks announced its intention to end its partnership with Paramount and made a deal to produce films with India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group, re-creating DreamWorks Pictures as an independent entity. The following year, DreamWorks entered into a distribution agreement with

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...

, wherein Disney would distribute DreamWorks films through the

Touchstone Pictures Touchstone Pictures was an American film distribution label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured ...

label; the deal continued until August 2016. Since October 2016,

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

has distributed most of the films produced by DreamWorks Pictures. Currently, DreamWorks operates out of offices at

Universal Studios Hollywood Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and Amusement park, theme park located in Universal City, California, near Hollywood, Los Angeles. It is one of the oldest and most famous Hollywood film studios still in use. Its official marketin ...

. DreamWorks is also different from its former animation division of the same name, which was spun off into its own separate company in 2004 and is currently owned by

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC (abbreviated as NBCU and Trade name, doing business as NBCUniversal or Comcast NBCUniversal since 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational mass media and Show business, entertainment conglomerate (comp ...

since 2016. Spielberg's company continues to use the original DreamWorks trademarks under license from DreamWorks Animation.

History

Founding and Universal distribution (1994–2005)

The original company was founded following

's resignation from

the Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

in 1994. Katzenberg approached

and

about forming a live-action and animation film studio, which had not been done in decades due to the risk and expense, but all three were very successful. They agreed on three conditions: They would make fewer than nine movies a year, they would be free to work for other studios if they chose, and they would go home in time for dinner. They officially founded DreamWorks SKG on October 12, 1994, with financial backing of $33 million from each of the three partners plus $500 million from

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

co-founder

Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American businessman, computer programmer, and investor. He co-founded Microsoft, Microsoft Corporation with his childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which was followed by the ...

, and $300 million from

CJ Group CJ Corporation (), doing business as CJ Group () or simply CJ, is a South Korean conglomerate holding company, operating internationally. It is one of the largest chaebol headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous businesses in ...

heiress Miky Lee, giving the CJ Group an 11% stake in DreamWorks; the deal was also initially understood to include distribution rights to DreamWorks films across Asia excluding Japan, although CJ ultimately handled rights for only China, South Korea and Hong Kong, with all other international territories handled by

United International Pictures United International Pictures (UIP) is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures that distributes their films outside the United States and Canada. UIP also had international distribution rights to certain Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (M ...

(UIP). Their new studio was based at offices on the

Universal Studios lot Universal Studios Lot is a television and Film studio#Typical components, film studio complex located at 100 Universal City Plaza in Universal City, California, and is part of the entire Universal Studios complex, which also includes the adjacen ...

, in the same bungalow as

Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...

. Despite access to

sound stage A sound stage (also written soundstage) is a large, soundproof structure, building or room with large doors and high ceilings, used for the production of theatrical film-making and television productions, usually located on a secured movie or te ...

s and sets, DreamWorks preferred to film motion pictures on location. Usually, however, the company would film in a soundstage or set in a major studio. In December 1994,

DreamWorks Television DreamWorks Television was an American television distribution and production company based in Universal City, California, that was a division of DreamWorks. History DreamWorks Television was formed in December 1994 as DreamWorks Pictures ag ...

was formed after DreamWorks agreed to a $200 million seven-year television production joint venture with Capital Cities/ABC. The company was set up to produce series for broadcast networks, cable channels and first run syndication, with no first-look guarantee for ABC, but financial incentives favored the network. Their first show, ''Champions'', was scheduled as a mid-season replacement for ABC. Dan McDermott was named the division's chief executive in June 1995. DreamWorks Television's first success was '' Spin City'' on ABC, the parent company of which was bought by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

in February 1996. In 2002, the DreamWorks joint venture agreement with ABC ended. That agreement was replaced by a development agreement with

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

, with a first look clause. In 2013, DreamWorks Television merged with

Amblin Television Storyteller TV Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Television, is the television production division of Amblin Partners. It was established in 1984 by Amblin Entertainment as a small-screen production arm for Steven Spielberg's ''Am ...

. In 1995,

traditional animation Traditional animation (or classical animation, cel animation, or hand-drawn animation) is an animation technique in which each frame is drawing, drawn by hand. The technique was the dominant form of animation of the 20th century, until there wa ...

artists from

Amblimation Amblimation was the British animation production subsidiary of Amblin Entertainment. It was formed by Steven Spielberg in May 1989, following the success of ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' (1988), and after he parted ways with Don Bluth due to crea ...

joined the new studio, which led to DreamWorks buying part of Pacific Data Images (PDI), a company specializing in visual effects, and renaming it PDI/DreamWorks in 2000. Both were software divisions and would merge later on. By then, DreamWorks had the traditional animators working for their animation department, and the computer animators worked on CG films.

would be shut down in 1997, leading the staff to join

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios or simply DreamWorks) is an American animation studio, owned by Comcast's NBCUniversal as part of Universal Pictures, a division of Universal Studios, Inc, Universal Stud ...

. The same year, DreamWorks Interactive, a computer and video game developer and

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

between DreamWorks and

, was founded. On February 24, 2000,

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

(EA) announced the acquisition of DreamWorks Interactive and merged it with

EA Pacific EA Pacific (formerly known as first the internal American development divisions of Mastertronic and Virgin Games, then Burst Studios and Westwood Pacific) was a developer formally owned by Virgin Interactive's North American operations, and was ba ...

and Westwood Studios to form

EA Los Angeles Danger Close Games (formerly DreamWorks Interactive LLC and EA Los Angeles) was an American video game developer based in Los Angeles. The company was founded in March 1995 as joint venture between DreamWorks SKG and Microsoft (later moved to Mi ...

, later Danger Close Games. In June 1995, DreamWorks announced that it had signed a $1 billion deal with MCA Inc. (then parent company of

) to distribute its theatrical releases in other countries and its home video releases worldwide over 10 years, while DreamWorks itself would distribute them for the company as a film production label in America. MCA also bought a 2% stake in the company for $54 million. In 1996, the company's record label,

DreamWorks Records DreamWorks Records (often referred in copyright notices as SKG Music, LLC) was an American record label founded in 1996 by David Geffen, Mo Ostin, his son Michael Ostin and Lenny Waronker as a subsidiary of DreamWorks Pictures. The label opera ...

, was founded, the first project of which was

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

's album '' Older''. The first band signed to the label was

eels Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order (biology), order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 20 Family (biology), families, 164 genus, genera, and about 1000 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the earl ...

, who released their debut album ''

Beautiful Freak ''Beautiful Freak'' is the debut album by American rock band Eels. It was released on 13 August 1996 and is the second album released by record label DreamWorks. Background ''Beautiful Freak'' is the first album using the full band name Eels, ...

'' that year. The record company never lived up to expectations, though, and was sold in October 2003 to

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, which operated the label as DreamWorks Nashville. That label was shut down in 2005 when its flagship artist,

Toby Keith Toby Keith Covel (July 8, 1961 – February 5, 2024) was an American country music singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and businessman. Keith released his chart-topping debut single, "Should've Been a Cowboy", in 1993. During the 1990s ...

, departed to form his own label. In 1997, DreamWorks Pictures released its first three feature films, '' The Peacemaker'', a film about terrorism; '' Amistad'', Spielberg's first film for the studio about an African slave rebellion and the aftermath of the massacre; and ''

Mouse Hunt ''Mouse Hunt'' is a 1997 American slapstick black comedy film written by Adam Rifkin and directed by Gore Verbinski in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Nathan Lane, Lee Evans, Maury Chaykin, and Christopher Walken. The film fol ...

'', the studio's first family film about two brothers trying to fight a mischievous mouse. In 1998, the United States 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lawsuit against DreamWorks for trademark infringement by Dreamwerks Production Group, Inc., a company mostly specializing in ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' conventions. The same year, DreamWorks Animation produced its first full-length animated features, ''

Antz ''Antz'' is a 1998 American animated adventure comedy film directed by Eric Darnell and Tim Johnson from a screenplay written by Todd Alcott and the writing team of Chris and Paul Weitz. It was produced by DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks An ...

'' and ''

The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...

'', which were distributed by DreamWorks Pictures. DreamWorks Pictures continued to distribute DreamWorks Animation productions through their distribution name until 2004. In 2000, DreamWorks was planning on building a studio

backlot A backlot is an area behind or adjoining a movie studio containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in filmmaking or television productions, or space for temporary set construction. Uses Some movie studios build a wide variety of ...

after buying 1,087 acres of land in the Playa Vista area in Los Angeles. It was to be complete with 18

s, with many office buildings and a lake. There would also be new homes, schools, churches, and museums. The project was to be completed in 2001, but was canceled for financial reasons. Starting in 1999, DreamWorks won three consecutive

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for Best Picture for '' American Beauty'', ''

Gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

'' and '' A Beautiful Mind'' (the latter two were co-productions with Universal Pictures). DreamWorks became the first new major

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

motion picture studio since

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the major film studios, "Big Five" film studios of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood's Clas ...

was founded in 1928. Go Fish Pictures, a division of DreamWorks with the objective to distribute art-house,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

and

foreign Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United S ...

films, was founded in 2000. The division experienced success with the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

films '' Millennium Actress'' (2003) and '' Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence'' (2004), respectively, which led them to venture into releasing live-action films, with the release of '' The Chumscrubber''. However, ''The Chumscrubber'' was a commercial and critical failure, which led DreamWorks to shut down the division in 2007 shortly after the release of the Japanese film '' Casshern''. In 2002, DreamWorks signed a deal with In Demand. For the period beginning October 1, 2004, to January 31, 2006, DreamWorks Pictures distributed its films in the North American domestic theatrical and worldwide television market, with international theatrical and worldwide home entertainment distribution by Universal Pictures. On October 27, 2004, DreamWorks Animation was spun off into a separate public company. David Geffen admitted that DreamWorks came close to bankruptcy twice. Under Katzenberg's watch, the studio suffered a $125 million loss on '' Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'', and also overestimated the DVD demand for ''

Shrek 2 ''Shrek 2'' is a 2004 American animated fantasy comedy film loosely based on the 1990 children's picture book '' Shrek!'' by William Steig. Directed by Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury, and Conrad Vernon from a screenplay by Adamson, Joe Sti ...

'', with 5 million unsold DVDs. In 2005, out of their two large budget pictures, '' War of the Worlds'' was produced as a joint effort with

which was the first to reap a significant amount of profits, while '' The Island'' bombed at the domestic box office but turned a profit internationally through Warner Bros. Pictures.

Paramount ownership (2005–2008)

In December 2005, the original Viacom, the then-parent of Paramount Pictures, agreed to purchase the live-action studio, still keeping the original name and producing/distribution name. The deal was valued at approximately $1.6 billion, an amount that included about $400 million in debt assumptions. The acquisition of the live-action DreamWorks studio was completed by the second iteration of Viacom, which had recently

split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

from the original at the end of 2005, on February 1, 2006. On March 17, 2006, Viacom agreed to sell a controlling interest in the DreamWorks Pictures live-action library to Soros Strategic Partners and

Dune Entertainment RatPac Entertainment, LLC was an American media and entertainment company that financed and produced motion pictures, television, documentaries, live theater, and podcasts. The company was owned by Brett Ratner and James Packer. History Dune ...

II. The film library was valued at $900 million. Paramount Pictures retained the worldwide distribution rights to those films, as well as various ancillary rights, including music publishing (the music publishing rights were later licensed to

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

when the company acquired Viacom's

Famous Music Famous Music Corporation was the worldwide music publishing division of Paramount Pictures, a division of Paramount Global since 1994. Its copyright holdings span several decades and include music from such Academy Award-winning motion pictures ...

subdivision), sequels and merchandising. The sale was completed on May 8, 2006. On February 8, 2010, Viacom repurchased Soros' controlling stake in the DreamWorks Pictures library for around $400 million.

Reliance-Spielberg joint venture and Disney distribution (2008–2015)

In June 2008, it was reported that DreamWorks was looking for financing that would allow it to continue operations, but as an independent production company, once its deal with Paramount ended later that year. Several public equity funds were approached for financing, including

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

, Fuse Global,

TPG Capital TPG Inc., previously known as Texas Pacific Group and TPG Capital, is an American private equity firm based in Fort Worth, Texas. TPG manages investment funds in growth capital, venture capital, public equity, and debt investments. The firm in ...

and several others, but all passed on the deal given their understanding of the Hollywood markets. On September 22, 2008, it was announced that DreamWorks closed a deal with Indian investment firm Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group to create a $1.2 billion stand-alone production company and end its ties with Paramount. In January 2009, Spielberg entered a licensing agreement with DreamWorks Animation to use the DreamWorks trademarks, logo, and name for film productions and releases. On February 9, 2009, DreamWorks Pictures entered into a long-term, 30-picture distribution deal with

, by which DreamWorks' films would be released through the

banner, with Disney collecting a 10% distribution fee. The deal also included co-funding via a $175 million loan by Walt Disney Studios to DreamWorks for production and access to slots in Disney's pay television agreement, then with

Starz Starz (stylized in all caps as STARZ; pronounced "stars") is an American pay television network owned by Starz Entertainment, and is the flagship property of Starz Inc. Launched in 1994 as a multiplex service of what is now Starz Encore, ...

. The agreement was reported to have come after negotiations broke off with Universal Pictures just days earlier. DreamWorks raised $325 million from Reliance Entertainment and an additional $325 million in debt in 2009. On August 18, 2009, DreamWorks and Reliance signed a three-year, $825 million pact for up to six films a year. DreamWorks' slate of films in 2011, ''

I Am Number Four ''I Am Number Four'' is a young adult fiction, young adult science fiction novel by Pittacus Lore (the pseudonym of James Frey and Jobie Hughes) and the first book in the ''Lorien Legacies'' series. The book was published by HarperCollins on Aug ...

'', '' Cowboys & Aliens'', and '' Fright Night'' failed, while '' The Help'', ''

Real Steel ''Real Steel'' is a 2011 American science fiction sports film starring Hugh Jackman and Dakota Goyo and co-produced and directed by Shawn Levy for DreamWorks Pictures. The film is based on the short story "Steel", written by Richard Mathes ...

'' and Spielberg's '' War Horse'' had success at the box office. This left DreamWorks so financially drained that by 2011, DreamWorks was seeking additional funding from Reliance. Reliance gave a $200 million investment on April 10, 2012. Under the deal, DreamWorks Pictures scaled back production to three films per year and sought co-financiers on big budget films, such as

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

, who co-financed and handled international distribution for '' Lincoln'' and '' Bridge of Spies''. DreamWorks continued to have Disney distribute and market their films. On August 29, 2012, after renegotiating their agreement with Disney, DreamWorks formed a deal with Mister Smith Entertainment to distribute its films internationally, while Disney would continue to distribute in North America, Latin America, Australia, Russia, and some territories in Asia.

Amblin Partners venture and return to Universal (2016–present)

On September 2, 2015, it was reported that DreamWorks and Disney would not renew their distribution deal, which was set to expire in August 2016, with '' The Light Between Oceans'' being released in September as the final DreamWorks film distributed by Disney under their original distribution agreement. During that time, DreamWorks was in early negotiations with Universal Pictures to distribute its upcoming films. The contract allowing Spielberg to license the DreamWorks name and logo from Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks Animation was set to expire on January 1, 2016, leading to media speculation that Spielberg would not renew the pact. Disney retained the film rights to the fourteen DreamWorks films it released, as well as acquiring the "DreamWorks II Distribution Co. LLC" copyright from DreamWorks and Reliance on December 11, 2015. On December 16, 2015, Spielberg, Reliance,

Entertainment One Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series. The company began on June 1, 1973 ...

and

Participant Media Participant Media, LLC was an American independent Film industry, film and television production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company financed and co-produced film and te ...

partnered to launch the content production company

, relegating DreamWorks to a brand for adult-themed films produced under the new company. In addition to DreamWorks, the new company also would produce films under the Amblin Entertainment and Participant banners. On the same day, Amblin Partners announced a five-year distribution deal with Universal, under which the company's films would be distributed and marketed by either the main Universal label or its specialty label,

Focus Features Focus Features LLC is an American independent film production and distribution company, owned by Comcast as a unit of Universal Pictures, which is itself a unit of Comcast's division NBCUniversal. Focus Features distributes independent and fore ...

. '' The Girl on the Train'' was the first film released under the new agreement, though a few films, like ''

Ghost in the Shell ''Ghost in the Shell'' is a Japanese cyberpunk media franchise based on the manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Masamune Shirow. The manga, first serialized between 1989 and 1991, is set in mid-21st century Japan and tel ...

'' and '' The Post'' were released by Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox respectively. On February 15, 2017, Universal acquired a minority stake in Amblin Partners, strengthening the relationship between Universal and Amblin, and reuniting a minority percentage of the DreamWorks label with its former animation division, which

Comcast Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...

and

acquired in 2016 and became a subsidiary of Universal.

Logo

Original

The original DreamWorks logo features a boy sitting on a crescent moon with a fishing rod at night. The general idea for the logo was the idea of the company's founder,

, who wanted a CGI image. Illustrator Robert Hunt was commissioned to execute the idea as a painting, and he used his son as the model. The logo was then turned into a motion graphic at

Industrial Light & Magic Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) is an American Film, motion picture visual effects, computer animation and stereo conversion digital studio founded by George Lucas on May 26, 1975. It is a division of the film production company Lucasfilm, which Lu ...

, in collaboration with Kaleidoscope Films, Dave Carson and Clint Goldman. It was animated by ILM animation supervisor Wes Takahashi. Music accompanying the logo to start in many live-action DreamWorks films was specially composed by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

Animation

The reimagined animation logo had music adapted from the track "Fairytale" for ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American animated fantasy comedy film directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson, and written by Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S. H. Schulman, loosely based on the 1990 children's picture boo ...

'', based on the children's picture book of the same name by author

William Steig William Steig ( ; November 14, 1907 – October 3, 2003) was an American cartoonist, illustrator and writer of children's books, best known for the picture book ''Shrek!'', which inspired the Shrek (franchise), film series of the same name, as we ...

. The logo was composed by

Harry Gregson-Williams Harry Gregson-Williams (born 13 December 1961) is a British composer, conductor, orchestrator, and record producer. He has composed music for video games, television and films including the ''Metal Gear'' series, '' Spy Game'', '' Phone Booth' ...

and made its debut in 2004, with the release of ''

'', a film which Gregson-Williams also composed. Two years after its acquisition by

in 2016, the logo received a new fanfare composed by John Powell and incorporate some cues from ''Shrek 2'' and tones from Williams' original DreamWorks fanfare to create the music for the logo. The new fanfare debuted in 2019, with the release of '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World'', a film for which Powell also composed. In 2022, Harry Gregson-Williams returned to compose a new version of the fanfare, with the debut of '' Puss in Boots: The Last Wish''.

DreamWorks Home Entertainment

DreamWorks Home Entertainment was a home media unit of DreamWorks Pictures and banner for other home media units, formed on March 10, 1998. Its releases were first distributed by

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment LLC (UPHE) is the home video distribution division of Universal Pictures, an American film studio owned by NBCUniversal, the entertainment unit of Comcast. UPHE is the home video distributor for all of the ...

(then known as Universal Studios Home Entertainment and initially through CIC Video internationally). After DreamWorks Pictures was purchased by

on February 1, 2006, DreamWorks Home Entertainment was merged into

Paramount Home Entertainment Paramount Home Entertainment (formerly Paramount Home Media Distribution, originally Paramount Home Video, and operating as the namesake film studio since 2022) is the home video distribution arm of Paramount Pictures. The division oversees Para ...

and started being used as a label for films released under the live-action DreamWorks banner until it was shuttered in 2009 after when DreamWorks spun itself off from Paramount and became an independent company. Their releases are currently distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment for the DW Studios, LLC catalog (with some catalogues - including Small Soldiers - currently licensed out overseas including the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

) and Studio Distribution Services, a joint venture between Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment, via UPHE for the Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC and

catalogs, who released those catalogs on home video from 2016 to 2021 and 1999 to 2006/2019 to 2021, respectively, and through a distribution deal with

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Inc. (abbreviated as SPHE) is the home entertainment distribution division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony. Background SPHE is responsible for the distribution of the Sony Pictures libra ...

for the DreamWorks II Distribution Co., LLC catalog via

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...

, who released that catalog on home video very briefly in 2024 after Disney released it from 2011 to 2024. In Q3 2025, Old DreamWorks Pictures Live-Action Catalogue fully transfer from Paramount and Disney to Universal Pictures forever, following Paramount and Skydance merging.

Filmography

Film series

Highest-grossing films

Primary owners and distributors

Theatrical distributors

Home entertainment distributors

* DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment
*

* Studio Distribution Services

Notes

References

{{Authority control 1994 establishments in California 2006 mergers and acquisitions Amblin Partners NBCUniversal Comcast subsidiaries Universal Pictures subsidiaries Touchstone Pictures American companies established in 1994 Companies based in Los Angeles County, California David Geffen Entertainment companies based in California Film distributors of the United States Film production companies of the United States Former Viacom subsidiaries Jeffrey Katzenberg Mass media companies established in 1994 Steven Spielberg Universal City, California