LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1 (Reuters) - Wall Street and Hollywood are watching to see if DreamWorks' animated feature "Shark Tale" stirs a feeding frenzy at the box office this weekend.
A good showing for "Shark Tale," which opened in about 4,100 theaters on Friday, will boost plans by privately held Dreamworks to spin off its animation unit and possibly raise more than $650 million.
Dreamworks will use the IPO, expected to come as early as later this month, to pay off original investors in the independent studio set up a decade ago by movie director Steven Spielberg, music producer David Geffen and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"DreamWorks has done really well this year thanks to 'Shrek 2,' which is the highest grossing film of 2004 and the third highest grossing film of all time," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations.
But he added, "Wall Street's perception is tied to the box office and one failure at the box office can turn the tide against you. A lot is riding on this."
So if "Shark Tale" swims off happily into the box office sunset, so does Dreamworks' plans. But if it should drown, a lot could sink with it.
Some Wall Street analysts have said DreamWorks Animation must offer investors more than just its money-making "Shrek" series. Thanks to the $873 million grossed by "Skrek 2," DreramWorks Animation posted profit of $119 million for the first six months of 2004 versus a loss of $115.5 million a year earlier.
Dergarabedian said "Shark Tale", aimed at children, might be opening at exactly the right box office moment despite thumbs-down reviews such as the Wall Street Journal's "Sea, minus."
"There has not been a lot for children in the last few weeks and there is a pent-up demand," Gergarabedian said, adding:
"Any time you put out a big budget animated film, all eyes are on it. But this could do real because we have seen a void in the market place for family fare."
There have been predictions that "Shark Tale" could do up to $50 million at the weekend box office.
September has been a poor month at the U.S. box office for movies as sales have been hampered by poor offerings and bad weather battering the East Coast.
The record for a first weekend in October opening was the $48 million earned for "Scary Movie 3" last year.
A good showing for "Shark Tale," which opened in about 4,100 theaters on Friday, will boost plans by privately held Dreamworks to spin off its animation unit and possibly raise more than $650 million.
Dreamworks will use the IPO, expected to come as early as later this month, to pay off original investors in the independent studio set up a decade ago by movie director Steven Spielberg, music producer David Geffen and former Disney executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.
"DreamWorks has done really well this year thanks to 'Shrek 2,' which is the highest grossing film of 2004 and the third highest grossing film of all time," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracking service Exhibitor Relations.
But he added, "Wall Street's perception is tied to the box office and one failure at the box office can turn the tide against you. A lot is riding on this."
So if "Shark Tale" swims off happily into the box office sunset, so does Dreamworks' plans. But if it should drown, a lot could sink with it.
Some Wall Street analysts have said DreamWorks Animation must offer investors more than just its money-making "Shrek" series. Thanks to the $873 million grossed by "Skrek 2," DreramWorks Animation posted profit of $119 million for the first six months of 2004 versus a loss of $115.5 million a year earlier.
Dergarabedian said "Shark Tale", aimed at children, might be opening at exactly the right box office moment despite thumbs-down reviews such as the Wall Street Journal's "Sea, minus."
"There has not been a lot for children in the last few weeks and there is a pent-up demand," Gergarabedian said, adding:
"Any time you put out a big budget animated film, all eyes are on it. But this could do real because we have seen a void in the market place for family fare."
There have been predictions that "Shark Tale" could do up to $50 million at the weekend box office.
September has been a poor month at the U.S. box office for movies as sales have been hampered by poor offerings and bad weather battering the East Coast.
The record for a first weekend in October opening was the $48 million earned for "Scary Movie 3" last year.
