DreamWorks Animation stock rises after 'Home' tops box office - Los Angeles Times
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DreamWorks Animation stock rises after ‘Home’ tops box office

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It seems like DreamWorks Animation has hit a home run with its latest film, “Home.”

Shares of the studio were up $1.68, or about 7%, to $24.36 in Monday trading, following a robust $54-million opening weekend for the animated film.

It is a much needed boost for the Jeffrey Katzenberg-led studio, which has struggled in the last year with box-office misfires and a recent round of layoffs.

Shares in the company plummeted 40% in 2014 as DreamWorks faced growing competition from rivals. The studio took a $57-million write-down in 2014 for “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” and a $13.5-million charge on its summer movie “Turbo.” The studio also recorded an $87-million write-down for “Rise of the Guardians” in 2012.

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But “Home” was the third-largest non-sequel opening for DreamWorks Animation, following 2008’s “Kung Fu Panda” ($60.2 million) and 2009’s “Monsters vs. Aliens” ($59.3 million).

The film, which cost a whopping $130 million to make, follows a teenage girl, Tip, who meets and befriends an alien fugitive, Boov. The two set off on a quest to find Tip’s mother. The film’s voice cast includes Rihanna, Jim Parsons, Jennifer Lopez and Steve Martin.

Reviews have been fairly strong, with moviegoers giving it a solid A grade from audience polling firm CinemaScore. Parents gave it five out of five stars.

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Some analysts are skeptical as to whether the film will really have an impact on the company long-term.

The film’s domestic performance “is likely to be positive for shares int he short term,improving investor confidence in management turnaround efforts,” said Cowen & Co.analyst Doug Creutz in a research note. “However...we continue to have a hard time assuming a sustained improvement in film performance as the market for big-budget tentpole films is set to become significantly more competitive in 2016/2017.”

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