Sony Pictures Animation

Sony Pictures Animation
Subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment
Industry Animated film industry
Founded May 2002
Headquarters Culver City, California, United States
Key people
 Kristine Belson (President)[1]
Number of employees
 50 (2013)[2]
Parent Sony Pictures
Website www.sonypicturesanimation.com

Sony Pictures Animation is an American animated film production company owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, founded in May 2002. It works closely with Sony Pictures Imageworks, which handles digital production. Theatrical releases are distributed by Columbia Pictures, and direct-to-video releases are distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.

The studio's first feature film, Open Season, was released in 2006, followed by two direct-to-video sequels. Other work includes The Smurfs film series and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

History

In 2001, Sony Pictures Entertainment considered selling off its visual effects facility Sony Pictures Imageworks. After failing to find a suitable buyer, and having been impressed with the CGI sequences created for Stuart Little 2, and seeing the box office success of Shrek and Monsters, Inc., SPI was reconfigured to become an animation studio. Astro Boy, which had been in development at Sony since 1997 as a live-action film, was set to be SPI's first all-CGI film.[3] In May 2002, Sony Pictures Animation was established to develop characters, stories and movies, with SPI taking over the digital production while maintaining its visual effects production.[4] Meanwhile, SPI produced two short films, The ChubbChubbs! and Early Bloomer, as a result of testing its strengths and weakness in producing all-CG animation.[5]

On its first anniversary, Sony Pictures Animation announced a full slate of animated projects in development: Open Season, an adaptation of a Celtic folk ballad Tam Lin, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Surf's Up, and a feature-length version of the short film The ChubbChubbs!.[6]

Its first feature film is Open Season, released in September 2006, which became Sony's second-highest-grossing home entertainment film in 2007 and spawned two direct-to-video sequels. Its second feature film, Surf's Up was released in June 2007, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and won two Annie Awards. A motion-captured animated film, Neanderthals,[7] written and produced by Jon Favreau, was cancelled sometime in 2008,[8] after four years in development. SPA's first 3D movie since the IMAX 3D release of Open Season, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, was released in September 2009, and was nominated for four Annie Awards including Best Animated Feature. The Smurfs (2011) was the studio's first CGI/live-action hybrid and its most successful release. SPA's parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment has partnered in 2007 with Aardman Animations to finance, co-produce and distribute feature films.[9] Together, they produced a computer-animated film, Arthur Christmas (2011), and The Pirates! Band of Misfits (2012), Sony's first stop-motion film, although made entirely by Aardman. Sony's latest release, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2, directed by Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn, was released in September 2013. SPA has since signed Genndy Tartakovsky to a long-term deal with the studio to develop and direct original films.[10]

The studio is currently working on Hotel Transylvania 2 (2015) and a completely-animated Smurfs film (2017).[11] It has many other projects in development, including Kazorn and the Unicorn,[12] Genndy Tartakovsky's Can You Imagine?[11] Lauren Faust's Medusa,[13] and a live-action/stop-motion film Superbago.[14]

On November 3, 2014 they have made a deal with Cartoon Hangover to create "GO! Cartoons".[15]

Filmography

Feature films

Released films

# Title Release date Budget[16] Gross[16] RT MC[17]
1 Open Season September 29, 2006 $85 million $197 million 48% 49
2 Surf's Up June 8, 2007 $100 million $149 million 78% 64
3 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs September 18, 2009 $100 million $243 million 87% 66
4 The Smurfs July 29, 2011 $110 million $564 million 22% 30
5 Arthur Christmas November 23, 2011 $100 million $147 million 92% 69
6 The Pirates! Band of Misfits April 27, 2012 $55 million $123 million 86% 73
7 Hotel Transylvania September 28, 2012 $85 million $358 million 45% 47
8 The Smurfs 2 July 31, 2013 $105 million $348 million 14% 33
9 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 September 27, 2013 $78 million $274 million 70% 59

Upcoming films

Title Release date Refs.
Hotel Transylvania 2 September 25, 2015 [18]
Untitled film September 23, 2016 [19]
Untitled The Smurfs reboot March 31, 2017 [20][21][22][23][24]
Untitled film September 22, 2017 [25]

Films in development

Title Refs.
Muncle Trogg [26]
How to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack [27]
Instant Karma [28]
Chickenhare [29][30]
Secret Histories [31][32][33]
Untitled David Sussman Project [34]
Untitled Tonka Trucks film [35]
Kazorn and the Unicorn [2][36]
ALF [37]
Manimal [38][39]
The Familiars [40][41][42]
Genndy Tartakovsky's Can You Imagine? [11]
Medusa [13]
Superbago [14]
The Lamb [43][44]
Popeye [11][18][45][46][47][48]

Direct-to-video

# Title Release date
1 Open Season 2 January 27, 2009
2 Open Season 3 January 25, 2011

Short films

# Title Release date
1 The ChubbChubbs! July 3, 2002
2 Early Bloomer May 9, 2003
3 Boog and Elliot's Midnight Bun Run January 30, 2007
4 The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas August 8, 2007
5 The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol December 2, 2011
6 So You Want to Be a Pirate! August 28, 2012
7 Goodnight Mr. Foot October 26, 2012
8 The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow September 10, 2013
9 Super Manny October 2, 2013
10 Earl Scouts October 11, 2013
11 Attack of the 50-Foot Gummi Bear January 28, 2014
12 Steve's First Bath January 28, 2014

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kristine Belson Named New President of Sony Pictures Animation". The Hollywood Reporter. January 27, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hulett, Steve (September 20, 2013). "Back at the SPA". The Animation Guild Blog. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
  3. ↑ Brodesser, Claude (December 9, 2001). "Sony finds Rx for its f/x". Variety. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  4. ↑ "Sony Pictures Digital Entertainment Establishes Feature Animation Unit; Animation Executives Sandra Rabins and Penney Finkelman Cox Named to Top Posts" (Press release). May 9, 2002. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  5. ↑ Raugust, Karen (May 30, 2006). "The Value of Shorts". Animation World Network. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Sony Pictures Animation Announces Projects for Directors Jill Culton, Anthony Stacchi, Roger Allers, Brenda Chapman and the Brizzi Brothers Cox Named to Top Posts" (Press release). May 9, 2003. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  7. ↑ Adler, Shawn (January 9, 2008). "Jon Favreau Gets Animated For 'Neanderthals'". MTV. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  8. ↑ Serrano, Armand (April 19, 2010). "Neanderthals". Armand Serrano Blog. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  9. ↑ BBC News (April 2, 2007). "Gromit animators sign Sony deal". BBC News. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  10. ↑ Sony Pictures Animation (July 11, 2012). "Genndy Tartakovsky Signs Overall Deal with Sony Pictures Animation". ComingSoon.net. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Kit, Borys (March 12, 2014). "Sony Animation Sets Slate: 'Smurfs', 'Transylvania 2,' More (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 12, 2014.
  12. ↑ Wolfe, Jennifer (August 2, 2012). "Sony Announces Behind-the-Scenes Presentations at SIGGRAPH 2012". Animation World Network. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Sony Pictures Animation (June 5, 2014). "Sony Pictures Animation Announces New Original Feature Project MEDUSA, With Emmy® Winner Lauren Faust To Direct" (Press release). PRNewswire. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 McNary, Dave (July 9, 2014). "Sony Pictures Animation Developing ‘Superbago’". Variety. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  15. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (November 3, 2014). "Sony Partners with Cartoon Hangover to Find New Talent". Animation Magazine. Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Sony Pictures Animation Moviesat the Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Sony Pictures Animation's Profile". Metacritic. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Kit, Borys (November 9, 2012). "'Hotel Transylvania 2' in the Works for 2015 Release". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
  19. ↑ "SPA TBA (2016)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  20. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (May 10, 2012). "Sony already smurfing 'Smurfs 3'". Variety. Retrieved May 10, 2012.
  21. ↑ "The Smurfs 3 Trailer, News, Videos, and Reviews". ComingSoon.net. May 28, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
  22. ↑ Asbury, Kelly (May 1, 2014). "Smurfy News Flash!!". Tumblr. Retrieved May 1, 2014.
  23. ↑ "A Sony Switcheroo: 'Smurfs' Reboot Pushed To 2016, 'Goosebumps' Moved Up To Summer 2015". Deadline.com. 2014-05-01. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
  24. ↑ Fleming Jr, Mike (March 25, 2015). "Sony Sets Animated ‘Smurfs’ Film For March 31, 2017 Release". Deadline. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
  25. ↑ "SPA TBA (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  26. ↑ Kit, Borys (March 31, 2011). "Sony Pictures Animation Acquires 'Muncle Trogg'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  27. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (April 14, 2011). "Sony Animation, Zemeckis dig 'Gnome'". Variety. Retrieved April 15, 2011.
  28. ↑ Kit, Borys (April 27, 2011). "Sony Pictures Animation Acquires 'Instant Karma'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  29. ↑ "Sony Animation Catches Chickenhare" (Press release). Sony Pictures Animation via Animation World Network. July 20, 2011. Retrieved July 21, 2011.
  30. ↑ Chickenhare (June 25, 2013). "Finally got to read the 2nd draft of the Chickenhare screenplay. Man, if this thing makes it to the big screen, you guys in are in for a treat! It's SO full of adventure and laughs I almost can't believe it. Let's all cross our fingers.". Facebook. Retrieved January 5, 2014.
  31. ↑ "Gotham builds slate". Variety. September 30, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  32. ↑ Kit, Borys (July 13, 2012). "'Vacation' Team Tapped to Rewrite 'Secret Histories' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
  33. ↑ Chitwood, Adam (March 6, 2013). "John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein Talk VACATION and SECRET HISTORIES; Reveal VACATION Starts Filming in June in Atlanta and New Mexico". Collider.com. Retrieved March 7, 2013.
  34. ↑ Kroll, Justin (January 18, 2011). "Sony Animation buys 'Enchanted' helmer's pitch". Variety. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
  35. ↑ "Sony Pictures Animation Drives Tonka Trucks to the Big Screen". ComingSoon.net. June 11, 2012. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  36. ↑ Patten, Dominic (June 23, 2012). "Sony Animation In Talks With Kelly Asbury For ‘Kazorn & The Unicorn’". Deadline. Retrieved June 22, 2012.
  37. ↑ Kit, Borys (August 8, 2012). "'ALF' Movie Lands at Sony Animation With 'Smurfs' Producer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  38. ↑ Kit, Borys (September 17, 2012). "'Manimal' TV Series Being Turned Into Movie at Sony Pictures Animation (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
  39. ↑ Yamato, Jen (July 22, 2014). "‘Manimal’ To Roar With Will Ferrell, Adam McKay & Jimmy Miller". Deadline. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  40. ↑ Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson (September 24, 2010). ""The Familiars" movie gets a director". The Familiars. Retrieved October 4, 2010.
  41. ↑ Charaipotra, Sona (May 13, 2011). "Debut Author Q&A: Endcap Entertainment’s Andrew Jacobson and Adam Epstein On ‘The Familiars’". Teen Writers Bloc. Retrieved June 11, 2011.
  42. ↑ Jardine, William (January 7, 2013). "UPDATED: Warner Bros. Looks to Rejuvenate its Animation House". A113 Animation. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  43. ↑ Sneider, Jeff (September 2, 2014). "Sony Pictures Animation Developing Faith-Based Movie About Nativity Story (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  44. ↑ Flores, Terry (April 7, 2015). "Oscar-Nommed Animator Timothy Reckart to Make Directing Debut on Sony Toon Feature (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  45. ↑ Siegel, Tatiana; McNary, Dave (March 22, 2010). "Sony's 'Popeye' to pop eyes in 3D". Variety. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  46. ↑ Jardine, William (May 17, 2013). "Sony Pushes Genndy Tartakovsky's Popeye Back to 2015". A113Animation. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  47. ↑ Hill, Jim (September 18, 2014). "Will This Eye-popping CG Animation Test Power Up Genndy Tartakovsky's Popeye ?". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 19, 2014. That way, once we finish working on Hotel Transylvania 2, we just move on over and begin working on Popeye. And then have that film out in theaters in a year or two.
  48. ↑ Beck, Jerry (March 13, 2015). "Popeye Lives! Rumors Of Feature Cancellation Not True". Animation Scoop. Retrieved March 14, 2015.

External links

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