EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off his Academy Award for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, co-director Bob Persichetti has signed on to direct DreamWorks Animation's next installment of Puss in Boots, the follow-up to 2011's blockbuster Oscar-nominated film that grossed more than $550 million worldwide. Persichetti, a veteran of…

The stock closed down 12.2%, to $17.26, after analysts piled on the production company for its soft year-end results, a warning that costs in 2012 will be higher than expected, and broad concerns about the market for animated films. “Although the studio can control the quality and genre of its movies, it cannot…

UPDATE, 2:22 PM: I can’t recall when I’ve heard CEO Jeff Katzenberg sound so cheerless on one of his quarterly calls with analysts. But with results that sent DreamWorks Animation shares down about 8% in after-market trading, a more gleeful tone might have made him sound delusional. Still, he gamely pointed to…

Cari Lynn is an AwardsLine contributor Puss in Boots has not yet acquired his ogre-killing ways (nor his hairballs) in his eponymous feature film debut — a "prequel" to Puss' supporting role in 2004's Shrek 2. Still, director Chris Miller’s affection for the swashbuckling feline, to say nothing of the vigorous…

CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg will have to deliver a world class sales pitch soon if he wants to overcome investors’ growing sense that 2012 will be an ogre of a year for the producers of Shrek. The animation studio’s stock hit an all time low in late December when it fell to $16.50. Even so, 22.9% of the shares were…

The nominations are out for the 39th annual Annie Awards, which will be awarded February 4 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. Here are the contenders for Best Animated Feature: A Cat In Paris, Arrugas (Wrinkles), Arthur Christmas, Cars 2, Chico & Rita, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss In Boots, Rango, Rio, and The Adventures Of Tintin. The…

SUNDAY AM, 3RD UPDATE: Latest Top 10 grosses show better North American box office than previously thought thanks to the Veterans Day holiday weekend when school is out in 60% of the country. The good news is a break from slumping attendance with a $137M total moviegoing weekend, up +18% from last year. But the bad…

Wall Street clawed 7.8% from the company’s stock price, which ended the day at $18.55, following Puss In Boots’ lower-than-expected $34M opening weekend. Analysts acknowledged that the film suffered from the blizzard that hit the Northeast as well as an exciting World Series that included a seventh game on Friday…

SATURDAY PM, 5TH UPDATE: Jeez, Jeffrey Katzenberg must have enemies in higher places than anyone thought possible. Because studios are telling me this weekend’s freakishly early East Coast snowstorm will definitely take a bite out of box office. (On the other hand, maybe JK has friends in higher places because…

UPDATE, 2:25 PM: DreamWorks Animation shares jumped all over the place in after-hours trading when the company reported its earnings — but settled at -2% as CEO Jeff Katzenberg discussed his expectations and plans. He talked up Puss In Boots, predicting that it will set a record this weekend by generating more than…

TiVo’s been looking for patterns among DVR viewers who speed through certain ads — and Alex Petrilli Jr, Senior Manager of Audience Research, says that when it comes to box office sales, “the fast forward rate seems to tell a story.” In the more than 40% of all households with a DVR, viewers tend to zap ads for films…

It’s been a busy week for Hollywood studios settling on release dates. Here’s what’s happened: Unauthorized, Sundance Now, Oct. 7** Puss In Boots, DreamWorks Animation, Oct. 28 (Nov. 4) Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol, Paramount, Dec. 16 sneak previews (Dec. 21*) The Adventures of Tintin, Paramount, Dec. 21…