DreamWorks Animation doesn’t make waves like it once did. Yes, they keep making movies, and those movies reach various levels of success, but in an environment where Pixar and Illumination Entertainment are reaching over $1 billion worldwide, the take from DWA movies seems paltry by comparison. To give you an idea of the company’s fortunes, their biggest hit of the 2010s was 2010’sShrek Forever After, which pulled in $753 million worldwide. The studio’s attempt to create new franchises has floundered with films likeTurboandMr. Peabody & Shermanfloundering.
However, the studio may have found a valuable new IP with the surprise success ofThe Boss Baby. The film opened to $50 million back in March and has been surprisingly steady, grossing $167 million domestic and $468 million worldwide, making it the studio’s biggest non-sequel hit since 2013’sThe Croods.
With all that in mind, it’s no surprise that the studio announced today that they’re moving forward withThe Boss Baby 2for Universal Pictures, and they’ll release it on June 15, 2025. Alec Baldwin will return to voice the eponymous, business-minded infant.
It will be interesting to see where the studio goes from here. They’ve had more cancellations than announcements lately with the studio pulling the plug onThe Croods 2andLarrikinswhile failing to move forward with long-in-development titles likeB.O.O.: Bureau of Otherworldly OperationsandShadows. Additionally, the studio has no movies on tap for 2018. They’ve gotCaptain Underpantson June 2nd of this year, and then nothing on the schedule untilHow to Train Your Dragon 3arrives on August 18, 2025.
I’m also curious to see how DreamWorks Animation operates under Universal’s banner. Universal already has an animation studio cranking out hit after hit with Illumination, and it’s not like DWA is a studio like LAIKA where their stuff is more artistically inclined. DWA is going after the same audience as Illumination, so we’ll have to see how Universal balances the output of both studios.
