20th Century Fox To Distribute DreamWorks Animation Flicks

20th Century Fox is all set to distribute motion pictures produced by DreamWorks Animation, the company responsible for bringing Shrek, Madagascar, and Kung Fu Panda to the masses. According to The Associated Press, the announcement signals the end of a five-year deal DreamWorks had with Viacom’s Paramount Pictures.

“This deal is an absolute win-win,” DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg explained in a conference call. Although the company will still pay an eight percent fee on sales in the theatrical and home video markets, Katzenberg and company will only have to shell out six percent for online movie rentals and movie downloads.

Although the deal with DreamWorks certainly adds quite a few animated features to Fox’s stable of cartoon franchises, the studio has had its fair share of success with the genre as of late. Director Gore Verbinski’s Rango and the Ice Age franchise were developed at 20th Century Fox, both of which were box office successes for the company. Screen Rant reports that the studio also has access to the film rights to The Simpsons and Family Guy, two properties that have earned quite a bit of cash over the years.

Even without the addition of DreamWorks, Fox has a number of animated features looming on the horizon. The studio is reportedly working on a follow-up to the first Spongebob Squarepants movie as well as a live action/CGI reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise with producer Michael Bay.

Despite the recent arrangement, DreamWorks Animation will handle its own television distribution deals. In the near future, the company hopes to start its own cable network. However, according to The New York Times, the studio has experienced a bit of financial trouble as of late. Although Katzenberg claims that everything is as right as rain, DreamWorks experienced a 63 percent drop in profits during the most recent quarter.