Paramount To Release "SpongeBob SquarePants" Film in Late 2014

[JamesG]

Paramount to Release "SpongeBob" Movie in Late 2014
2/28/2012
by Georg Szalai


Viacom's Paramount Pictures will release a "SpongeBob SquarePants" movie in late 2014 as it looks to kick its animation output into a higher gear, Viacom president and CEO Philippe Dauman said Tuesday.

"We will be releasing a SpongeBob movie at the end of 2014, which will serve to start off or be one of our films that starts off our new animation effort," he told a Deutsche Bank media and telecom investor conference in Palm Beach, Fla. His appearance was webcast.

Paramount announced the formation of its new animation unit last July with a target of one release starting in 2014. It has previously not mentioned a specific project.





David Stainton, the head of the studio's animation effort, recently left abruptly. That has left Paramount Motion Picture Group president Adam Goodman in charge.

Paramount has distributed animation fare from Jeffrey Katzenberg's DreamWorks Animation, but that deal is coming to an end at the close of this year. Dauman has repeatedly said that his company's studio would be fine without DWA, which has also weighed its options, including self-distributing its movies.

But Dauman has not directly ruled out a potential renewal of the DWA deal.





Viacom had one "SpongeBob" film out years ago, but back then, Nickelodeon did not have as much of a presence around the world, Dauman said Tuesday in touting the outlook for the film.

The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie hit the silver screen late in 2004 and grossed $85.4 million domestically and $54.7 million abroad, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com.

The film saw SpongeBob take leave from the town of Bikini Bottom to track down King Neptune's stolen crown.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/new...e-dauman295695

[Leviathan]

Took them a while. Nick made 3 Rugrats movies in the span of 5 years.