Disney Retains 13 Steven Spielberg Movies Following Dreamworks Rebranding

This week, details have been released on Dreamworks being renamed Amblin Partners, which is named after Steven Speilberg’s first movie and this will end the directors seven year relationship with Disney. When the contract was signed in 2009 with DreamWorks Studios, it expected to release half a dozen DreamWorks films a year. Spielberg’s studio ended up delivering as few as two movies a year. As Spielberg felt his movies weren’t getting the promotion they deserved as Disney promoted their own movies from Lucasfilm, Pixar and Marvel.

As part of the deal, Disney will retain in its library the 13 films it released for Spielberg’s company, including “Lincoln,” “Bridge of Spies”, “The Fifth Estate” and the upcoming “The BFG,” Spielberg’s fantasy film based on the book by Roald Dahl.

Disney loaned DreamWorks roughly $100 million, while also agreeing to pay some advertising and marketing costs for the Spielberg venture’s films, during the 2009 launch of the partnership. The total amount outstanding on those loans has not been reported, but two sources said Disney gets to keep the DreamWorks titles as compensation for the money owed. “The pictures they are keeping go to pay off the credit line,” said one of the individuals. While the final value of the films over time can’t be known, the source said: “Disney is not expecting to make money off this. All they are doing is attempting to recoup their debt.”

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