DVD sales lift Dreamworks profits

DVD sales of Over the Hedge boosted Dreamworks earnings

Dreamworks Animation has reported robust quarterly earnings lifted by DVD sales of films such as Over the Hedge.

The US studio behind Shrek said net income rose to $15.4m (£7.7m) in the three months to the end of March, from $12.3m a year ago.

Dreamworks said DVD and video sales of Over the Hedge accounted for $33m of the firm's revenue during the quarter.

The animation tells the tale of a raccoon con artist, voiced by film star Bruce Willis.

Dreamworks Animation SKG was originally part of the studio set up by three Hollywood moguls - Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen - in 1994.

The animation arm was spun off into a separate company in 2004, a year ahead of the founders' decision to sell the live-action side of the business to media giant Viacom.

Dreamworks said other animation films pushing DVD sales during the first three months of the year included Shark Tale and Shrek 2.

"Our library of titles continued to perform well especially in the home video market, with Over the Hedge performing even better than we had expected," said chief executive Jeffrey Katzenberg.