DreamWorks Animation Plans Indoor Theme Parks In Three Russian Cities
After announcing in August that it plans to open a theme park in Shanghai by 2016, DreamWorks Animation today unveiled plans for Russia. The company has partnered with property development and management firm Regions GC to build what is promised to be Europe’s largest indoor theme parks. The attractions in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg are expected to be completed in 2015 and are planned as year-round “entertainment zones” — the indoor placement designed to avoid weather being an issue.
Each complex will incorporate a movie and concert hall, 4D movie theater, three-star 400-room hotel and retail space. DreamWorks Animation properties to be featured include Shrek, Madagascar, How To Train Your Dragon, Kung Fu Panda and the upcoming garden snail adventure Turbo, which will bow in Russia on July 11 ahead of its U.S. debut.
Russian box office jumped 8% in 2012 for over $1.2B in takings and DWA movies are popular there. Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted is the second-highest-grossing animated film in Russian history and the fourth-biggest film of all time. “Russia is one of the most important markets in the world for us,” said CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “All of us at DWA are extremely excited to work with Regions CG to be the first Hollywood studio to create not just one, but three, theme parks in Russia.”
The Dream Center theme park in Shanghai is also planned to include theaters, shops, restaurants and hotels. In a similar deal, DWA announced plans last July to build an amusement park as part of an entertainment and retail mall at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. Plans announced several years ago for a park in Dubai have been put on hold.
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