DreamWorks Reports $82.7 Million Loss

LOS ANGELES - Charges totaling $165 million, including a hefty write-down related to the underperforming movie “Rise of the Guardians,” prompted DreamWorks Animation to report an $82.7 million loss in the fourth quarter.

The company reported quarterly financial results on Tuesday after the close of trading. The company’s shares dropped 3.5 percent in after-hours trading, but recovered to about $16.50, a decline of less than 1 percent.

“Rise of the Guardians,” which was released in November and directed by Peter Ramsey, cost more than $250 million to make and market, but took in less than $303 million at the global box office; that gross is split 50-50 with theater owners. The company said on Tuesday that it would take an $87 million write-down for the film.

DreamWorks Animation, which has a remarkably consistent track record of hits, had strong hopes that “Rise of the Guardians” would start a new franchise. But families did not respond to its dark take on some classic childood characters like the Easter bunny and instead it became perhaps the biggest flop in the company’s history.

The company, based in Glendale, Calif., also took fourth-quarter charges of $54 million related to a recent decision to pull a movie planned for release next year (“Me & My Shadow”) from its release schedule. As part of its reshuffling of releases, DreamWorks Animation is expected to lay off several hundred of its 2,000 employees.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, the company’s chief executive, mentioned the layoffs during a conference call with analysts on Tuesday, but did not specify their size or say when they would occur. The plan, he said, is to “meaningfully reduce our overall cost structure.”

For the quarter, DreamWorks Animation reported a loss of $82.7 million, or 98 cents a share, compared with a profit of $24.3 million, or 29 cents a share, for the same period a year ago. Revenue was $264.7 million in the recent quarter.

Bec! ause of the charges, which also included $20 million related to films in development and $4.6 million in restructuring costs, DreamWorks Animation reported a loss of $36.4 million for the year.

Mr. Katzenberg noted that the company scored big last year with “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” which took in $746.6 million at the global box office. Still, he said, “One of the new challenges we face is heightened competition for family audiences,” making the perfect release date for films “critically important.”