DreamWorks Studios on Wednesday said it signed an agreement with London’s Mister Smith Entertainment to handle the licensing and servicing of future DreamWorks films and products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, a role that had been handled by Walt Disney Co.
Mister Smith is a new company led by David Garrett, a co-founder of Summit Entertainment. DreamWorks Studios, the independent Los Angeles studio headed by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider, will continue to use Burbank-based Disney to distribute DreamWorks’ films in the United States and most other markets not covered by the Mister Smith deal.
“This partnership allows us to best capitalize on the expanding global marketplace and generate foreign sales as a revenue source,” said Chief Operating Office Jeff Small in a statement. “David has a proven track record, and his years of experience in building Summit will help us in this next step of growing our business.”
DreamWorks Studios was formed in 2009 to produce live-action films, with “War Horse” and “The Help” among its recent releases. Publicly held DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. in Glendale was earlier spun off to focus on animated films.