DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. late Tuesday said its third quarter profit fell 51 percent on lower box office and home video sales.

After the markets closed, the Glendale independent film studio reported net income of $19.7 million (23 cents a share), compared with $39.8 million (47 cents) in the same period a year earlier. Sales fell 15 percent to less than $161 million.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters on average expected per-share profit of 20 cents on revenue of more than $159 million.

The studio released three films last year but will have only two this year. The snext film, “Puss in Boots,” hits theaters Friday and is expected to generate $144 million North American box office, compared with the $165 million for last May’s “Kung Fu Panda 2.”

“Panda 2” contributed $39.4 million of revenue in the quarter, mainly from international box office sales. “Megamind,” which debuted last November contributed $25.8 million of revenue in the quarter, driven primarily by domestic pay television. The older “Shrek Forever After” and “How to Train Your Dragon” contributed $15 million and $9.2 million respectively, mostly from international pay TV and home video sales.

“DreamWorks Animation’s financial results tend to fluctuate due to, among other factors, the timing of our feature film releases and the number of our films in any given year,” Chief Executive Lew Coleman said in a statement. “This is the case in the third quarter of 2011.”

Shares earlier closed down 57 cents, or 3 percent, to $18.31 on the Nasdaq and fell another 3 percent in after-hours trading.