DreamWorks to Develop Indoor Theme Parks in Russia

The American animation studio DreamWorks Animation (DWA) recently announced to have signed a licensing agreement with REGIONS GC, a Russian vertically integrated holding, to develop several indoor theme parks in Russia. Together they aim to create Europe’s largest year-round indoor entertainment zones, the first of which are planned to open in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Yekaterinburg in 2015. These parks will feature the franchise of DWA and will be designed, built and managed by REGIONS GC, a holding comprising more than 20 different companies engaged in the development and management of retail property. All of the entertainment zones will respectively be part of a larger entertainment center each including a mixed-use movie and concert hall, 4D movie theater, three-star 400-room hotel, and a retail center with 11,000 parking spaces. Each park is planned to be 35 meters high giving visitors the sense of being outdoors. Well-known characters from DWA movies like “Shrek”, “Madagascar”, How to Train Your Dragon”, Kung Fu Panda” and from yet-to-be-released films will play an important role in the parks and their attractions. “Russia is one of the most important markets in the world for us,” said DWA’s CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. “All of us at DWA are extremely excited to work with REGIONS GC to be the first Hollywood studio to create not just one, but three theme parks in Russia. These parks are going to be groundbreaking cultural hubs that will give families the chance to truly enter the world of DreamWorks.” (eap)