Dreamworks CFO sees bounce from Potter delay

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc Chief Financial Officer Lew Coleman on Tuesday said he expects the studio to benefit significantly from the delayed opening of Time Warner Inc's "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" from November to next July.

"You can add 10 percent to whatever you're estimating (for 'Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa'). We think its a big deal," said Coleman at the 2008 Merrill Lynch Media Fall Preview Conference, when asked how the Potter delay would affect his studio's movie. Madagascar is expected to open November 7.

Turning to other business, Coleman said the movie exhibitor industry's 3-D roll-out was still going slower than expected, but that DreamWorks was not planning on changing the release of its first 3-D feature, "Monsters vs. Aliens" due out in March 2009.

He said he expects the 3-D film to play on about 2,500 screens when it opens, which is lower than previous estimates put out by industry officials of about 5,000 3-D screens by that time.

Coleman was optimistic but cautious about the DVD release of its hit "Kung Fu Panda" film.

"We expect a successful release of the DVD of 'Kung Fu Panda' but the market will be cluttered," he said.

"We're looking forward to having a leading DVD in the season," he said, referring to the holiday season.

(Reporting by Sue Zeidler; editing by Carol Bishopric)