The dream is over for quite a few employees at DreamWorks Animation as a cost-reduction purge of layoffs takes place.

DreamWorks, the animation company responsible for Shrek, The Boss Baby, Puss in Boots, and more, announced layoffs, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A spokesperson for DreamWorks told THR, “Roles affected were across corporate functions, feature, television, and technology departments as part of an overall cost-reduction.”

The Future of DreamWorks

This comes on the verge of DreamWorks' latest animated movie, Trolls Band Together, that is set to released in November. The film includes the voices of Anna Kendrick and Justin Timberlake. Plus, it will feature a new NSYNC song. It's the third installment of the Trolls movie franchise.

They're hoping the new Trolls movie will help turn things around, Deadline mentioned. It's banking on a hit.

Part of the layoffs might be due to the release of Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken, earlier this year. It only brought in $44.7 million worldwide, which isn't a significant profit.

All this being said, DreamWorks Animation has had recent hits. In 2022, its release of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish did phenomenally, with $481 million worldwide. Plus, it was nominated for an Oscar and up for several other awards. Additionally, on TV, they're responsible for Gabby's Dollhouse.

Still, even with the hits, there have been misses, and it seems they have to make some cost-cutting measures to help the studio succeed in the future.

Let's hope the Trolls can make the studio execs' dreams come true and be a worldwide success so that DreamWorks Animation can avert further layoffs.