Studio Report Cards: Universal

TheWrap has done a series of Studio Report Cards assessing how well — or not — the major studios did in terms of box office performance in 2010. I’ll be featuring excerpts from those articles each day for the next week or so. Today: Universal:

Universal
Grade: C+
It was a rebound year for the U, which managed to establish an animation business with one movie (“Despicable Me”). But downer performances by “Scott Pilgrim,” “The Wolfman” and “Green Zone” gave the studio a dismal grade. We gave them a bump for effort.

The good thing about a really bad year? Even if the next one isn’t great, it can still be a huge improvement.

That dynamic worked in Universal’s favor, as the studio — starting 2010 under the reigns of a new executive regime led by chairman Adam Fogelson and co-chairman Donna Langley — sought to rebound from a disastrous 2009.

Universal marketing co-president Eddie Egan told TheWrap that 2010 was a “transition year.”

During 2010, the studio still had to live with the slate choices made by former co-chairs Marc Shmuger and David Linde, both ousted in October 2009.

“We had some difficult pictures, made some difficult decisions and had some high hopes that didn’t pan out,” Egan added. “But overall, I think our team has gotten into a great rhythm.”

Of course, transition years can be hard, as evidenced by the failures of the “Wolfman” reboot, Edgar Wright’s youth comedy “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” and the Matt Damon thriller “Green Zone.”

But beyond “Green Zone,” there were some green shoots, with the huge success of the Christopher Meledandri-produced “Despicable Me” — which grossed $540 million worldwide theatrically, putting Universal in the 3D animation game virtually overnight.

Tomorrow: Disney.

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