Paramount establishes animation division | Key4Communications |

Viacom-owned Paramount Pictures is launching an in-house animation division and expects to release its first film in 2014. Paramount Animation is focusing on CGI-animated films with a budget of $100 million per picture, and one picture per year.

The new division will also focus on titles within the Viacom family, particularly those from the Nickelodeon brand, in order to boost global consumer products business.

Although Paramount already released its first fully owned film in March 2011 ( Rango), until now the studio was Dreamworks Animation's distributor, with films such as both Kung Fu Panda instalments. The agreement between both companies ends in 2012.