Competition Because of the importance of the domestic theatrical market in determining revenue from other sources, our primary competition comes from both animated and live-action films that are targeted at similar audiences and released into the domestic theatrical market at the same time as our films. At this level, in addition to competing for box office receipts, we compete with other film studios over optimal release dates and the number of motion picture screens on which our movies are exhibited. In addition, we compete with other films released into the international theatrical market and the worldwide home video and television markets. We also face intense competition from other animation studios for the services of talented writers, directors, producers, animators and other employees. Competition for Film Audiences. Our feature films compete with both live-action and animated films for motion picture screens, particularly during national and school holidays when demand is at its peak. Due to the competitive environment, the opening weekend for a film is extremely important in establishing momentum for its domestic box office performance. Because we expect to release only two films per year, the scheduling of optimal release dates is critical to our success. One of the most important factors we consider when determining the release date for any particular film is the expected release date of competing films. In this regard, we pay particular attention to the expected release dates of films produced by other animation studios, and in particular Pixar, Disney and Fox Entertainment’s Blue Sky Studios, although we expect that in the future, we may also need to consider the release dates of animated films produced by others. Disney, Pixar, and Blue Sky Studios are the other CG animation studios that we believe target similar audiences and currently have comparable CG animated filmmaking capabilities, and each of them has released animated films produced solely with CG technology. Pixar released The Incredibles on November 5, 2004 and has announced that it intends to release Cars in the summer of 2006. Blue Sky Studios is a smaller animation studio and production company that has produced two CG animated feature films, Ice Age, which was released in March 2002, and Robots, which was released on March 11, 2005. In addition to producing Dinosaur in 2000, Disney has announced that it plans to release the CG animated feature film, Chicken Little, in 2005. In addition to these animated film studios, other smaller animated film studios and production companies currently exist, such as DNA Productions, which in 2001 released the CG animated feature film Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius in conjunction with Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures. In addition to CG animated films, a number of hand- drawn animated films are released each year. Competition for Talent. Currently, we compete with other animated film and visual effect studios for artists, animators, directors and producers. In addition, we compete for the services of computer programmers and other technical production staff with other CG animation studios and production companies and, increasingly, with video game producers. In order to recruit and retain the most talented creative and technical personnel possible, we have established relationships with the top animation schools and industry trade groups. Wehavealso established well organized and thorough in-house digital training and artistic development training programs. Through these programs, we were able to re-train approximately 140 talented two-dimensional animators to become highly proficient three-dimensional CG animators. Potential Competition. In addition to existing CG animation studios, a number of film and visual effect studios, including Sony Entertainment and Lucasfilm Ltd., have announced their intention to enter the market or produce additional CG animated films. While we and most of the other existing CG animation studios and production companies have developed proprietary software to create CG animated films, other film studios would not be required to do so, as technological advances have made it possible to purchase third-party software capable of producing high-quality CG images. However, we believe that our experience in the CG animation field, along with the technology and talent that we have developed, provide us with significant competitive advantages over new entrants. 20