substantial amounts have been spent, causing the write-off of expenses incurred with respect to the film. This was the case in 2003 when we wrote-off a significant amount of expenses that we had incurred for two of our animated films. Animatedfilms typically take longer to produce than live-action films, which increases the uncertainties inherent in their production and distribution. Animated feature films typically take three to four years to produce after the initial development stage, as opposed to an average of twelve to eighteen months for live-action films. The additional time that it takes to produce and release an animated feature film increases the risk that our films in production will fall out of favor with target audiences and that competing films will be released in advance of or concurrently with ours, either of which risks could reduce the demand for, or popular appeal of, our films. TheproductionandmarketingofCGanimatedfeaturefilmsiscapitalintensive andourcapacity to generate cash from our films may be insufficient to meet our anticipated cash requirements. The costs to develop, produce and market a film are substantial and some of our competitors have more capital and greater resources than we and DreamWorks Studios have. In 2004, for example, we spent approximately $315 million to fund production costs (excluding capitalized interest and overhead expense) of our feature films, to make contingent compensation and residual payments and to fund technology capital expenditures. For 2005, we expect that these costs will be approximately $311 million, which includes a one-time payment to Aardman Animations related to Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were Rabbit and additional production spending related to an increase in our direct-to-video business. In addition, historically, we made substantial expenditures on distribution and marketing costs that are now generally incurred by DreamWorks Studios under the Distribution Agreement. Although we retain the right to exploit each of the ten films that we have previously released, the size of our film collection is insubstantial compared to the film libraries of the major U.S. movie studios, which typically have the ability to exploit hundreds of library titles. Library titles can provide a stable source of earnings and cash flows that offset fluctuations in the financial performance of newly released films. Many of the major studios use these cash flows, as well as cash flows from their other businesses, to finance the production and marketing of new feature films. We are not able to rely on such cash flows and are required to fund our films in development and production and other commitments with cash retained from operations and the proceeds of films that are generating revenue from theatrical, home video and ancillary markets. If our films fail to perform, we may be forced to seek substantial sources of outside financing. Such financing may not be available in sufficient amounts for us to continue to make substantial investments in the production of new CG animated feature films or may be available only on terms that are disadvantageous to us, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our growth or our business. Thecosts of producing and marketing feature films have steadily increased and may increase in the future, whichmaymakeitmoredifficultforafilmtogenerateaprofitorcompeteagainstotherfilms. The production and marketing of theatrical feature films requires substantial capital and the costs of producing and marketing feature films have generally increased in recent years. According to the MPAA, the average negative cost of a motion picture produced by a major U.S. studio, which includes all costs associated with creating a feature film, including production costs, allocated studio overhead and capitalized interest, but excludes abandoned project costs, has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% from 1994 to 2004 and the average domestic marketing cost (which includes prints and advertising costs) per picture has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 7.9% over the same period. Although these growth rates include the costs of both live-action and animated films, they are indicative of the cost trend for motion pictures generally. These costs may continue to increase in the future, which may make it more difficult for our films to generate a profit or compete against other films. Historically, production costs and marketing costs have risen at a rate faster than increases in either domestic admissions to movie theaters or admission ticket prices. A continuation of this trend would leave us more dependent on other media, such as home video, television, international markets and new media for revenue. 24