More filming took place in March 2008. However, in August that year (a month before principal photography would have begun), Universal turned down their option to co-produce the film due to the poor box office performances of other recent performance-captured animated films, such as "Monster House" (2006) and "Beowulf" (2007), as well as Spielberg and Jackson's request for a combined 30% of the gross. Paramount Pictures (DreamWorks' distributor) had hoped to partner with Universal on the project, having spent $30 million on pre-production. Spielberg gave a ten-minute presentation of footage, hoping they would approve filming to begin in October. Paramount, along with their subsidiary Nickelodeon Movies, offered to produce as long as the directors found a studio that was willing to co-produce the film: Spielberg and Jackson agreed and negotiated with Sony's Columbia Pictures to co-finance and distribute the first film internationally by the end of October. Sony only agreed to finance two films, though Jackson said a third film may still happen.