Studio Movie Grill announced that Universal Pictures has generously offered multiple screenings of DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s highly anticipated new animated feature film “Abominable” (in theatres 9/27/19) in support of SMG’s Movies+Meals program.

In keeping with its mission to open hearts and minds, one story at a time, SMG Access launched nationwide last summer and is the only theater-loyalty program focused on positively impacting underserved children and local community members. Through their purchases, alongside rewards, loyal SMG guests are able to assist SMG outreach in offering movies and meals to local non-profits and under-resourced community members with the hope of harnessing the power of movies to inspire and change lives. Since the program’s inception, multiple studios have joined the movement, offering screenings and giving SMG the opportunity to give back more than 14,000 Movies + Meals in the program’s first year.

Written and directed by Jill Culton, “Abominable” takes audiences on an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of a Chinese city to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes. When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building, she and her friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. The film also stars the voices of Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin and Michelle Wong.

“SMG is thrilled and enormously grateful to announce that Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio have joined us in offering special screenings of “Abominable” in support of our Movies + Meals program. The film has a wonderful message about helping others and the importance of family and we are so thrilled to be able to bring the film to underserved children in our local communities,” said Lynne McQuaker, SMG’s senior director of PR and outreach.

Said Jim Orr, Universal’s president of domestic theatrical distribution: “We are delighted to support SMG’s efforts by offering screenings of “Abominable” to local non-profits providing services to underserved children in their communities and to join SMG guests in supporting purposeful outreach and a loyalty program designed to give back to local community members through Movies + Meals. “Abominable” celebrates friendships and the importance of family, and we can’t think of a better partner to help spread that message of kindness and empowerment than SMG.”

Studio Movie Grill (SMG) is the leader of the in-theater dining concept operating 333 screens in 10 states nationwide. For the past 20 years, committed to making a difference in the communities it serves, SMG has contributed millions of dollars as part of its expansive outreach program. SMG’s legacy programs include Special Needs Screenings, its Chefs for Children program and annual Opening Hearts & Minds Award, which strive to help families and acknowledge local heroes. SMG Access further differentiates Studio Movie Grill and allows loyal guests to actively participate in helping support its mission. Going to the movies has never been more meaningful and loyal guests can join SMG on its mission to impact a million lives. More information can be found at https://www.studiomoviegrill.com/

About Studio Movie Grill
Established in 1998, Studio Movie Grill (“SMG”) modernized the traditional movie-going experience by combining first-run movies with full-service, in-theater dining. SMG has swiftly grown to 333 screens in 10 states with further expansion planned. SMG was named to Inc. Magazine’s List of “Fastest Growing Private Companies” three years in a row, placed 12th in Box Office Magazine’s Giants of the Industry in 2018 with key films grossing as high as #4 in North America. Honoring its commitment to Opening Hearts and Minds, One Story at a Time, SMG’s legacy programs include Special Needs Screenings, Chefs for Children program and annual Opening Hearts & Minds Award, which strive to help families and acknowledge local heroes. In June 2018, SMG created a unique loyalty program, SMG Access which, as loyal guests earn rewards, allows them to join SMG in offering movies and meals for underserved community members. To date, this program has offered over 12,000 movies and meals.

About Abominable
DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s co-production “Abominable” takes audiences on an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of a Chinese city to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes.

When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel’s “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building, she and her friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth. But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.

Abominable is written and directed by Jill Culton (“Open Season”, “Monsters, Inc.”, “Toy Story 2”) and is produced by Suzanne Buirgy (“Kung Fu Panda 2”, “Home”). Peilin Chou of Pearl Studio also produces. The film is executive produced by Tim Johnson (“Over the Hedge”, “Home”, “ANTZ”), Frank Zhu (“Checked In”, “Lotus Code”) and Li Ruigang (“Kung Fu Panda 3”, “The Taking of Tiger Mountain”) and is co-directed by Todd Wilderman (“Trolls”, “The Croods”).

“Abominable” will be released by Universal Pictures worldwide beginning September 27, 2019. In China, the film will be distributed by Pearl.

About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation (DWA), a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, within NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is a global family entertainment company with feature film and television brands. The company’s deep portfolio of intellectual property is supported by a robust, worldwide consumer products practice, which includes licensing, and location-based entertainment venues around the world. DWA’s feature film heritage includes many of the world’s most beloved characters and franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls and The Boss Baby, and have amassed more than $15 billion in global box office receipts. DreamWorks Animation’s television business has quickly become one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality, animated family programming, reaching consumers in more than 190 countries. Creating a diverse array of original content in a variety of formats and delivering deep, fully immersive worlds served up with compelling characters, the prolific studio has garnered 25 Emmy awards since inception in 2013.

About Pearl Studio
Pearl Studio is a CMC company and one of the world’s leading creators of high quality animated entertainment for the global family market. Its first original animated film Abominable is directed by Jill Culton and will be released worldwide through Universal Pictures beginning September 2019. In China, the film will be released on October 1. The studio is also currently producing Over the Moon, an animated musical feature film event directed by legendary animator and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Glen Keane. The film will be distributed theatrically in Greater China by Pearl and by Netflix worldwide.

Headquartered in Shanghai with branches in New York and Los Angeles, the studio is backed by a CMC-led consortium. Pearl Studio is focused on Animation Film Production, Copyright Operations, Ancillary Businesses (Merchandising, Joint Promotion, Interactive Entertainment and Location Based Entertainment) and Digital Content. The company was previously operated as a Joint Venture known as Oriental DreamWorks, which co-produced the first American-Chinese animated co-production Kung Fu Panda 3, which generated more than $500M in Worldwide Box Office revenue and was one of the most successful animated films ever released in China.