Paramount Pictures will end the year as the top Hollywood studio in terms of market share at the North American box office, thanks largely to its uneasy alliance with DreamWorks, which produced the year's No. 3 movie "Transformers."

Paramount, which cleaned house after Brad Grey took the reins of the struggling studio in 2005, ranked No. 5 last year. It was last No. 1 in 1998 when "Titanic" ruled the waves. In late 2005, the studio bought DreamWorks for a net cost of about $600 million after divestments. br />
In addition to "Transformers" ($319.1 million), DreamWorks also produced such hits as "Disturbia" and "Blades of Glory," and is off to a strong start with "Sweeney Todd." br />
"Transformers" was planned as a Paramount/DreamWorks collaboration even before the DreamWorks acquisition, said Rob Moore, Paramount's president of worldwide marketing, distribution and operations. br />
But there has been persistent speculation that DreamWorks co-founders Steven Spielberg and David Geffen are unhappy at Paramount, and may choose to leave when their personal contracts expire in November. The chief executive of Paramount's Viacom Inc. parent, Philippe Dauman caused a stir in September when he said Spielberg's departure would be "immaterial" to the company. br />
DreamWorks Animation, a separate publicly held studio run by another DreamWorks co-founder, Jeffrey Katzenberg, has its own deal to have its movies distributed by Paramount through 2012. The firm contributed to Paramount's coffers with "Shrek the Third" ($321 million, No. 2) and "Bee Movie." br />
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