A Slimmer DreamWorks Gets a New Financing Deal LOS ANGELES - DreamWorks Studios, the film boutique founded four years ago by Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider, got a new lease on life, as Reliance Entertainment agreed in principle to continue financing the company. Under the arrangement, DreamWorks will make fewer movies than in the past, according to people briefed on the deal who spoke on condition of anonymity, because neither Reliance nor DreamWorks had authorized public discussion of the agreement while it was being completed. Spokesmen for both Reliance and DreamWorks declined to comment. Since earlier this year, DreamWorks executives and representatives had been seeking to augment an initial round of financing under which Reliance, an Indian media company, contributed $325 million in equity, while banks led by J. P. Morgan Securities provided a matching amount in loans. Operations at DreamWorks have been gradually idling as money has run short. The new money will allow the boutique and its 80 employees, who work from a complex on the Universal Studios lot, to pick up the pace of moviemaking, but only to a degree. The company originally intended to make up to six movies a year, but will now aim to make three to five films annually, according to the people who were briefed on the deal. Those people did not put a specific dollar amount or time span on the new contribution. But they described it as an arrangement that would let DreamWorks continue to make studio-level pictures. While Reliance has firmly committed to the new funding, J. P. Morgan and other lenders remain in place and may eventually be asked to extend or revise their own arrangements, the people briefed on the deal said. Watching DreamWorks struggle has been difficult for Hollywood. Mr. Spielberg is by far the best-selling movie director in history and Ms. Snider is regarded as a star executive, with hits like "The Bourne Identity" and "Bruce Almighty" on her résumé. If they're having a rough go, what does that mean for everybody else? DreamWorks has had to rein in its ambitions partly because of broader weakness in the movie industry. Attendance in North America has perked up in recent months (largely because of Lionsgate's monster hit "The Hunger Games"), but moviegoing hit a 16-year low last year. DVD sales continue to erode. Some new overseas markets like China are promising, but Europe is troubled. But the company's fortunes also reflect the so-so results of its initial batch of films with Reliance. "The Help," "War Horse" and, by a whisker, "Real Steel," will probably make money when revenue from all sources comes in. Those three films received a total of 11 Oscar nominations, winning one. At the same time, "Cowboys & Aliens" (released by Universal), "I Am Number Four," "Fright Night" and "Dinner for Schmucks" (released by Paramount) were not successful, either losing money or making too little to create a strong portfolio for investors. Two DreamWorks movies will make it to theaters this year: "People Like Us," a drama scheduled for release on June 29, and "Lincoln," a December awards entry directed by Mr. Spielberg and starring Daniel Day-Lewis. Beyond that is the July 2013 release of another Spielberg film, the sci-fi thriller "Robopocalypse." DreamWorks distributes its films under a deal with Walt Disney Studios. DreamWorks was a successor to DreamWorks SKG. The earlier DreamWorks was an independent studio that was created amid much fanfare by three Hollywood heavyweights: Mr. Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Eventually they sold it to Paramount and briefly worked with the studio in what became a failed marriage. The new DreamWorks is unrelated to the publicly held DreamWorks Animation. Over the years, small, independently financed companies - some with their own distribution mechanisms, others, like DreamWorks, without - have generated hits, then disappeared or merged into larger corporations. Miramax Films was acquired by Disney after releasing "The Crying Game," a box-office success and best-picture Oscar nominee; Disney has since sold the unit. Summit Entertainment was recently sold to Lionsgate; Summit investors saw the end of their blockbuster "Twilight" series as a prime moment to cash out. Michael Cieply covers the film industry from the Los Angeles bureau. Brooks Barnes writes about Hollywood with an emphasis on Disney. Follow @brooksbarnesnyt on Twitter.