'Cloud Atlas,' 'Hansel and Gretel' Push Babelsberg to a Profit

COLOGNE, Germany - Cloud Atlas, the ambitious epic from Matrix siblings Lana and Andy Wachowski and Tom Tywker and the MGM/Paramount horror comedy Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters with Avengers star Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton helped balance the books at Germany's Studio Babelsberg, which hosted the two shoots.

our editor recommends

Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer Wrap Shooting on ‘Cloud Atlas’

Berlin 2012: Buyers Hot for 'Hansel and Gretel in 3D'

STORY: Wachowskis' and Tom Tykwer's 'Cloud Atlas' Picks Up Another Million in Production Funds

The big budget productions, along with several German-language shoots, including Detlev Buck's local rom-com hit Women in Love, helped Babelsberg to an operating profit of $703,000 (€535,000) for the year. That beat the studio's own estimate. In November, Babelsberg warned investors it expected it's full year figures to dip into the red.

STORY: Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer Wrap Shooting on ‘Cloud Atlas’

Things don't look as sunny for 2012. In a statement, Babelsberg said it was "pessimistic" about this year's prospects, noting that the studio has yet to land a major international production. Babelsberg blamed stronger competition from backlots in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Canada, England and Australia.