<Tr> <Th> Box office </Th> <Td> $463.6 million (both films) </Td> </Tr> <P> SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated / live - action comedy film series based on the Nickelodeon television program of the same name, created by Stephen Hillenburg . It began in 2004 with the release of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie . The series is distributed and owned by Paramount Pictures, a subsidiary of Nickelodeon's parent company Viacom . All films feature the regular television voice cast: Tom Kenny, Bill Fagerbakke, Rodger Bumpass, Clancy Brown, Mr. Lawrence, Jill Talley, Carolyn Lawrence, Mary Jo Catlett and Lori Alan . The first installment is directed by Hillenburg, the second is directed by former showrunner Paul Tibbitt, and the third is directed by former writer Tim Hill . </P> <P> Plans for a film based on the series began in 2001, when Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures began approaching Stephen Hillenburg for a theatrical feature . He initially refused their offers, but began developing it in 2002 upon completion of the show's third season . The first movie was theatrically released in the United States on November 19, 2004 to critical and commercial success . It was originally planned to act as the series finale, but the franchise's success led to the production of more episodes . A stand - alone sequel followed in 2015 and a third film is scheduled for release on July 22, 2020 . </P> <P> All films in the series have been made available on DVD, Blu - Ray, digital download, streaming media, and video on demand . The first installment was also made available on VHS and UMD Video . </P>

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