Hindi
Multiplexes, Warner Bros end row over Harry Potter release
MUMBAI: The tussle between multiplexes and Warner Bros Pictures India has finally ended, paving the way for the smooth release of the final edition of the Harry Potter franchise, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2, on Friday.
The two parties were warring over the multiplexes‘ demand of share of 55 per cent, leaving 45 per cent to the Studio during the first week.
According to an MoU signed last year, the revenue sharing pattern between distributors and multiplexes was 50:50 in the first week, which would then be reduced to 42.5 per cent in the second week, followed by 37.5 per cent in the third week and 30 per cent in the fourth week.
Now, finally after two rounds of talks on Wednesday and Thursday, the two parties have reached a common ground.
Moreover, the studio has also suffered the loss of revenues that were to be collected through paid previews.
Cinemax CEO Sunil Punjabi said, “They (studio) have finally given in. Though I can‘t give you out the figure right now, all I can say is that the decision has gone in favour of the multiplexes. We are going to show the film from tomorrow.”
The studio contended that the multiplexes never asked for a raise of share during the exhibition of Transformers.
Punjabi countered by saying, “Transformers released on 29 June when the MoU was still effective; it expired only on 30 June. While we were about to talk to various Hollywood studios about our demands, the Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 issue cropped up.”
A group, representing various multiplexes owners, visited the Warner Brothers office for renegotiations today and was able to settle the matter. The group consisted of representatives from PVR Cinemas, Fame, Inox, Big Cinemas, Cinemax and Fun Cinemas.
“We are thrilled that tomorrow, Friday 15th July, in partnership with every one of our cinema partners right across India, we‘ll be releasing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, the much-anticipated final installment in this record-breaking film series,” said Warner Bros. Pictures India deputy managing director (Theatrical) Denzil Dias.
Hindi
Jio Studios unveils AI-powered Krishna teaser at NAB Show 2026
Global first look of Krishna uses Galleri5 AI pipeline on Azure, Historyverse slate as Jio’s Dhurandhar crosses Rs 3,000cr worldwide.
MUMBAI: Krishna has just dropped a divine teaser and this time the gods are powered by silicon, not just scripture. Jio Studios and Collective Studios’ Historyverse stole the spotlight at the NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas with the world’s first teaser for their upcoming theatrical feature Krishna, directed by Manu Anand. The big reveal happened during Microsoft’s keynote “Powering Intelligent Media, From AI Experimentation to Real-World Impact,” where the film’s AI-native production pipeline took centre stage alongside Collective Artists Network’s in-house platform, Galleri5.
At the heart of this mythological spectacle lies a fresh cinematic workflow built by Galleri5 on Microsoft Azure’s advanced AI and cloud infrastructure. Forget bolting AI onto traditional VFX or animation, this is an end-to-end, production-grade system woven into every layer: world-building, character creation, shot design and final output. Yet the storytelling remains firmly director-led, emphasising emotional depth, stillness, music and performance rather than pure spectacle. The result? Large-format theatrical cinema rooted in Indian history and culture, but conceived in ways that were simply not possible before.
Collective Artists Network runs Galleri5 natively on Azure, leveraging Microsoft Foundry and cutting-edge AI tools to handle film, episodic and advertising workflows in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft highlighted Collective as a “Frontier” organisation successfully moving AI from pilot projects to real production-scale deployment in cinema. The technology is also on display at Microsoft’s NAB booth in the West Hall (Booth W1731).
Jio Studios (Media & Content Business, Reliance Industries), president Jyoti Deshpande said the project advances the studio’s mission to take Indian stories global with scale, ambition and authenticity, “With Krishna, we are embracing cutting-edge AI-led filmmaking while democratising these tools to make them more accessible, intuitive and cost-effective for storytellers everywhere.”
Collective Artists Network founder & group CEO Vijay Subramaniam added, “We’re using technology developed in India to carry our culture and history to audiences worldwide at a scale never seen before.”
Microsoft, vice president for telco media & entertainment, gaming Silvia Candiani noted that the media industry has reached an inflection point, “AI is no longer about experimentation but delivering real impact at production scale… By building AI-native creative systems on Microsoft Azure, Collective exemplifies how storytellers can unlock new formats, move faster and realise a true return on intelligence while keeping human creativity at the centre.”
Krishna forms part of Historyverse, Collective Studios’ ambitious slate of history and culture-driven IPs. The slate draws from iconic figures and traditions that shaped the Indian subcontinent, including stories inspired by Kali, Karna and Durga. It builds on the already-released Mahabharat: Ek Dharmayudh series, showing how ancient narratives can be reimagined for modern screens.
Jio Studios, India’s leading content studio and the media and content arm of Reliance Industries, continues its blockbuster run. The studio’s Dhurandhar franchise led by Dhurandhar and Dhurandhar: The Revenge has become the first Indian film series to cross Rs 3,000 crore worldwide. It also delivered three consecutive years of India’s highest-grossing Hindi films: Stree 2 (2024), Dhurandhar (2025) and Dhurandhar: The Revenge (2026). In just eight years, Jio Studios has assembled a library of over 160 films and series, with more than 60 titles winning over 500 awards. Other notable successes include Laapataa Ladies (India’s official Oscar entry 2025), Stree, Article 370, Shaitaan and Mrs.
The NAB unveiling marks another step in Jio Studios and Collective’s push to blend Indian storytelling talent with frontier technology proving that the future of cinema may well be both ancient in spirit and thoroughly modern in execution. For audiences who love epic tales with a fresh twist, Krishna promises to deliver divine drama, this time with a little help from the cloud.
