Film Production
Sony Pictures bullish on international co-productions
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) recently announced its foray into Hindi films when the company signed a co-production deal with Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Saawariya (Beloved).
SPE officials (who were in India recently with Sony Corp CEO Howard Stringer to celebrate Sony Entertainment Television’s 10th anniversary) are quite gung ho about this deal with Bhansali and are also looking at other such ventures.
Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group vice chairman Gareth Wigan will be responsible for overseeing all international productions for the company.
Citing the reason for the company’s foray into Bollywood co-production, Wigan said, “We started production in several international markets like China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Brazil and Germany. India was always on our map as we expanded along. We have high regard for the talent here and would want to work closely with the industry here. India has a very successful and diversified national film market. At the same time, Indians are by nature extremely ‘film’ loving and it forms a big portion of their leisure time. We at Hollywood find this fascinating and are excited to begin our journey here.”
However, this is not SPE’s first international co-production One of the movies that the company is co-produced is Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, which won the Oscars for the best international film and has grossed nearly $ 200+ million.
Apart from this Kung Fu Hustle from China too was successful with a worldwide gross of $105 million. Anatomie from Germany, Me You and Them from Brazil and El Crimen Del Padre Amaro from Mexico are some of the other international co-productions from SPE’s stable.
Throwing light on the attributes that SPE looks for in a co-production partner, Wigan said, “Essentially we look at their work / films and of course a common desire to work together. We have to share the makers vision. We also look at the appeal of the project in the domestic market, in this case the domestic market being India and also the potential appeal in the international market.”
When queried as to whether SPE was also looking at other language productions, Wigan said, “Yes, we will be looking at other language productions but as of now now we would like to focus on our first project. We have no set target as to the number of international films we would co-produce in a year.”
What are the advantages of such a venture for the company? Wigan informs that this will give SPE an opportunity to work with “great minds who have great creativity.”
“The finished product becomes a part of our assets and enhances our library value. From a distribution perspective, successful films are profitable,” he concludes.
Film Production
Arka Mediaworks onboards 88 Pictures as animation studio partner on ‘The Eternal War – Part 1’
Arka Mediaworks announces that 88 Pictures, the acclaimed animation and visual storytelling studio known for its cutting-edge CGI and cinematic artistry, is on board as the animation partner for the highly anticipated Baahubali: The Eternal War, a groundbreaking two-part 3D animated feature film set in the globally beloved Baahubali universe.
Baahubali: The Eternal War represents a bold new chapter in the Baahubali saga envisioned for national and international audiences and crafted with the ambition of delivering one of India’s most ambitious and globally benchmarked animation projects to date.
88 Pictures will execute the animation production, bringing to life the film’s richly detailed worlds, epic battle sequences, and larger-than-life characters with its signature blend of artistic vision, performance-driven animation, and advanced production pipelines. Working closely with the film’s creative leadership and technical partners, the studio aims to set new benchmarks in animation quality, cinematic storytelling, and global scalability.
This animated epic follows the successful re-release of Baahubali: The Epic (the combined theatrical version of the original live-action films) on 31 October 2025 across India and the USA. During the film’s interval, legendary creator and director S.S. Rajamouli (Baahubali 1 & 2, RRR) stunned audiences with a surprise teaser for The Eternal War – Part 1. The video immediately went viral, garnering widespread national and international acclaim across LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube for its ambitious visual style and scale.
Produced by Arka Mediaworks and led by co-founder and CEO Shobu Yarlagadda – producer of the iconic Baahubali duology, The Eternal War brings together fantastic storytelling and cutting-edge animation.. The film is directed and written by acclaimed animation filmmaker Ishan Shukla (Schirkoa: In Lies We Trust, Star Wars: Visions – “The Bandits of Golak”) and screenplay by Scott Mosier (The Grinch). Mihira Visual Labs, the studio co-founded by Yarlagadda anchors the film’s animation, visual development, and execution.
The partnership with 88 Pictures brings significant pedigree to the project; the studio is well-regarded for its work on high-profile international titles including DreamWorks’ series Trollhunters, the HBO Max original series Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai, Disney’s animated short An Almost Christmas Story to name a few.
Yarlagadda shared, “We are happy to onboard 88 Pictures as the animation studio partner for our prestigious and most expensive animated film from India. We believe that their expertise and capabilities will allow us to produce a first-of-its-kind, world-class animated feature film from India.”
88 Pictures founder & CEO Milind D. Shinde said, “Baahubali changed the way cinema is perceived and became a defining milestone that turned the tide for Indian live-action filmmaking. Expanding the franchise into an entirely new universe—at a never-seen, never-done scale—through an animated feature created in India for a global audience is set to redefine how the world views Indian animation. We are truly thrilled to be part of this landmark project and to bring it to life under the visionary direction of Ishan Shukla, guided by the experience and leadership of acclaimed producer Shobu Yarlagadda.”
Shukla expressed, “Eternal War requires a level of visual and emotional precision that can only come from teams who truly understand both craft and intent. Working with 88 Pictures, alongside Mihira Visual Labs, has been a deeply collaborative experience. This association brings together technical excellence and creative sensitivity, enabling us to translate an ambitious vision into a compelling cinematic reality.”
Baahubali: The Eternal War – Part 1 is scheduled for release in 2027
