Film Production
Columbia Tristar Films of India renamed SPRIL
MUMBAI: Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International has been renamed Sony Pictures Releasing International. Keeping in line with this name change Columbia TriStar Films of India Limited will be now renamed as Sony Pictures Releasing of India Limited (SPRIL).
The name change comes amidst Sony Pictures Releasing International’s second best year at the box office. The international operation has generated more than $1 billion in box office receipts, pacing second only to the $1.3 billion in ticket sales the company recorded in 2002.
Keeping in tandem with the international performance, the Indian operations too created records of sorts by crossing the Rs 1 billion mark in ticket sales in 2004. This is the second time that the Indian operations have scaled to such heights, in a short span of three years, the first time being 2002.
“The Sony name is one of the most recognised and respected brand names in the world,” said Sony Pictures Releasing International vice chairman Jeff Blake. “With this change, we are reinforcing the Sony Pictures Entertainment name around the world and extending the goodwill of a brand that is synonymous with quality and excellence.”
“We at Sony Pictures India feel proud to be a part of such a respected brand name as Sony and our efforts will be to live up to the phenomenal goodwill of the brand and stick to our mission of lighting up screens across India,” said SPRIL managing director Uday Singh.
Sony Pictures Releasing International will be releasing a highly anticipated slate of films in 2005 and 2006 that includes Hitch, Fun With Dick and Jane, Bewitched, Stealth, Click, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Legend of Zorro, Deuce Bigalow European Gigolo, All The King’s Men, The DaVinci Code, Rent, XXX: State of the Union and Are We There Yet.
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
