Film Production
Something Special licenses Battle in the Box’s US rights to UK’s Interstellar
Mumbai: Seoul-based international format agency Something Special’s president Jin Woo Hwang announced that they licensed the US rights for ‘Battle in the Box’ to UK production company, Interstellar. Interstellar produced the UK version which aired this past summer with host-comedian Jimmy Carr on U&Dave TV (owned by UKTV, a subsidiary of BBC). The show was created by Nmedia and is globally represented by Something Special. It originally aired in South Korea on MBN with top ratings.
The program is about two celebrity teams who enter an empty box divided by a movable wall armed only with a toothbrush to live with for 24 hours. Teams earn space and luxuries by conquering physical and mental challenges. Victory expands their living area, but more room for one team means less for the other. With challenges occurring around the clock, the celebrities must be strategic to secure their space.
Hwang stated: “Something Special is thrilled how Battle in the Box was received in the U.K. and now has an opportunity to go to the U.S. This unique game show format, created by their partner Nmedia, launched in S. Korea on MBN and was a major hit. Take two pairs of celebrities and put them in an expandable box for 24 hours, what could go wrong? We love working with Interstellar and look forward to even more versions of Battle in the Box.”
Interstellar MD David Williams stated: “Bringing the brilliant Battle in the Box to U&Dave in the UK has been an absolute joy. We cannot wait to take everything we’ve learned about this groundbreaking reality and gameshow format and apply it to a host of new famous faces in the US. American celebrities beware, the Box is coming for you!”
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
