English Entertainment
Sony moves ahead with own distributors in four SE Asian countries post Spider-Man’s success
MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Entertainment is reportedly planning to launch distributors of its own in four countries after terminating a longstanding theatrical-releasing joint venture with Disney in Southeast Asia. Sony has plans to launch Sony Pictures Releasing units in Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia, Variety reported.
SPE’s new strategy reflects an optimism that the individual markets in SE Asia will continue to grow despite competition from online streaming services. Sony’s JV with Disney was established in 1997 as a way of controlling infrastructure costs in the then-small Southeast Asian market. It had also helped maximize the studios’ negotiating and marketing power in the region.
In Singapore, Robert Crockett will continue as the managing director, overseeing Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. Simon Foo will become the AGM and country manager for Malaysia. Foo will oversee day-to-day operations in addition to his distribution and sales responsibilities, SPE SVP – international distribution Brett Hogg announced.
James Rachot Dhiraputra returns to the company to become Thailand MD along with Thailand executive director of marketing Dujdao Promobol.
Thai media had quoted Dhiraputra as saying he is targeting $24 million of gross revenues from the 19 movies. It was not clear whether $8 million from the first major SPE title under the new banner “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is part of that amount.
English Entertainment
Ellison takes his Paramount-Warner Bros case straight to theater owners
The Skydance chief goes to CinemaCon with promises and a skeptical crowd waiting
CALIFORNIA: David Ellison strode into a room packed with thousands of cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday and did something rather bold: he looked them in the eye and asked them to trust him.
The chief executive of Paramount Skydance vowed that his company would release a minimum of 30 films a year if regulators greenlight its proposed $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has made theater owners deeply, and loudly, nervous.
“I wanted to look every single one of you in the eye and give you my word,” Ellison told the crowd. “Once we combine with Warner Bros, we are going to make a minimum of 30 films annually across both studios.”
It was a confident pitch. Whether it landed is another matter. Cinema operators have already called on regulators to block the deal, and scepticism in the room was hardly concealed.
Ellison pushed back by pointing to recent form. Paramount, born from the merger of Paramount Global and Skydance Media last August, plans to release 15 films this year, nearly double the eight it put out in 2025. Progress, he argued, was already underway.
He also threw theater owners a bone they have long been chasing: all films, he pledged, would run exclusively in cinemas for a minimum of 45 days, drawing applause from a crowd that has spent years fighting for exactly that commitment across the industry.
“People can speculate all they want,” Ellison said, “but I am standing here today telling you personally that you can count on our complete commitment. And we’ll show you we mean it.”
Fine words. The regulators, however, will have the last one.
