Film Production
STX Entertainment, Universal Pictures sign home entertainment deal
MUMBAI: Motion picture and television studio STX Entertainment and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment have entered into a multi-year partnership in which Universal will handle all marketing, sales and distribution services for Blu-ray, DVD, Electronic Sell-Through and TVOD platforms of STX Entertainment’s theatrical titles across North America.
STX Entertainment, which handles its own production, marketing and distribution of its theatrical projects, is ramping up quickly and recently revealed it will release 12-15 major motion pictures a year beginning in 2016.
STX Entertainment Motion Picture Group chairman Adam Fogelson said, “Universal has one of the most aggressive and inventive home entertainment teams in the industry. Their philosophy of being platform agnostic and allowing for growth in new and emerging areas of delivery is very exciting. We could not have more confidence in their ability to represent STX Entertainment’s new catalogue of motion pictures in the home entertainment marketplace.”
Universal Pictures president and chief distribution officer Peter Levinsohn added, “STX will be an excellent complement to Universal’s exceptional portfolio of diverse home entertainment distribution partners. Robert Simonds is one of the most innovative and accomplished professionals in the film business and we are thrilled to join forces with him and his veteran team of talented executives in what we expect will be a long and successful collaboration.”
This Universal agreement marks the second partnership announced by STX Entertainment, who in January of this year closed a multi-year output agreement with Showtime Networks to bring motion pictures distributed theatrically by STX exclusively to Showtime Networks during the premium television window. The deal covers the studio’s theatrical releases through 2019.
STX has been ramping up production on its film slate and recently announced the first four motion pictures it will release theatrically. On 31 July, 2015, the studio will debut The Gift, a contemporary psychological thriller from Jason Blum’s Blumhouse, directed by Joel Edgerton and starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Edgerton. Secret in Their Eyes will be released on 23 October, 2015. The thriller is written and directed by Billy Ray and stars Chiwetel Ejiofor, Nicole Kidman and Julia Roberts. On 22 January, 2016, STX will release The Boy, a horror film from director William Brent Bell, written by Stacey Menear and starring Lauren Cohan. And 11 March, 2016, brings the release of the epic action-drama The Free State of Jones, starring Matthew McConaughey, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Keri Russell and Mahershala Ali from writer-director and four-time Academy Award nominee Gary Ross.
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
