Film Production
Eros International profits up in first quarter
BENGALURU: The Sunil Lulla-led Indian film and media company Eros International Media Limited (Eros) reported 25.3 per cent year on year (y-o-y) jump in profit after tax (PAT) for the quarter ended 30 June 2018 (Q1 2018, quarter, period under review) as compared to the corresponding year ago quarter (Q1 2018). Eros reported PAT at Rs 59.95 as compared to PAT of Rs 47.86 crore in Q1 2018. On account of items that will be classified later as a profit or a loss, total comprehensive income more than doubled (up 1.31 times)y-o-y to Rs 100.91 crore in Q1 2019 from Rs 43.56 crore.Calculated simple EBIDTA for the period under review increased 48.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 93.33 crore (42.8 per cent of operating revenue) from Rs 47.86 crores (24.2 per cent of operating revenue.)
Eros operating revenue in Q1 2019 declined 16.1 per cent y-o-y to Rs 217.93 crore from Rs 259.62 crore. Total Income declined 18.2 per cent y-o-y to Rs 223.57 crore from Rs 273.36 crore.
The company says in its earnings presentation that revenues during the quarter were driven by releases of Bhavesh Joshi(Hindi), Meri Nimmo (Digital release), Blackmail (Overseas), Haami (Bengali), Goodnight City (Bengali), Alinagarer
Golokdhadha (Bengali) and others. Eros released a total of 14 films during the quarter, consisting of 1 medium budget and 13 low budget films as compared to 5 films in Q1 2018, consisting of 1 High Budget, 1 Medium Budget and 3 Low Budget Films). TV and Others segment included satellite sales of catalogue films to Zee TV and others.
Eros says that Theatrical Revenues contributed – 30.7 per cent, Overseas Revenues – 12.6 per cent and Television & Others – 56.7 per cent as a percentage of income from operations.
Company speak
Eros executive vice chairman and MD Lulla said: “We have started the year on an excellent note on operational and strategic parameters. Our strategy of a content driven approach reflected in a robust green lighting process enabling us to de-risk our model. Our film content is deeply researched and evaluated for its revenue potential across platforms and markets by our business leaders, due to which we were able to again deliver margin enhancing performance in Q1 2019.
The new JV kicking in with V. Vijayendra Prasad for Hindi and regional content and Reliance Eros Productions LLP for USD 150 million already in process is bound further boost our content strategy and reflect in our financial performance in the forthcoming quarters. The first quarter was marked by the successful releases of our films which contributed to the overall growth. Our strong slate across languages, active pre-sales and catalogue monetization of our films ‘ library further supported the performance during the quarter. Looking ahead, we have drawn a compelling line-up for the remainder of the year featuring high-potential movies such as Color Yellow Productions Happy Phir Bhaag Jayegi, Anurag Kashyap’s Manmarziyan, the IndiaChina co-productions, Panda by Kabir Khan, trilingual Haathi mere Saathi and multiple other films across languages.
Lulla further added, “As always, we continue to be a pioneer in industry innovations in catering to the changing tastes and preferences of the audiences. In this quarter, we released Meri Nimmo straight-to-digital on the Eros Now platform. I am happy to share that the film received a tremendous response from the audience and we look forward to launching more such films and originals on the Eros Now platform during the course of this fiscal. Along with it the roll-out of fresh and strong original content, makes us confident that the pace of subscriber addition for Eros Now will further accelerate, going from 50 to 100 cities and almost doubling the subscriber base to 16 million by end of the Fiscal year.”
Let us look at the other numbers reported by the company
Total Expenditure (TE) during the period under review declined 32.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 146.45 crore as compared to Rs 217.81 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
Films rights costs including amortisation costs in Q1 2019 declined 29.6 per cent y-o-y to Rs 90.15 crore from Rs 128.12 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Employee Benefits Expense in Q1 2019 declined 14.5 per cent y-o-y to Rs 13.54 crore as compared to Rs 15.83 crore in Q1 2018. Other expenses (OE) in the Q1 2019 reduced 63.8 per cent y-o-y to Rs 19.15 crore as compared to Rs 52.84 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. Finance costs in Q1 2019 increased 5 per cent y-o-y to in Q1 2019 Rs 19.5 crore from Rs 18.58 crore.
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
