Anu Rangachar Appointed Artistic Director as IFFLA and India Center Foundation Merge – Global Bulletin

Naman Ramachandran Viacom18 and Marflix’s Bollywood actioner “Fighter” was the highest grossing film of the weekend at the global box office, with box office revenues of $25.1 million, according to data from ComScore. The film, directed by Siddharth Anand, whose previous film, Shah Rukh Khan starrer “Pathaan,” was one of the biggest Indian hits of 2023, stars Bollywood A-listers Hrithik Roshan, Deepika Padukone and Anil Kapoor. “Fighter” revolves around the Indian Air Force and released on Thursday, Jan.

Refresh for latest…:We’re still in a holdover pattern for Hollywood at the global and international box office, though milestones continue to be reached on an offshore and worldwide basis for existing releases. Meanwhile, Anyone But You saw an uptick overseas and drops were good for others (including newly-minted Oscar nominees). One new local entry, India’s Fighter, flew to the top of the global weekend chart. 

Naman Ramachandran Revered Indian actor and filmmaker Aparna Sen is the subject of Suman Ghosh‘s documentary “Parama: A Journey with Aparna Sen,” which has its world premiere at International Film Festival Rotterdam‘s Cinema Regained strand. Sen came to notice as an actor with the “Samapti” segment in Oscar winner Satyajit Ray’s “Three Daughters” (1961). She acted in several more films by Ray and also worked with Indian cinema greats Mrinal Sen, Tapan Sinha and Rituparno Ghosh.

Sony Group Corporation has initiated a Singapore arbitration case against Indian TV giant Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL), alleging breaches of their failed merger agreement, Variety has confirmed. The $10 billion merger, which would have seen the two entities merge their TV and streaming businesses in India, was terminated on Monday by Sony after a two-year process. Sony is seeking a $90 million termination fee from ZEEL.

Naman Ramachandran Indian star Shruti Haasan will headline India-U.K. film co-production “Chennai Story.” Haasan, who is also a renowned musician, has acting credits across India’s various language film industries and in the U.S. and U.K.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10. Two days earlier, on Feb.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

Naman Ramachandran Despite a resurgent 2023 for Bollywood both at home and overseas, the industry’s international box office performance is likely to be weaker in 2024, a leading U.K. distributor has said. London-based Pranab Kapadia, a seasoned Bollywood media executive with stints at studios Eros and Zee, now runs U.K.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.

Naman Ramachandran A screening of Isabel Herguera‘s San Sebastian winner “Sultana’s Dream” will kickstart the inaugural edition of AniMela, India’s first-ever international festival for animation, VFX, XR, gaming and comics, in Mumbai. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Herguera, alongside her Spanish and Indian crew, including Indian animation expert Upamanyu Bhattacharyya.

Caroline Brew editor CAA has upped six employees to agent and executive roles, including Sebastian Brogan, Olivia Brooks, Kaitlin Gascoyne, Ross Lee, Jeff Lynds and Jenna Powell. Based in New York, Brogan was promoted to agent in the basketball department. He began his CAA career in 2016 as a mailroom clerk, then serving as an assistant to Lloyd Frischer and Tyeke Sullivan in basketball prior to his acceptance into Elevate, CAA’s agency training program, in 2021.

With its streaming operations facing scrutiny as 2024 gets under way, Paramount Global continues to pursue a diversified approach to distributing its flagship, Paramount+.

Naman Ramachandran Los Angeles-based independent film studio XYZ Films has hired Celine Lin as senior VP of international sales and distribution. Lin will spearhead the company’s distribution and licensing strategy across the Asia Pacific region and in select European markets. She will report to XYZ president of international sales and distribution, Tatyana Joffe.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has revealed a lineup of nine titles as part of its licensed Tamil-language film slate for 2024. Ajith Kumar headlines Lyca Productions’ “VidaaMuyarchi,” directed by Magizh Thirumeni. Lyca is also the company behind S.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Italy’s Sveva Alviti (“Dalida”) and U.S. actor Newton Mayenge (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”) are attached to star in Cannes-set romantic drama “The Other Side of Fame” to be directed by Erik Bernard (“Free Dead or Alive”).

Oscar documentary branch voters can’t be accused of parochialism. They ventured far and wide to select their shortlist of feature documentaries for 2023, tapping films from countries as varied as a U.N. roll call: Ukraine, Uganda, Poland, Denmark, Tunisia, Canada and the United States.

Prime Video is to change its content strategy in Southeast Asia from a model based on original productions to one focused instead on licensing. As a result it has cut some jobs in the region. The move follows last week’s announcement of a restructuring and several hundred job cuts in North America at Prime Video and the Amazon-owned MGM. “Today we have made the decision to discontinue some programs and initiatives, and rebalance our international organization to focus on the countries and regions driving the most growth for our service.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime Video Southeast Asia is cutting its originals team in Singapore and moving to a “leaner operating model,” as part of the globe wave of redundancies announced earlier this week.

Valerie Wu Intern Tisa Farrow, an actor and sister of Mia Farrow, died in her sleep on Jan. 10 in Rutland, Vermont. She was 72.