42 Taps Former Universal International Studios Exec David O’Donoghue as Chief Operating Officer (EXCLUSIVE)

ZDF Latest To ‘Race Across The World‘

Naman Ramachandran Bollywood film “Shaitaan” has scored a hefty opening, according to data provided to Variety. The film marks the first collaboration between billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio Studios, Bollywood A-lister Ajay Devgn’s Devgn Films and Panorama Studios. “Shaitaan” scored a worldwide weekend gross of $9.8 million, including India, according to numbers from Panorama Studios.

Jonathan Glazer’s landmark Holocaust film The Zone of Interest, as widely expected, has just scooped the International Feature Oscar. This is the 20th film that the UK has submitted to the category, and the first to win the race.  

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here taking you through what has been a whirlwind of a week in international TV and film. Do not stop here — please do read on. And sign up here.

BBC Studios is increasing its debt facility by £250M ($318M) — a move that closely follows the acquisition of BritBox International, its biggest ever single transaction.

EXCLUSIVE: International Artists Management (IAM) has been removed from the UK’s respected agency professional body after Deadline revealed it sent a client misrepresented self-tape audition invites.

FRIDAY UPDATE: Dune: Part Two added 42 international box office markets on Thursday, taking the offshore cume on the Denis Villeneuve-directed sequel to $20.8M in a total 55. This includes two full-days of play and previews in those markets.

Good afternoon Insiders, Jesse Whittock with you in London, where the TV world has decamped this week for a series of screenings. Read on, and sign up for the newsletter here.

K.J. Yossman BBC Studios has tapped Nicola Pinn for the newly-created role of chief operating officer of factual productions. BBC Studios factual managing director Kate Ward unveiled Pinn’s promotion.

Naman Ramachandran BBC Studios has bought British broadcaster ITV‘s 50% stake in streamer BritBox International for £255 million ($322 million), the companies revealed on Friday. The streamer was founded in 2017 as a joint venture between BBC Studios, which is the commercial arm of the British broadcaster, and ITV. “The transaction will provide net proceeds including loan repayments and accrued dividends and after tax of around £235 million,” the companies said.

BBC Studios has paid £255M ($321M) to acquire ITV‘s shareholding in their joint venture streamer, BritBox International — the biggest ever single transaction for the BBC’s commercial wing.

This year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival will feature a masterclass and career retrospective of UK-Irish writer and director Martin McDonagh.

Selome Hailu Tubi has released a trailer for “Boarders,” a British teen dramedy series the service acquired from BBC. The series will be branded as a Tubi Original in North America and premieres with all six hour-long episodes on March 8. Per the official description, “‘Boarders’ is a high energy, warm and funny coming of age drama which follows lives of five Black inner city school teenagers who find themselves on scholarships to one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious boarding schools, St.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon MGM Studios, and James Farrell, the L.A.-based VP of international originals at Prime Video, flew to Madrid this week, with the world premiere of “Red Queen” (“Reina Roja”), the series adaption of the first book in Juan Gómez-Jurado’s hit trilogy, taking place on Monday night. The streamer is rolling off the record-breaking finale of its first weekly live entertainment show “Operación Triunfo,” and has revealed that the top three of the the ten most-watched Spanish Originals of 2023 – “My Fault,” “Awareness” and “Los Farad” – have received on average 80% of streams outside of Spain, reaching a milestone for the international reach of Prime Video’s non-English language content.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent The Sundance queer drama “Sebastian,” directed by up-and-coming Finnish-British director Mikko Mäkelä, has been bought by Kino Lorber for U.S. distribution, along with a string of international buyers. Represented in international markets by LevelK, the film made its world premiere in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Refresh for latest…: Paramount’s Bob Marley: One Love continued to sing sweet tunes in its sophomore session, adding $15M from 59 international box office markets for a drop of 37% from its above-expectations stellar opening. The overseas cume is now $49.4M for $120.6M worldwide.

EXCLUSIVE: The Kumars are plotting a return — this time on American television. Fox has ordered a presentation for multi-camera comedy Meet The Kumars, a followup to the award-winning 2001 BBC series The Kumars At No. 42. Most of the original cast is back for the U.S.-flavored revival of the family sitcom/talk show.

Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here steering you away from Berlin and towards London for the Screenings. Please do read on, and sign up here.

Welcome to Deadline’s London TV Screenings list, our definitive look at next week’s buzzy event taking Soho by storm. If you’re wondering who’s exhibiting, what’s on offer and want to dive deeper into the distribs’ strategy, we’ve done the hard work for you, presenting profiles from nearly 30 exhibiting sales houses. Below, check out profiles for all the London TV Screenings founders, along with the outfits based in the UK. Read on, and find all our London TV Screenings content throughout the week here.

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran film and television producers Sean and Bryan Furst have signed a multi-project development deal with Miramax TV via their Global Position Studios.