Jitin Hingorani Takes Up Roles at India’s Film Bazaar, SXSW Sydney (EXCLUSIVE)

Bam! 

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer has reached the $500M global milestone, on its way to an estimated $551M through Sunday. This would make it the filmmaker’s fifth-highest-grossing film of all time, ahead of Dunkirk. The worldwide total through Friday is $499.3M, meaning that it has already topped the five-century mark today.

American-born conductor and composer Carl Davis, who had lived in the UK since 1961, has died in Oxford aged 86.

Nitin Chandrakant Desai, the prominent Bollywood production designer of the Oscar-nominated music sports drama Lagaan, has died aged 57.

Naman Ramachandran Former Disney India head and producer of Sony LIV hit “Rocket Boys,” Siddharth Roy Kapur has hailed the reinvigorated Indian box office and robust streaming space. Nevertheless, he sees challenges ahead.

Naman Ramachandran The Indian parliament has passed the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill, which aims to curb piracy that causes losses of INR200 billion ($2.4 billion) to the film industry, according to government estimates. Those found guilty of film piracy by way of camcording in theaters or unauthorized copying and online transmission and exhibition of a pirated copy of any film will now face punishment of minimum three months imprisonment and a fine of $3,650, which can be extended up to three years imprisonment and fine up to 5% of the audited gross production cost.

Mark Owen - singing star and member of chart-topping boyband Take That - is understood to have been left in grief this week following the loss of one of his beloved family members. His wife of 23 years, energy coach Emma Owen, took to Instagram on Friday to share the news that their much-loved pet kitten has passed away and later revealed that the death has caused her to suffer an "existential crisis".

Naman Ramachandran Prolific Indian content studio Applause Entertainment, led by Sameer Nair, and acclaimed filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane’s Andolan Films are teaming to produce two politically-charged series. “Black Warrant” is based on the bestselling book “Black Warrant: Confessions Of A Tihar Jailer,” by prison officer Sunil Gupta and Sunetra Choudhury, a journalist with vast experience of chronicling India’s prison system.

Diljit Dosanjh and Arjun Rampal film, which is now titled “Punjab ’95,” will have its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Naman Ramachandran Indian actor Arshad Warsi stars in JioCinema series “Asur,” the second season of which is one of the most-watched Indian shows of the year. Set in the holy northern Indian city of Varanasi, the psychological thriller series with mythological elements stars Warsi and Barun Sobti as forensic expert investigators engaged in a cat-and-mouse-game with a serial killer. “Asur: Welcome to Your Dark Side” streamed on Voot in 2020. “Asur 2: The Rise of the Dark Side” moved over to sister streamer JioCinema and began streaming in June. Within three weeks of release, Season 2 amassed 30 million viewers and 3 billion minutes of watch time, per JioCinema data. The series also made it to IMDb’s top 50 shows worldwide.

Indian movie “Kalki 2898 AD” (working title “Project – K”) made a splash at the San Diego Comic-Con with the successful teaser and title release.

Naman Ramachandran The title of the Indian sci-fi epic long trailed as “Project K,” has been unveiled as “Kalki 2898 AD” at the ongoing San Diego Comic-Con, alongside a teaser. The film is directed by Nag Ashwin (“Mahanati”) and produced by C. Aswani Dutt’s Vyjayanthi Movies. It stars Indian A-listers Prabhas (“RRR” director S.S. Rajamouli’s Baahubali franchise); Deepika Padukone, star of “Pathaan,” the biggest Indian hit of the year so far; Amitabh Bachchan, who starred in 2022 hits “Uunchai” and “Brahmastra Part One: Shiva,”; Kamal Haasan who starred in and produced “Vikram,” one of the biggest hits of 2022 and has “Indian 2” in the works; and Disha Patani, who was last seen in “Ek Villain Returns” (2022).

Dow Griffith is set to receive the Location Managers Guild International’s (LMGI) Lifetime Achievement Award at the 10th Annual LMGI Awards taking place on Aug. 26, the guild announced Wednesday. With a lifetime career defined by over 65 motion pictures, Griffith is being honored for his rich creativity and enthusiasm that have “set the scene for movies sites literally around the world.” Griffith’s movie credits span across titles including “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” “Jumanji,” “And Justice For All,” “Proof of Life,” “Carrie,” “Dinosaur,” “Mission to Mars” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” among others.

On-location filming in Los Angeles has plummeted during the ongoing Writers Guild strike to levels not seen since the dog days of the Covid pandemic, according to FilmLA, the city and county film permit office.

Naman Ramachandran “The Lady of Heaven,” “The Batman,” and “The Kashmir Files” were the most complained about films in the U.K. in 2022, the British Board of Film Classification’s (BBFC) annual report reveals. “The Lady of Heaven,” which the BBFC describes as “a drama concerning the life of Fatima, a daughter of the prophet Muhammad,” topped the list with 1,573 complaints “from people who felt that the film was blasphemous and historically inaccurate.” The film was pulled from some U.K. cinemas upon release due to these concerns. “Sometimes, we also receive complaints which do not relate directly to BBFC classifications, but instead reflect people’s wider objections to a certain film,” the BBFC said in its annual report. “Filmmakers are free to explore historical or controversial themes and events within their films. Our role is to ensure that we classify the content appropriately based on our guidelines, in order to protect children and other vulnerable groups from potential harm and to empower consumers to make informed viewing decisions.”

EXCLUSIVE: Freestyle Digital Media has picked up North American rights to the sports documentary Big Crow from director Kris Kaczor, slating it for release on VOD platforms on August 1. 

Indian singer Harrdy Sandhu prophesizes that Punjabi music will take over the world (if it hasn’t already).

Rana Daggubati, the South Indian star of global hit film “Baahubali,” is poised to make a superhero-sized impact at San Diego Comic-Con. His Spirit Media company will unveil film, TV and comic-book projects with a variety of partners. Prime among these is movie project “Hiranyakashyap,” being developed by Spirit Media and set to be directed by Travikram. The picture is inspired by Amar Chitra Katha’s comics of the mythological figure, the powerful demon Hiranyakashyap, and his plan to achieve vengeance by destroying Lord Indira’s kingdom. In the series space, Spirit Media has pacted with streamer SonyLIV on historical epic action-drama “Lords of the Deccan.” Based on the novel of the same title, the show takes audiences back in time to witness the birth of the Chalukyas, a dynasty that shaped southern India for centuries.

Naman Ramachandran India’s media and entertainment industry is expected to reach $73.6 billion by 2027 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.48%, says consultancy firm PwC’s “Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2023-2027” report. In terms of growth percentage, streaming leads the way with revenue surging 25% in 2022 to reach $1.8 billion. The market will continue to grow at 14% CAGR to produce revenue of $3.5 billion in 2027. This will be driven by the competitive SVOD sector, which accounted for 78% of sector revenue in 2022, the report says, adding that while subscription service revenues will expand at 13% CAGR to reach $2.6 billion, ad-supported services (AVOD) will grow at a higher rate, albeit from a lower base.

EXCLUSIVE: The UK has a new South Asian-focused film talk show.