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  • Comic Con second edition in Hyderabad to feature seven comic launches

    Comic Con second edition in Hyderabad to feature seven comic launches

    NEW DELHI: Over 100 exhibitors, including artists, writers and creators from all over the country are converging on the city of the Char Minar, Hyderabad, for the second edition of Comic Con India.

     

    With ALTO K10 as associate sponsor, Hyderabad Comic Con will take place on 12 and 13 September at Hitex Exhibition Centre.

     

    Apart from the biggest Cosplay (Costume Contest) contest in the city, the show will witness seven exclusive comic book launches namely  Shaitaan by Holy Cow Entertainment, Item Dhamaka – Godsmack part 2 by Aayumi Productions, Tinkle & Tobi by Sai Animation, Vrica by ICBM Comics, Legends of Yuck Man by Smarak Swain.

     

    Famous international personalities like Matt Melvin who is author of Cyanide and Happiness and The Last Nerds; Miya Tomoko and Moe Tsurumi who are professional Japanese Cosplayers, and Kevin Hamric who is director of VIZ Media will be attending and will meet their fans.

     

    The show is spread over 40,000 sq feet. The main stage area at the convention will feature 24 hours of programming. 

     

    Comic Con founder Jatin Varma said, “We at Comic Con India are excited to come back to our favourite city, Hyderabad. The convention in its third year, is bigger and better than before. We have a stellar guest and content line up and can’t wait for the fans to come over and join us for the show! We hope to make it their best weekend of the year!”

     

    Cosplay, one of the major attractions at Comic Con India, will continue to give assured prizes to everyone in costume. There are five categories: Comic book/graphic novel; Animated Series/Movie; Manga/Anime; Sci-Fi/Fantasy; and Gaming. One winner in each category each day will get a prize. In addition, one lucky winner out of the chosen five will get a chance to win a golden ticket to Thailand.

     

    Comic Con India brings a special treat for all the tech and gaming enthusiasts in Hyderabad this year. There will be exclusive Experiential and Gaming Zones at the event. The Maruti Suzuki Alto K10 Experience Zone will have art installations and gaming. Smaaash Virtual Reality Zone will have a special gaming experience for the fans. The zone will feature a mix of virtual reality and other interactive games. The fans can come and enjoy the games free of cost. EA Entertainment Gaming Zone will be hosting sessions taking fans behind the scenes of some of their most popular games. 

     

    Other exclusive Experiential Zones at Hyderabad Comic Con include Nodwin Gaming’s Comic Con India Live Zone & Roboland Zone. Comic Con India Live will bring the Comic Con experience to the audience at home Live. This will be a live twitch broadcast of the event.

     

    At Roboland, Sci-Fi will become Reality. Roboland will have awesome line up of Robots developed and created in India, and they will be performing some stunts for the fans.

     

    Comic Con India is making a new addition with YouTube Stage. YouTube will be creating a fan experience zone at the show. The stage will feature popular YouTube stars and will give the fans an opportunity to interact with them. The stage will also feature YouTube merchandise, which fans can buy at the event.

     

    Fans will find an “Artist Alley” at the HCC 2015, which is a zone exclusively featuring artists from all over India. It will give fans an opportunity to interact with artists, illustrators, designers working for comics and related fields. The alley will

     

    feature artists like Nikhil Gulati, Saumin Suresh Patel, Reshmi Chandrashekhar, Milan Preet, Manasa Madhuri, Garima Shukla and many more. Well known creators like Vivek Goel from Holy Cow Entertainment, Aniruddho Chakraborty from Chariot comics and Prasad Bhatt from Graphicurry will be at the show as well.

     

    The event will have a unique fan-made costumes and models booth called Station Cafe, where there will be customised Iron Man Suit, Captain America’s Lemurian Star and Thor’s Mjolnir on display. Here fans can buy DC & Marvel, Masters of the Universe and other Replicas – Wood & Metal Castings and Lathe Fabricated of Superman, Batman, Thor’s Mjolnir, He-man’s Power Sword etc.

     

    Exclusive merchandise by Indian merchandisers, including Comic Con India Store, Wacom, Bewakoof Brands, Hysteria, Wear Your Opinion, Chulbul, Silver Carvings, Captain Kyso, Macmerise, Planet Superheroes, Being Hyderabadi, Lazy Ninja, Graphicurry, Hangout Store, Urbanzaa, Bushirt, and Comic Gadget will be available. 

     

    The main participants for the Hyderabad Comic Con include Amar Chitra Katha, Orange Radius, Pop Culture Publishing, Campfire Graphic Novel, Holy Cow Entertainment, HarperCollins Publishers, Aayumi Productions, Raj Comics, Red Streak Publications, and Scholastic India.

     

    Comic Con India is part of the Reedpop family of events, which is dedicated to producing world-class celebrations of popular culture around the world with events like New York Comic Con, Oz Comic Con, Shanghai Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration among many others. 

  • DreamWorks Animation loses $38.6 million in Q2 due to restructuring

    DreamWorks Animation loses $38.6 million in Q2 due to restructuring

    MUMBAI: Including the impact of the restructuring plan, DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc reported net loss attributable of $38.6 million, or $0.45 per share for the quarter ended 30 June, 2015. The company’s operating loss stood at $21.8 million.

     

    DreamWorks Animation’s revenues for the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 at $170.8 million, were up 39.7 per cent from the same period in 2014. In addition, the company reported an adjusted operating loss of $1 million and adjusted net loss attributable to DWA of $11.6 million.

     

    Adjusted financial results exclude a $20.9 million pre-tax charge associated with company’s restructuring plan announced in January 2015.

     

    Of the restructuring-related charges totaling $20.9 million or a loss of $2.4 million was due to employee termination and other employee-related costs, $10.9 million was related to accelerated depreciation and amortization charges associated with the closure of its Redwood City facility, and $7.6 million was primarily related to excess staffing and other costs associated with previously announced changes in the feature film slate.

     

    “Our second quarter financial results were solid, highlighted by the theatrical success of Home and the rapid expansion of our Television and New Media businesses. The appetite for premium content across platforms continues to grow both domestically and internationally, and it’s clear DreamWorks Animation is well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand,” said DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg.

     

    Home, which was released theatrically on 27 March, 2015 has reached $177 million at the US box office and $207 million at the international box office to date. 

     

    Second Quarter Review:

     

    DreamWorks Animation’s second quarter revenues of $170.8 million increased 39.7 per cent versus the prior-year period primarily driven by the performance of the feature film, television series and specials and new media segments.

     

    Television Segment

     

    Revenues for the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 from the Television series and specials segment increased to $54.5 million, compared to $20 million during the prior-year period. The increase in revenues was attributable to a significantly higher number of episodes delivered under episodic content licensing arrangements.

     

    Segment gross profit increased to $19.2 million in the current quarter, from $1.2 million in the same period of the prior year. The increase was primarily driven by favorable amortization rates associated with episodic series, partially offset by higher up-front marketing costs associated with the release of its new television series.

     

    In addition, for the three months ended 30 June, 2014 segment gross profit was negatively impacted by higher than expected returns of seasonal and newly-released home entertainment product, as well as increased selling costs, related to the company’s Classic Media properties.

     

    Film Segment

     

    Revenues for the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 from the Feature Film segment increased to $87.8 million, up from $69.7 million in the prior-year period. Segment gross profit also increased to $31.7 million compared to $23.9 million in the same period last year.

     

    In the quarter, Home contributed revenue of $23.9 million, The Penguins of Madagascar contributed $8.3 million, How to Train Your Dragon 2 contributed $17.9 million, Mr. Peabody and Sherman contributed $8.4 million and Turbo contributed $1 million.

     

    Library titles contributed feature film revenue of $28.3 million to the quarter.

     

    Consumer Products Segment

     

    Revenues from the Consumer Products segment decreased to $12.7 million in the second quarter, compared to $18.5 million in the same period last year. The prior year period benefitted from merchandise and licensing revenue associated with How to Train Your Dragon 2, which was released theatrically in June 2014. Segment revenues in the current quarter were primarily generated by licensing arrangements related to a variety of intellectual property rights associated with the characters from films.

     

    Segment gross profit decreased to $1.8 million from $7.3 million in the prior year period, largely due to higher costs incurred across a variety of segment activities.

     

    New Media Segment

     

    Revenues for the quarter ended 30 June, 2015 from the company’s New Media segment were $14.6 million compared to $11.5 million during the three months ended 30 June, 2014. This increase was primarily attributable to revenue generated under new licensing agreements and the delivery of newly-created content versus the prior-year period.

     

    Segment gross profit increased to $7.5 million from $2.5 million in the prior-year period, primarily due to higher revenue contributions from newly licensed content. 

  • Three Indian entries win for best TV production at Apollo Awards

    Three Indian entries win for best TV production at Apollo Awards

    NEW DELHI: Indians won three awards out of the eight entries shortlisted for the Apollo Awards for television programming in Asia to be presented in Singapore.

     
    There were a total of 15 categories for the awards. 

    The awards are to be presented on 18 June in conjunction with BroadcastAsia 2014 – the 19th International Digital Multimedia & Entertainment Technology Exhibition and Conference, at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

     

    While Studio Eeksaurus Production Pvt Ltd, India won two awards for Art Direction (Sandeep Shelhar & Ashok – Kitkat Astronaut- Diwali) and 2D Animation (Arun Rane & Sunita Kathiwada – Rotary Fateline), the third prize went to Prime Focus in Visual Effects/CGI – Long Form (Stefen Fangmeier & Merzin Tavaria – Sin City: A Dame to Kill For).

     

    Launched in 2005, the Apollo Awards is an initiative aimed at honouring the best in production and post-production across Asia Pacific, with a strong focus on the creative and technical mastery behind the scenes.

     
    The 23-member jury included one Indian – Studio Eeksaurus founder and creative director Suresh Eriyat.

    The Apollo awards had been introduced to recognize the fluid nature of talent migration in the production and post-production industry, coupled with the growth of Asia Pacific’s media and entertainment industry, has drawn top talent to the region and elevated the quality of work produced in this region.

     
    Since the launch of its new and improved version in 2013, the Apollo Awards has garnered attention from industry players as the nature of the awards is uncommon in this region.

  • FY-2015: DQ Entertainment reports consolidated loss of Rs 20 crore on lower revenue

    FY-2015: DQ Entertainment reports consolidated loss of Rs 20 crore on lower revenue

    BENGALURU: The Tapas Chakravarti led DQ Entertainment (International) Limited (DQEIL) reported consolidated loss in FY-2015 at Rs 19.71 crore as compared to a profit after tax (PAT) of Rs 43.77 crore in the previous fiscal due to lower consolidated net income from operations (TIO), higher unallocated operating loss and higher finance expenses. 

     

    The company reported consolidated loss of Rs 26.33 crore in Q4-2015 as compared to a PAT of Rs 14.66 crore in the corresponding year ago quarter and a PAT of Rs 4.24 crore in the immediate trailing quarter. However, on a standalone basis, the company has reported 19.7 per cent lower PAT at Rs 15.5 crore in the current year as compared to the Rs 19.3 crore in FY-2014.

     

    Note: (1) 100,00,000 = 100 Lakhs = 10 million = 1 crore

    (2) All numbers are consolidated unless stated otherwise.

     

    DQEIL reported an 18.7 per cent drop in TIO in FY-2015 to Rs 194.80 crore as compared to the Rs 239.68 crore in FY-2015. TIO in Q4-2015 at Rs 75.81 crore was 25.6 per cent lower than the Rs 101.83 crore in Q4-2014, but 65.8 per cent more than the Rs 45.71 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    The company attributes the change in TIO to change in its business model in the case of production and development of its own IP. Previously the company was producing IP through a special purpose vehicle and recognizing production value, but since FY-2014-15, the company decided to directly produce and capitalize its own IP and will only recognize the distribution revenue on completion of projects and delivery to the broadcasters. 

     

    Further, slowdown in production and delay in the start of new projects on account of difficult market conditions have also affected production in the current year.

     

    The company incurred a higher unallocated operating loss in FY-2015 at Rs 54.32 crore as compared to the loss of Rs 38.01 crore in FY-2014. Unallocated loss in Q4-2015 at Rs 26.39 crore was lower than the operating loss of Rs 37.14 crore in Q4-2014, but was higher than the unallocated operating loss of Rs 14.24 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    The company’s finance expenses in FY-2015 increased 69.8 per cent to Rs 42.73 crore as compared to the Rs 25.17 crore in FY-2014. Finance expense in Q4-2015 at Rs 16.78 crore was more than double (2.52 times) the Rs 6.66 crore in Q4-2014 and 54 per cent more than the Rs 10.90 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Segments

     

    While both segments’ (Animation and Distribution that contribute to the company’s numbers reported operating profits, except Q4-2015 in which Distribution incurred operating loss), unallocated operating losses and higher finance charges ate into the profits during the year as well as during the current quarter.

     

    Animation

     

    Animation segment reported 24 per cent lower revenue at Rs 142.34 crore in FY-2015 as compared to the Rs 187.34 crore in FY-2014. Revenue from this segment in Q4-2015 fell 13 per cent to Rs 69.87 crore as compared to the Rs 80.32 crore in Q4-2014, but was 3.1 times the Rs 22.61 crore in Q3-2015. 

     

    Animation segment reported 36.8 per cent lower operating profit at Rs 70.27 crore as compared to the Rs 111.11 crore in FY-2014. Operating profit in Q4-2015 at Rs 33.88 crore was 34.6 per cent lower than the Rs 51.77 crore in Q4-2014, but 70 per cent more than the Rs 19.93 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Distribution

     

    Distribution segment reported 0.2 per cent increase in revenue to Rs 52.46 crore in FY-2015 as compared to the Rs 52.34 crore in the previous year. Distribution revenue in Q4-2014 at Rs 5.94 crore was 72.4 per cent less (less than a third) than the Rs 21.51 crore in Q4-2014 and was 74.3 per cent lower than the Rs 23.1 crore in the preceding quarter.

     

    Distribution segment reported 10.8 per cent drop in operating profit in FY-2015 at Rs 13.67 crore as compared to the Rs 15.32 crore in FY-2014. In Q4-2015, the segment incurred operating loss of Rs 12.53 crore as compared to the operating profit of Rs 1.25 crore in Q4-2014 and operating profit of Rs 15.37 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    Let us look at the other numbers reported by DQEIL:

     

    Total Expenses (TE) in FY-2015 at Rs 166.45 crore (85.4 per cent of TIO) was 2.8 per cent lower than the Rs 171.16 crore (72.4 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014. TE in Q4-2015 at Rs 85.30 crore (112.5 per cent of TIO) was 1.1 per cent lower than the Rs 86.27 crore (84.7 per cent of TIO) in Q4-2014 and almost tripled (2.98 times) as compared to the Rs 18.9 crore (62.1 percent of TIO) in Q3-2015.

     

    DQEIL Production expense (PE) in FY-2015 increased 10.8 per cent to Rs 21.63 crore (11.1 per cent of TIO) as compared to the Rs 19.52 crore (8.1 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014. PE in Q4-2015 at Rs 16.75 crore (22.1 per cent of TIO) was 6.7 per cent more than the Rs 15.69 crore in Q4-2015 and almost eighteen-fold (17.61 times) the Rs 0.95 crore in Q3-2015.

     

    The company’s Employee Expenses (EBE) in FY-2015 at Rs 63.71 crore (32.7 per cent of TIO) was 11.5 per cent lower than the Rs 71.96 crore (30 per cent of TIO) in FY-2014. EBE in Q4-2015 at Rs 13.59 crore (17.9 per cent of TIO) was 1.8 per cent more than the Rs 13.35 crore in Q4-2015, but 25.1 per cent lower than the Rs 18.15 crore in Q3-2015.

  • India – S. Korea join hands for co-productions in broadcasting, animation

    India – S. Korea join hands for co-productions in broadcasting, animation

    NEW DELHI: After inking film co-production deals with China, India has now signed an agreement with South Korea to increase audio-visual exchange between the two countries. The deal was signed today during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea.

     

    The co-production agreement includes cooperation between the film industries of the two countries to promote export of Indian films and will act as a catalyst towards creating awareness about India and its culture.

     

    This will also help in increasing bilateral trade between both countries. The agreement was signed under the provisions of India-South Korea Exchange Programme.

     

    The agreement also covers animation and broadcasting programmes and would enable opportunities for collaboration between Indian and Korean film industries, and facilitate collaboration and exchange.

     

    Producers from both countries will get an opportunity to pool their creative, artistic, technical, financial and marketing resources to co-produce films. 

     

    This will lead to exchange of art and culture among the two countries, and co-productions would provide an opportunity to create and showcase the ‘soft power’ of India. 

     

    Additionally, it would lead to generation of employment among artistic, technical as well as non-technical personnel engaged in the arena of film production including post-production and its marketing, thus adding to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). 

     

    The utilization of Indian locales for shooting raises the visibility and prospects of India as a preferred film shooting destination across the globe would be promoted. This in turn will lead to the inflow of foreign exchange into the country. It will also lead to transparent funding of film production. 

     

    The audio-visual co-production agreement would open up new frontiers for the film industries of both countries and is expected to open doors for wide ranging collaboration and lead to strengthening of India’s cultural presence in an important part of the world.

  • Toonz inks co-finance & animation deal with Gnosis Moving Pictures

    Toonz inks co-finance & animation deal with Gnosis Moving Pictures

    MUMBAI: Indian animation company Toonz Media Group and Los Angeles-based Gnosis Moving Pictures have inked a long-term co-financing and animation deal for a slate of CG-animated films that will be rolled out over the years. The first movie under this partnership will be directed by Academy Award-winning claymation pioneer Will Vinton.

     

    Toonz CEO P. Jayakumar said, “At Toonz we believe in creating wonderful stories with a soul for kids all over the world. It was a delight to discover that Gnosis has a similar vision and I hope this partnership brings out wonderful visual treats for kids across the globe for a very long time to come.”

     

    Toonz will contribute substantial equity to the projects and will produce the movies at its India and New Zealand facilities. On the other hand, Gnosis Moving Pictures will team help develop and distribute the movies.

     

    “This long term partnership furthers our mission to bring animated projects that both entertain and encourage children across the world. Toonz shares our vision and we look forward to embarking on this journey with them to enrich the lives of children through a slate of animated film properties,” said Gnosis Moving Pictures CEO Darius Kamali.

     

    Toonz will produce the films with Kamali and Gnosis’ Kasey Adler, who oversees the company’s investments and strategic partnerships.

  • Disney and Kudelski Group ink patent license agreement

    Disney and Kudelski Group ink patent license agreement

    MUMBAI: The Kudelski Group has inked a multi-year patent license agreement with The Walt Disney Company. While the specific terms remain confidential, this agreement provides Disney with a license to the Kudelski Group’s patent portfolio, subject to certain limitations.

     

    “The Kudelski Group continues to invest heavily in developing technology and intellectual property that help enable industry leaders like The Walt Disney Company to deliver their popular, world-class video and entertainment platforms to the market through streaming video properties, such as ESPN.com and ABC.com. We’re very pleased to enter into this agreement with The Walt Disney Company, a market leader in video distribution. This agreement further underpins the relevance of our patent portfolio in an expanding technology footprint,” said Kudelski Group senior vice president of intellectual property and innovation Joe Chernesky.

     

    With over 60 years of experience in pioneering innovative technologies, the Kudelski Group offers a comprehensive intellectual property licensing program that provides its customers and partners with access to many fundamental technologies, enabling them to build compelling devices, applications and services that work seamlessly together.

  • Hyderabad Comic Con moved from June to September, 2015

    Hyderabad Comic Con moved from June to September, 2015

    MUMBAI: Comic Con India has pushed the dates for Hyderabad Comic Con from June to September.

     

    Earlier this year, Comic Con India had announced that Hyderabad Comic Con will take place on 13-14 June, 2015. However, due to logistical reasons, it will now be held on 12-13 September, 2015 at Hitex Exhibition Center.

     

    Comic Con India founder Jatin Varma said, “Due to certain logistical issues around organising the show in June, we are officially shifting the show dates to September 12-13, 2015 at Hitex. We have quite a few surprises in store for our fans, we promise them an awesome show!”

     

    American comic book writer Ron Marz known for his writings for Silver Surfer and Green Lantern; American writer Nathan Edmondson best known for Image Comic’s espionage comic series Who Is Jake Ellis? and New York Times Best Selling and Eisner Award winning author and a Tony Award winning producer Vivek Tiwary were the special Comic Book guests at Hyderabad Comic Con 2014, which took place last year in October.

  • Aadarsh’s Purple Turtle bags licensor of the year publishing award

    Aadarsh’s Purple Turtle bags licensor of the year publishing award

    MUMBAI: Inspired by the vision of innovate in India, media and entertainment company Aadarsh has won the Licensor of the year- publishing award at Indian eRetail Congress 2015. 

     

    Aadarsh is the owner of Purple Turtle, an Indian animated character that has gone global and created success stories in 27 countries. Aadarsh is mainly involved in IP creation, publishing, printing and licensing services of toons and characters focused on school genre.

     

    The award recognises the innovative measures and benchmarks set by Aadarsh in the domain of brand and character licensing in India and abroad.

     

    Aadarsh directors Ashish and Manish Rajoria said, “Aadarsh specializes in printing, publishing, IP development, licensing and entertainment for children and we are committed to set new benchmarks for Indian Innovation and IP in content on the global dais. We are delighted to be the winner of prestigious Licensor of the year- Publishing Award at the popular Brand Licensing and Merchandising conference of Indian eRetail Congress 2015. We are honoured that Purple Turtle has added another accolade in its global recognition portfolio.”

     

  • Nat Geo to feature Akshaya Patra Foundation on ‘Mega Kitchen’ series

    Nat Geo to feature Akshaya Patra Foundation on ‘Mega Kitchen’ series

    MUMBAI: National Geographic Channel (NGC) is going back to school with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to showcase how the world’s largest school lunch program is cooking up millions of meals and offering India’s children a hopeful tomorrow, one plate at a time.

     

    NGC will premiere Akshaya Patra – Shiksha ka Mahabhog on the Mega Kitchen series on 27 April, 2015 at 9 pm.

     

    The one-hour special gives a unique look into what goes into the functioning of this mammoth kitchen – with a focus on scale, volume, technology and process. Committed to serving the cause of providing nutrition to children, The Akshaya Patra Foundation serves wholesome food to over 1.4 million school children from 10,770 schools in 24 locations across 10 States in India.

     

    NGC’s exclusive documentary on Akshaya Patra promotes the thought of food for education and gives interesting insights like how a whopping 175,000 meals are cooked in just about five hours with an ‘inexhaustible vessel’ and how gravity is used to do all the load-bearing work. To further the cause of mid-day meal programme, NGC has also launched #FoodForEducation initiative on digital media to raise awareness and donations for the Akshaya Patra Foundation.

     

    The Akshaya Patra Foundation CEO Shridhar Venkat said, “Akshaya Patra featuring in a special telecast premiere by National Geographic Channel is indeed a remarkable opportunity for the foundation to gain added momentum to bring awareness to the programme of providing food for education to millions of children in India. We are grateful to NGC for dedicating a full hour episode on Akshaya Patra on their iconic infotainment channel, admired the world over.”

     

    NGC Networks and Fox International Channels business head Swati Mohan added, “Being the leader in the space of infotainment production in India, we at Nat Geo pride ourselves in creating content that exemplifies exclusive access, well researched facts, a local flavour and international quality. ‘Akshaya Patra’ is an example of our continued commitment to do just that and extend the much loved franchise of ‘Megafactories’ in a very relevant and Indian way.”