MUMBAI: It is safe to say that UFO Moviez is currently identified as a high-flying object in the financial skies, proving that when it comes to the silver screen, they are far from being “eclipsed” by the competition. The digital cinema distribution powerhouse has beamed up a formidable set of financial results for the quarter and nine months ended 31 December 2025, leaving investors feeling like they’ve found the golden ticket in their popcorn tub.

The company’s consolidated net profit for the nine months ended December 2025 reached Rs 20.43 crore, up from Rs 10.27 crore during the same period the previous year, marking a 99 per cent increase. This growth was reflected in the quarterly performance, with the three months ending December 2025 delivering a net profit of Rs 7.52 crore, compared to Rs 15.29 crore in the prior year’s corresponding quarter.

Revenue from operations remained steady, with the consolidated nine-month figure at Rs 343.78 crore, up from Rs 329.37 crore in the previous year. For the quarter, total income from operations stood at Rs 131.88 crore, showing consistent performance in a competitive market.

The company’s growth is supported by strategic restructuring.

The big merger: UFO successfully completed the amalgamation of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Scrabble Digital Limited (SDL) and UFO Software Technologies Private Limited (USTPL), effective from 1 April 2024. This “pooling of interests” has streamlined operations and strengthened the standalone bottom line, with restated nine-month standalone profits rising to Rs 14.09 crore from Rs 10.76 crore.

Asset liquidation: The company also exited its 48.12 per cent stake in Mukta V N Films Limited, earning a gain of Rs 0.40 crore.

Operational efficiency: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) for the nine months stood at Rs 62.04 crore, compared to Rs 47.28 crore in the previous period, reflecting effective cost management.

The auditors at BSR & Co. LLP have given the results an “unmodified” opinion, confirming the accounts are accurate. Meanwhile, the company’s Employee Stock Option Scheme (ESOP 2014) remains active, with 12,225 options available for eligible staff.

As the credits roll on the 2025 calendar year, UFO Moviez India Limited remains a dominant force in the “Cine Media Network,” proving that even in the age of streaming, the big screen, and the big numbers, still hold plenty of magic.
 

MUMBAI: Deepak Sharma has moved into the corner office at Jio Studios, taking over as ceo production and distribution in a senior appointment that underlines the studio’s ambitions across theatrical and filmed entertainment.

Sharma, an entertainment and media professional with more than 18 years across every major vertical of the film business, began the role in October 2025. He had shared the career update on LinkedIn about a month ago, signalling a transition that has now firmly placed him at the centre of one of India’s most influential studio set-ups.

The appointment caps a long run at PVR Pictures, where Sharma spent over 16 years, most recently as coo, steering operations across film acquisition, distribution and market strategy during a period of rapid change for theatrical cinema. Before that, he held senior leadership roles at Zee Entertainment, overseeing film production, distribution, acquisition and syndication.

Sharma’s career spans the full life cycle of filmmaking. At Sony Pictures Entertainment Films of India, he served as executive producer on Saawariya, handling project planning, budgeting, international coordination and studio reporting. Earlier stints saw him build revenue engines as a distributor for Sony Pictures and other Hollywood majors, experimenting with aggressive marketing, unconventional show timings and sharper negotiation to expand market share.

As a producer, his slate includes titles such as Socha Na Tha, Gulaal, Oh My God, Fox and Shaheed, combining commercial instincts with creative risk. He has also managed film budgeting, talent negotiation, scheduling, financial planning and fund-flow management, including commercial inputs for overseas fund-raising.

At Jio Studios, Sharma is expected to knit production and distribution into a single, tightly run engine, aligning creative ambition with scale, capital and reach. The brief is clear: build films that travel, manage costs with discipline and push harder in a crowded, fast-shifting market.

From the accounting desks of the Gulf to the boardrooms of India’s biggest studios, Sharma’s arc has been long and methodical. At Jio Studios, the pace is about to get faster.

MUMBAI: Two suitors, one studio and a regulator pressing pause. European Union antitrust authorities are preparing for an unusual side-by-side review of rival takeover bids for Warner Bros. Discovery, with Netflix and Paramount Skydance both in the frame, according to a Bloomberg report. The European Commission is expected to assess the competing proposals in parallel, a rare move that signals how closely matched and advanced the two bids have become. Bloomberg reported that both bidders have already held preliminary discussions with EU merger control officials, setting the stage for a coordinated but flexible regulatory process.

Running the reviews simultaneously could allow Brussels to steer outcomes more precisely. Regulators may choose to fast-track one bid while extending scrutiny, or attaching stricter conditions to the other, a tactic that gives competition authorities greater leverage in shaping the final structure of any deal.

The development follows Netflix’s recent escalation of its pursuit. The streaming giant has revised its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery into an all-cash bid valued at $82.7 billion, or $27.75 per share. The move replaces an earlier mix of stock and cash, a shift designed to reduce execution risk and offer clearer valuation certainty to shareholders. The Warner Bros. Discovery board has unanimously approved the revised proposal.

Any acquisition of the Hollywood and streaming heavyweight is unlikely to be a smooth ride. Beyond the EU, regulators in the United States and the United Kingdom are also expected to examine the transaction closely, given the companies’ reach across film studios, television networks and global streaming platforms.

With competition watchdogs on both sides of the Atlantic sharpening their focus, the race for Warner Bros. Discovery is shaping up to be as much a regulatory marathon as a corporate bidding war, one where timing, structure and antitrust tolerance may matter as much as price.