Brad Pitt’s Isle of Man rolls, Sony revives 24 Jump Street, Netflix closes AGGTM, DNEG bets $28.8M on Anima Kitchent, Bell Media remakes House of Villains and much more!

This week’s biggest moves show how global entertainment players are scaling through formats, franchise renewals, distribution rights, and strategic partnerships.

Behind this week’s headlines is a familiar pattern: companies doubling down on proven IP, strategic production hubs, and scalable content businesses. From Sony and Netflix to DNEG and Bell Media, the latest deals offer a glimpse into where the industry sees growth.

Want to see who’s backing similar projects, forming alliances, or acquiring IP in your market? Ask VIQI.

Legendary Pictures has acquired film adaptation rights to ‘Alchemised,’ the debut dark fantasy novel by author SenLinYu, in a deal reported to exceed $3 million — believed to be one of the largest book-to-film rights purchases in Hollywood history. The novel, set for a September 23 release with a 750,000-copy first print run, originated as a Harry Potter fan fiction titled ‘Manacled,’ centred on a Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger pairing. Del Rey is handling publication. (🇺🇸)

💬Which recent Hollywood rights purchase broke records as one of the largest book-to-film acquisitions in history?

Penguin Random House Australia and New Zealand (PRH) has announced screen options on several titles. CJZ optioned R.A. Spratt’s children’s detective series ‘Friday Barnes’; South Pacific Pictures optioned ‘The Bookshop Detectives’ by Gareth and Louise Ward. Additional titles optioned include ‘The Murder of Allison Baden-Clay’ (Spierig Brothers), ‘Ricochet Baby’ (Archipelago Productions), ‘The Deep’ (Shapeshifter Pictures), ‘The Stupendously Spectacular Spelling Bee’ (Fury Films Co.), and ‘The Wattle Island Book Club’ (Wise Goat Productions). (🇦🇺/ 🇳🇿)

💬What other premium scripted dramas or mystery series have been produced globally by Australian indie studio CJZ?

Canadian broadcaster Bell Media has acquired the format rights to NBCUniversal’s reality competition series ‘House of Villains’ to produce a French-language adaptation for its streaming platform Crave. Produced by Sphere Media in association with NBCUniversal Formats, the localized series will feature notorious reality TV figures from French Canada competing for a grand cash prize. (🇨🇦)

💬Evaluate Bell Media’s strategic choice to launch the French-language adaptation of House of Villains specifically as a streaming original.

Netflix has renewed ‘A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder’ for a third and final season, completing Holly Jackson’s bestselling trilogy. The four-episode season, already wrapped, will premiere in 2027, with Emma Myers returning as Pip. Produced by Moonage Pictures (part of ITV Studios) in co-production with Netflix and ZDFneo. BBC holds UK rights; Stan holds Australian rights; Sky NZ holds New Zealand rights. (🇬🇧)

💬 Which upcoming feature films or streaming projects have attached Emma Myers following her breakthrough television roles?

Production has commenced on Amazon MGM Studios’ motorcycle racing film ‘Isle of Man,’ starring Channing Tatum and Eve Hewson, with Brad Pitt on set. Directed by Reid Carolin and produced by Pitt’s Plan B, Tatum and Carolin’s Free Association, and Entertainment 360. The deal also includes a companion docuseries, ‘The Greatest Race on Earth,’ shot during the 2024 Isle of Man TT race. (🇺🇸)

💬What feature films or television series are currently greenlit under Plan B Entertainment’s first-look deal with Amazon MGM?

Sony’s ’24 Jump Street’ is in development, with Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, and Ice Cube in talks to return. Rodney Rothman will direct, with the script co-written by Hill and Meghan Malloy. Producers Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Neal H. Moritz are back, alongside Tatum and Reid Carolin’s Free Association and Hill’s Strong Baby banner. (🇺🇸)

💬Provide a list of active film and television projects currently in development under Jonah Hill’s Strong Baby banner.

India’s Impact Films has acquired multiple Cannes 2026 titles for the Indian market, including Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s ‘All of a Sudden’ (from Cinefrance International and Bitters End), Kore-eda Hirokazu’s ‘Sheep in the Box’ (from Gaga Corporation), Asghar Farhadi’s ‘Parallel Tales’ (from Charades), and Léa Mysius’s ‘The Birthday Party’ (from MK2 Films). The company also made its first Indonesian acquisitions, picking up Joko Anwar’s horror-comedy ‘The Ghost in the Cell’ (from Barunson E&A) and Sidharta Tata’s ‘Ikatan Darah’ (from WTFilms). (🇮🇳)

💬Which prominent international film titles are currently being represented for global sales by MK2 Films?

Switzerland’s Sister Distribution has acquired Swiss distribution rights to ‘The Indies,’ a €2.6 million Swiss-Spanish co-production by debut directors Pauline Julier and Nicolas Chapoulier. The period road film is majority-produced by Switzerland’s Alina Film with Spain’s Lastor Media, co-produced with Swiss public broadcaster RTS, and supported by Eurimages and ICEC. The project was presented as a work in progress at Madrid’s ECAM Forum co-production market. (🇨🇭 🇪🇸)

💬Which independent Spanish films or international co-productions are currently on the active slate for Lastor Media?

European studio Studiocanal, through its genre label Sixth Dimension, has boarded the horror thriller ‘Home Safety Hotline’ to co-develop, co-finance, and handle worldwide distribution. The project is bought from/produced alongside Spooky Pictures, Image Nation, and Longevity Pictures. Directed by Michael Matthews, the film adapts a cult puzzle video game. (🇬🇧)

💬Which other indie or cult video game properties have recently been optioned for feature film or television adaptation?

Buyers Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, BBC Studios, and Belgian broadcaster DPG Media have acquired a multi-title package of unscripted content from global supplier Passion Distribution. The separate agreements secure premium reality, true-crime, and science formats to bolster the international factual slates of each respective streaming and broadcast platform. (🇬🇧)

💬Provide a comprehensive overview of Passion Distribution’s role within the international television distribution landscape.

German broadcasters WDR and Arte, alongside Nordic networks NRK, SVT, RUV, and DR, have co-financed and acquired broadcasting rights to the Arctic climate change documentary ‘Frost Without Snow and Ice’. Global sales agent DR Sales secured the multi-buyer distribution deal for the feature, which was bought from the production company Artic Light and directed by Asgeir Helgestad. (🇩🇰)

💬 Provide a list of cinematic conservation or nature projects directed and photographed by filmmaker Asgeir Helgestad.

US streaming service Hulu has acquired ‘My Mom’s Murder’, a premium scripted thriller series starring Chloë Grace Moretz. Produced by MGM Television under a first-look deal with creators Meredith Lavender and Marcie Ulin (The Flight Attendant), the series is an adaptation of the hit true-crime podcast following a woman’s quest to uncover the truth behind her mother’s cold-case death. (🇺🇸)

💬Conduct a platform-specific analysis of Hulu’s current drama strategy.

French studio Mediawan and its joint venture Miraculous Corp have formed a global entertainment partnership with Chinese vehicle manufacturer BYD. The alliance debuts with a branded special episode of the animated comedy series ‘Miraculous Chibi’ on YouTube, kicking off a major investment project to integrate BYD electric vehicles into upcoming screen projects. (🇫🇷)

💬What other television series or animated co-productions are currently managed under the Miraculous Corp umbrella?

Vertical video platform FlareFlow has partnered with production and distribution company Bomanbridge Media to co-produce the wildlife natural history series ‘Mapogo: The Lion Throne’. Billed as the first premium vertical-format documentary series, the project tracks a legendary South African lion dynasty and will be narrated by actor Sam Myerson. (🇸🇬)

💬What entertainment and tech acquisitions have been completed by Singapore-headquartered digital media company COL Group International?

Global distributor Seven.One Studios International has licensed over 500 hours of content to several leading YouTube aggregators, expanding its digital footprint. Under the agreements, companies including DubMe IO, Content Rocket, Zylo, VA Media, Quintus Studios, and Little Dot Studios acquired AVOD and streaming rights to a broad library of factual titles, scripted series, and TV movies. (🇩🇪)

💬What unscripted reality formats or international drama series are currently produced or distributed globally by Seven.One Studios?

Entertainment company Versant Media has launched GammaTime, a new premium streaming platform dedicated entirely to short-form microdramas. Aimed at capturing the mobile-first audience, the service debuts with a robust slate of original, vertically formatted scripted series across the romance, thriller, and sci-fi genres. (🇺🇸)

💬Provide a comprehensive market analysis of the global microdrama landscape as it approaches an estimated $11 billion valuation.

Canadian visual effects firm Rodeo FX has consolidated its French operations by moving its newly acquired subsidiary, Mikros Animation, into a unified 40,000-square-foot studio in Paris. Led by Mikros president Julien Meesters, the strategic facility centralizes Rodeo’s local VFX, advertising, and feature animation divisions following its acquisition of the studio from Technicolor Group. (🇨🇦)

💬 Provide a comprehensive breakdown of the CNC’s Cultural Test Point System for foreign-initiated live-action and animated projects seeking TRIP approval.

VFX studio DNEG and Spain’s state-owned venture capital fund Spanish Society for Technological Transformation (SETT) have acquired shares in Canary Island animation studio Anima Kitchent. Both companies are investing $28.8 million into the studio, known for producing preschool series like ‘Cleo & Cuquín’. The investment will support DNEG’s creative incubator ReDefine Originals. (🇬🇧)

💬Track the recent international expansions, joint ventures, and studio acquisitions executed by VFX giant DNEG.