Toho Buys Anime Limited; Oscars Move to YouTube; Netflix Adapts Giffin; Lucasfilm Wraps Star Wars & More!

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Welcome to the Latest Edition of Vitrina’s Global Entertainment Supply-Chain Digest!

A 50-year broadcast era comes to an end as the Oscars move to YouTube, Netflix locks in a record-value Indian blockbuster years ahead of release, and global platforms double down on franchise control before the next wave of films and series arrive. This week also saw major consolidation plays, aggressive regional content investments, and anime and FAST strategies scaling with renewed intent.

Every headline below signals where momentum is building next.

IP Deals

Hottest IP [Stories, Formats, Books, Games, Podcasts] to be turned into the next big blockbuster

Production + Seasonal Renewal

Sneak peak into recently announced production projects worldwide

That’s a Wrap: Filming Is Complete!

Projects that have concluded filming are now moving into post-production

Distribution Deals

Distributors securing worldwide content across different genres, languages and format types
  • Passion Distribution has secured the exclusive global distribution rights for Twisted Sisters: Madness & Manslaughter, a gripping two-part true-crime documentary produced by Mentorn Media. The series, which explores the shocking 2008 case of Swedish twins Ursula and Sabina Eriksson, is set for an international launch at the Passion Showcase during the London Screenings in February 2026. (🇬🇧)
  • Banijay Entertainment has acquired the international rights to the Finnish digital-first format All Star Hide & Seek from Rabbit Films. Originally a YouTube hit created by Roni Bäck, the series features influencers and celebrities playing high-stakes hide-and-seek in real-world locations and will now be adapted for global primetime and streaming audiences.
  • Menemsha Films has acquired the North American distribution rights to Ethan Bloom, a documentary exploring the life and work of the influential Jewish-American artist. The deal was finalized following the film’s international festival run. Menemsha Films plans to serve as the primary distributor for a multi-platform release in 2026, targeting specialized art-house theaters and educational institutions across the United States and Canada. (🇺🇸)
  • Altered Innocence has acquired the North American distribution rights to Hen, the latest feature from acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker György Pálfi (Taxidermia). The surreal, folk-horror-inflected drama follows a woman who discovers a strange egg in a rural setting, leading to an unsettling transformation. Altered Innocence will serve as the primary distributor, planning a theatrical and digital rollout for the film in late 2026. (🇺🇸)
  • Zee Studios has acquired the Hindi distribution rights to Thalapathy Vijay’s final film, Jana Nayagan (titled Jan Neta in Hindi). Directed by H. Vinoth and produced by KVN Productions, the political action drama is set for a wide nationwide release on January 9, 2026. The deal ensures a full 8-week theatrical window in national chains, marking the most ambitious Hindi rollout for a Vijay-starrer to date. (🇮🇳)
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Acquisition Deals

Streamers & channels acquiring latest content across the world
  • Konami Cross Media NY has inked a new licensing agreement with ITVX to bring all three seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush!! to audiences across the UK. The deal for the eighth series in the global franchise underscores the growing mainstream demand for high-quality anime and expands ITVX’s digital catalog with over 150 episodes of the “Rush Duel” focused series.
  • The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has signed a multi-year deal with YouTube for the exclusive global broadcast rights to the ‘Oscars’, starting in 2029. The rights were bought from the Academy, ending a long-term partnership with ABC after the 2028 centennial ceremony. YouTube will serve as the primary distributor through 2033. (🇺🇸)
  • Starz has acquired the exclusive U.S. rights to the South African action-thriller The Nowhere Man, produced by Motion Story in partnership with Naturi Naughton-Lewis’s Take Two Entertainment. The six-part series stars Bonko Khoza as a former mercenary whose attempt at a quiet life in Johannesburg is shattered when he intervenes in a violent home invasion.
  • Peacock has acquired the domestic streaming rights to the complete Riddick film franchise, starring Vin Diesel. Starting January 1, 2026, the NBCUniversal platform will host the entire sci-fi library, including Pitch Black, The Chronicles of Riddick, and the 2013 sequel Riddick. The acquisition positions Peacock as the exclusive streaming home for the property as production continues on the upcoming fourth installment, Riddick: Furya. (🇺🇸)
  • Netflix has reportedly acquired the all-language digital streaming rights for the upcoming film ‘AA22xA6’ from Sun Pictures for a record-breaking ₹600 crore. Directed by Atlee and starring Allu Arjun, Deepika Padukone, and Janhvi Kapoor, the high-budget sci-fi project marks a historic OTT deal for Indian cinema ahead of its planned 2027 theatrical release. (🇮🇳)

Partnerships / M&A

Cross-Border Collaborations, Joint Ventures, M&A and Partnerships!

What does it take to build a next-gen animation studio across platforms? Get the inside view. — only at Vitrina.

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Companies Making Headlines

Launch and Expansions of facilities, studios, services & technologies

Featured New Specializations

Global innovations & breakthroughs in the Entertainment supply-chain
  • The Pixel Farm has released its 2025 updates for ‘PFTrack’, its 3D camera tracking software. The release features a rebuilt lens distortion toolset, updated user interfaces for tracking nodes, and a ‘Localized’ motion prediction algorithm. Additionally, the update integrates Matchmove Machine’s ‘CamDB’ database, allowing users to access external libraries of camera sensor data. (🇬🇧)
  • Atomos has released firmware updates for ‘Ninja TX’ and ‘Ninja TX Pro’, enabling ProRes RAW recording and camera control for the Canon ‘EOS R6 Mark III’. This collaboration between Atomos and Canon allows users to capture high-quality video and manage settings directly from the monitor, streamlining professional production workflows for filmmakers. (🇦🇺)
  • Alibaba Cloud has released ‘Qwen-Image-Layered’, an AI model that decomposes images into distinct, editable layers. This technology enables precise manipulation of specific elements within an image without affecting the background or other components. Developed by the Alibaba Group, the tool represents a significant advancement in granular control for AI-driven image editing and graphic design. (🇨🇳)
  • Adobe has integrated prompt-based video editing into ‘Firefly’, allowing users to generate and edit video content using text instructions. This update enables the creation of B-roll and atmospheric clips directly within ‘Premiere Pro’, streamlining the post-production process for editors and motion graphics artists by automating complex visual tasks through generative AI models. (🇺🇸)
  • Tencent has released ‘Tencent-HY-Motion 1.0’, a billion-parameter text-to-motion model utilizing Diffusion Transformer architecture. The model enables high-quality 3D human motion generation from textual prompts, supporting complex movements and long-duration sequences. This technology provides game developers and animators with a scalable tool for creating realistic character animations through advanced flow-matching techniques. (🇨🇳)

Localization & Post-Production

Latest updates in the world of content Localization & Post-Production
  • Science-D-Visions has released 3DEqualizer4 R8.1, the latest update for its high-end 3D tracking software. Key features include a new ‘Surface’ node for projecting points onto 3D geometry and a ‘Distortion’ node for improved lens calibration. These tools streamline camera tracking and matchmoving workflows for visual effects artists in film and television production. (🇩🇪)
  • Meltytech has released Shotcut 25.12, a significant update to its open-source video editor. This version introduces ‘Elastic Markers’ for time-stretching, a ‘Waveform’ visualization for audio filters, and improved ‘Multi-threading’ for faster exports. The update focuses on refining professional editing workflows and performance stability for users on Linux, Windows, and macOS platforms. (🇺🇸)
  • HitPaw has launched ‘FotorPea’ V5.2.0, a significant update to its AI-powered photo editing software. The new version introduces an ‘AI Image Generator’ for text-to-image creation and an ‘AI Portrait’ feature for professional headshots. These tools aim to streamline creative workflows by providing automated, high-quality image enhancement and generation capabilities for global users. (🇭🇰)
  • Digiarty Software has launched ‘Aiarty Video Enhancer’ and updated ‘Aiarty Image Enhancer’ to improve low-quality footage and images. The 2025 releases feature ‘More-than-4K’ upscaling, deblurring, and denoising capabilities. These tools utilize advanced deep learning to restore details and generate high-quality visuals, catering to professional photographers and video creators seeking high-resolution media outputs. (🇨🇳)
  • Selects has launched a new platform establishing a baseline for AI-assisted long-form video automation. The tool utilizes advanced algorithms to streamline the editing process, allowing creators to efficiently transform raw footage into structured narratives. This technology aims to optimize production timelines for digital media companies and independent content creators globally. (🇺🇸)
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Animation, VFX & Virtual Production

Latest global updates in Animation, Visual Effects VFX & Virtual Production
  • Toonz Media Group, EiPi Media, and Pran’s Features have partnered to launch ‘Chacha Chaudhary’ into the AI space. Through the ‘Chacha Chaudhary AI’ initiative, the iconic character created by Pran Kumar Sharma will be adapted into innovative digital formats, including AI-driven conversational bots and interactive storytelling, modernizing the heritage IP for global audiences. (🇮🇳)
  • NeoLemon has launched an ‘AI Cartoon Generator’ designed to maintain character consistency across multiple scenes. The tool allows creators to generate stable visual identities for digital storytelling and branding without manual redesigns. By ensuring character persistence, the platform streamlines the creative process for animators and illustrators producing long-form narrative content or social media series. (🇺🇸)
  • Masterpiece X has launched ‘WorldEngen’, an AI copilot specifically engineered for professional 3D production workflows. The tool integrates directly into existing software to assist artists in generating and refining 3D assets through natural language. This collaboration provides a streamlined solution for creators to accelerate character and environment modeling within established industry pipelines. (🇨🇦)
  • Luma AI has unveiled ‘Ray3 Modify’, a next-generation workflow model designed for advanced video editing. The tool allows users to make precise adjustments to existing video content using generative AI, maintaining consistency across frames. This update provides professional creators with granular control over lighting, textures, and object modifications within complex cinematic sequences. (🇺🇸)
  • Braindance has launched a VR experience utilizing ‘Volumetric Gaussian Splatting’ technology to create photorealistic digital environments. The platform allows users to explore high-fidelity 3D spaces with unprecedented detail and performance. This innovation provides creators with new tools for immersive storytelling and virtual production, moving beyond traditional mesh-based rendering techniques for more realistic virtual reality. (🇺🇸)

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Vitrina tracks global Film & TV projects, partners, and deals—used to find vendors, financiers, commissioners, licensors, and licensees

Vitrina tracks global Film & TV projects, partners, and deals—used to find vendors, financiers, commissioners, licensors, and licensees

Not a Vitrina Member? Apply Now!

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  • Spot in-development and in-production projects early
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From studios and streamers to distributors and vendors, see how the industry’s smartest teams use Vitrina to stay ahead.

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