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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: As Alpha, the Alia Bhatt-starrer female spin-off to Yash Raj Films’ Spy Universe, which includes hits like Pathaan, readies for release later this year, trade experts say Bollywood still lags Hollywood in building high-profile, female-led franchise extensions.Unlike the West, where films such as Wonder Woman and Black Widow have proven audience pull for women-led entries within larger cinematic universes, Indian studios have been slower to back big-budget action spectacles anchored by female stars—even when they sit inside established franchises.Malayalam cinema has taken early steps in this direction with Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, a female superhero film released last year. In Hindi cinema, comparable attempts have largely been limited to mid-budget spin-offs such as Taapsee Pannu’s Naam Shabana, a spin-off to Akshay Kumar’s spy film Baby, Kajol’s horror film Maa, a spin-off to Ajay Devgn’s Shaitaan, alongside Rani Mukerji’s ongoing Mardaani series.“The gap largely comes from how franchises have historically been built in Indian cinema.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.India’s video streaming platforms may still be grappling with monetization challenges, but 2025 has turned into a breakout year for revenues.Video streaming revenues surged 55% in 2025 compared to 2024, nearly tripling from 2023 levels, according to a recent Ficci EY report.The growth reflects a decisive shift in strategy—regional language programming, flexible pricing and hybrid revenue models are helping platforms move beyond the limitations of a subscription-only play in a price-sensitive market like India.Digital advertising grew 26% to reach ₹94,700 crore in 2025, as several advertiser categories shifted ad spends from traditional to digital media, led by FMCG, travel and pharma.Sports and entertainment OTT platforms saw ad revenues rise 34%, backed by higher connected TV rates and volumes, as connected TV grew from 30 million to 40 million weekly active connections, the report said.Video subscription revenues jumped 61% to ₹14,800 crore, with 143 million households paying for 216 million video OTT subscriptions.Streaming service executives and content creators attribute much of this growth to regional language content that has deepened penetration across markets.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.In previous decades, propaganda for murderous Middle Eastern regimes tended to be unpersuasive. As American forces rolled into the Iraqi capital in 2003, Saddam Hussein’s information minister, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, stood on a roof and claimed that “Baghdad is safe…the infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gate.” He added that God was “grilling their stomachs in hell”. Behind him, television audiences could see Iraqi soldiers fleeing for their lives.In today’s Gulf war, astonishingly, a murderous dictatorship appears to be winning the propaganda battle against the land of the free and the home of Hollywood.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Jordan Blair was behind the wheel when she realized she had picked the wrong podcast to listen to.“Today, we’re touching down in the ’70s to talk about Chippendales. Not these guys. Theeeese guys, whose name strangely comes from…this guy,” Harvey Guillén, the host of “Killer Stories,” said in the episode’s intro.“Who? What?” Blair recalled thinking.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Viewership for films that turn big hits at the box office often doesn’t end with their theatrical run. Appetite for repeat consumption on streaming platforms remains strong — even among those who have already watched the film in cinemas.According to media consulting firm Ormax, 65% of Dhurandhar’s audience on OTT had already watched the film in a theatre, pointing to a high correlation between theatrical and streaming performance of big-ticket Indian films.Industry experts say this could accelerate the trend of OTT platforms spending big bucks only to acquire major commercial hits, leaving small and mid-budget titles out in the cold.According to Ormax, while 21.2 million people watched Dhurandhar only in theatres, about 7.5 million watched it only on OTT.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.NEW DELHI: JioHotstar is doubling down on premium global content in India with the launch of an HBO Max hub, deepening its partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery and bringing some of Hollywood’s biggest franchises under one roof on the streaming platform.The hub will host titles from HBO, Max Originals, Warner Bros.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.As actor Allu Arjun steps into the cinema exhibition business, joining southern stars like Mohanlal and Mahesh Babu, industry experts say the move signals a growing trend of film celebrities extending their influence beyond the screen.The trend is beginning to surface in the north as well, with actor Ajay Devgn owning a multiplex chain. Such moves, experts say, can improve the industry’s engagement with stakeholders by placing a creative voice at the helm, bolster brand recall and enhance distribution through better coordination and sharper audience feedback loops.However, the core realities of exhibition—a capital-intensive model with unpredictable returns—remain firmly in place.“For actors, it makes strategic sense because it allows them to participate across the film value chain—content, distribution, and exhibition.

TV shows, India lacks a dedicated regulatory framework for music. This, lawyers and industry experts say, creates legal and commercial uncertainty, undermining an artiste’s ability to monetise their work and make creative decisions with confidence.

Read the full story by Dhirendra Kumar.SpaceX eyes historic debut: SpaceX is heading to the stock market. Reports suggest a potential $75 billion IPO, bigger than Saudi Aramco, with a staggering valuation nearing $2 trillion.But this isn’t just another listing. With businesses spanning rockets, satellite internet (Starlink), AI (via xAI), and X (formerly Twitter), SpaceX is no longer just aerospace, it’s an integrated tech giant.

Mint explains what the change means for creators and brandsMeta's update aims to turn creator content into a new sales channel for businesses. It also offers creators an opportunity to monetise their posts through commissions from these sales.“Meta is now making it easier for creators to link products more broadly on Instagram…Businesses in 22 countries, including India, will soon be able to provide their product catalogues to creators, helping more people find their products in creators’ Reels,” Meta said in a statement.Meta will allow creators to use digital avatars and voiceover to create videos, to ride the wave of the faceless video boom sparked by AI reels.

How long are you willing to wait to see Dhurandhar: The Revenge or Project Hail Mary, both released in March, on your favourite streaming platform? Eight weeks or four? That’s the question that filmmakers and theatre owners are grappling with.Stakeholders across India’s film business are even discussing whether a standard gap between a film’s release and its streaming debut would work for movies across languages.Universal Pictures set a precedent by mandating an eight-week theatrical window globally before its films can be streamed. Several theatre owners in south India are demanding that films follow the eight-week window for OTT premieres instead of four weeks now.Studio executives and cinema owners said the bigger issue is how box office performance eventually aids the sale of ancillary rights.

Indian audio and video content, usually considered a draw for domestic audiences and specific diasporic markets, is now finding a home in unusual export destinations.Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Philippines are among the countries where Indian content is popular, according to the Content Trends Report launched recently at the Content India Summit 2026, organized by Dish TV.Experts said this demand is not diaspora-led, unlike more established markets such as the US or the UK. Instead, it appears to be driven by cultural alignment.

Good morning!India’s AI and data centre boom is gathering pace, but can the power grid keep up? As billions flow into digital infrastructure, the Central Electricity Authority is rethinking electricity demand forecasts to avoid future disruptions.Reason for the urgency: data centres are energy guzzlers, running 24X7. With capacity expected to jump from about 1.2 GW today to nearly 10 GW by 2030, power consumption could soar to 40–45 TWh by then.

Digital influencers still struggle to match the trust levels of human creators. Audiences tend to connect more deeply with personalities who feel spontaneous and imperfect.

Regional storytelling has always had a strong emotional connect with audiences. When combined with the short, mobile-optimised format of micro-dramas, such stories can travel naturally across digital platforms, industry experts say.“We are starting to see early interest in regional language micro-drama storytelling as the format gains visibility in India.

Snapchat is leaning on India’s regional film industries, enlisting local celebrities to share movie updates and behind-the-scenes content, to engage Gen Z tier-II and tier-III cities—a win-win for both the platform and filmmakers.“We work closely with regional film industries across languages spanning Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, and other ecosystems because that’s where some of the most authentic and culturally relevant storytelling is happening today,” said Saket Jha Saurabh, director and head of content and AR partnerships at Snap Inc., Snapchat’s parent company.“These efforts also play a key role in helping us strengthen our reach across emerging markets, including tier-II and tier-III cities, where both regional storytelling and Snapchat adoption are seeing a strong momentum," he added.While Snapchat has collaborated to promote movies such as Pushpa 2, HIT 3, Ponniyin Selvan II, Kantara Chapter 1, and Dude, top regional celebrities like Rashmika Mandanna, Allu Arjun, and Ghanta Naveen Babu, popularly known as Nani, also share content on the app, enticing their fans to sign up.The strategy is to offer exclusive content and early previews, including first looks at films, directly to the app’s audience.

OTT platforms engage a smaller but paying audience, offering higher completion rates and longer shelf life.According to the Ficci EY Media and Entertainment Report 2026, TVoD revenues in India are projected to rise from ₹500 crore in 2025 to ₹740 crore by 2028. Yet monetization remains skewed towards micro-transactions and subscription models, rather than pay-per-view-led revenue.YouTube is India’s leading ad-supported video platform by reach and watch time, reaching four out of five internet users aged 18 and above.

ALTT, and is positioning itself as a family-friendly destination. That, however, is only one part of a three-pronged strategy.The company, known for mostly risqué theatrical offerings such as The Dirty Picture and Udta Punjab in the last decade, is also announcing a host of feature film projects, starring mostly bankable faces, to recover investment through a combination of theatrical, satellite and OTT revenues.Thirdly, Balaji, which saw its net loss widen by 107% to ₹24.43 crore in the third quarter of fiscal year 2026 (FY26) and reported a 53.5% year-on-year drop in total revenue to ₹41.58 crore, has also launched an astrological service and a talent management vertical.However, the big question is, will these new bets pay off?“Our growth strategy today is built on a multi-platform content ecosystem.

Masaan, is now backing theatre productions, Adarsh Gourav will soon be seen in a docu-series titled The Tribal Voice, while Ridhi Dogra will feature in a travel series for National Geographic Channel.Industry experts say that for film actors, the shift toward theatre, documentaries and other formats is both creative and strategic. Cinema is inherently project-driven, so these avenues allow actors to stay engaged between releases while continuing to build their craft.From a brand perspective, diversification helps actors evolve from being seen purely as performers to more rounded creative voices.

Filmmakers are planning mega-budget big-screen spectacles across languages in the coming months despite a relatively volatile box office and uncertain business environment.The producers of the two-part mythological epic Ramayana (the first instalment of which is to be released in November) and SS Rajamouli’s Varanasi (scheduled for release in April next year) are banking on the ability of these stories to reach audiences beyond Indians, and south Asians in general. Both films are among the titles estimated to cost upwards of ₹1,000 crore each to make.They are also looking to create cinematic universes with spin-offs and merchandise offers, besides expectations of a smooth recovery from satellite and digital rights, even though broadcasters and streaming platforms have slowed down acquisitions.“The scale of these projects reflects a structural shift in how Indian cinema is positioning itself globally,” said Abishek S.

Boong, a Manipuri film that became the first Indian movie to win in the Best Children’s and Family Film category at the BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) recently, was re-released in cinemas earlier this month after its win but it found few takers. It made only around ₹1 crore, mirroring the struggle of films like All We Imagine as Light (filmed in Malayalam, Marathi and Hindi) earlier, that was nominated for the Palme d'Or and won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival.For context, Boong was made at a cost of ₹8 crore.