Deals in Brief – July 10, 2024

Molang is hitting the big screen in five European countries, and Lighthouse Studios ropes in a French co-pro partner for new toon Showtime.

By By Sadhana Bharanidharan

July 10, 2024

France’s Millimages is powering up Molang’s first theatrical release in partnership with Belgian cinema chain/distributor Kinepolis. Molang at the Movies (pictured) will roll out on September 1 in 40-plus theaters across France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. This 55-minute film is a packaged compilation of existing Molang eps, plus an intermission featuring two on-screen games for moviegoers to play.
Ireland’s Lighthouse Studios has brought in French prodco Gao Shan Pictures to join Dog Ears in Northern Ireland as a co-producer on its original series Showtime (52 x 11 minutes). The 2D toon targets kids ages six to nine and is based on Tor Freeman’s 2012 kids book Showtime for Billie and Coco, about a group of animals attending a talent school. Lighthouse’s Marc Jordan has also been promoted from finance director to CFO, with added responsibility for overseeing all of the financial aspects of co-productions going forward.
Tokyo-based game developer Pocketpair has teamed up with Sony Music Entertainment and its Aniplex subsidiary to launch Palworld Entertainment. This joint-venture is focused on expanding the global commercial business tied to Pocketpair’s game Palworld. This title that charges players with collecting creatures called “Pals” debuted in early-access mode this January (on Windows, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S) and has made quick gains in popularity, hitting 25 million players by the end of its first month.
Japan’s Tsuburaya and Sky Turtle Nova (a publishing imprint of Illinois-based Oasis Media) have inked a deal to produce the first American kids book series based on sci-fi franchise Ultraman. Their collection of six Ultraman: Ultra Academy middle-grade titles is due to hit retail in spring 2025. And in other franchise news, a new Ultraman: Rising feature film premiered on Netflix last month and generated 7.9 million views in its first full week on the streamer. And Tsuburaya is readying a new TCG called ULTRAMAN CARD GAME that will hit retail on October 25 in four languages (English, Japanese, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese).