Hyderabad-based DQ Entertainment plans two 3D feature films with a budget of Rs 315 crore.
Following the league of major animation studios, DQ Entertainment (DQE), a Hyderabad-based animation, gaming and entertainment company, will produce two 3D animated stereoscopic feature films, together with a budget of euro 55 million (approximately Rs 315 crore).
According to sources privy to the development, the two polaroid animation films will be based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic tale The Jungle Book and the famed silent film comedian Charlie Chaplin.
“Our idea is to bring back famous books and characters, from the early 1950s to 1970s, to the contemporary world using our shop floor capabilities on stereoscopic technology (which enhances the illusion of depth),” says DQE Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Tapaas Chakravarti Chakravarti, adding that one of the films will have its global theatrical release by December 2011 and the other in 2012 winter.
Chakravarti, however, declined to discuss the subject of these movies, saying the company is currently under legal negotiations with distributors in the US and Europe.
The pre-production of these movies, including voice cast, will be done in the US and France, while the stereoscopic animation work will be executed from DQE’s facility in Hyderabad.
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“About 85 per cent of the budget will be raised through pre-sale commitments from global distributors, broadcasters and publishers, which we expect to conclude in the next two months. Pilots of these films will make their debut at the 64th Cannes Festival, scheduled to be held in May 2011,” he says.
DQE, which currently has an order book of around Rs 620 crore, including pure-service, co-productions, and assured licensing and merchandising deals to be executed in the next two and a half years, went public early this year. The company reported a net profit of Rs 26 crore (after writing off its initial public offer expenses) on revenues of Rs 175 crore last financial year.
Chakravarti, who along with his co-promoters, holds close to 21 per cent stake in DQE, says the company was expecting its topline to grow between 17 per cent and 22 per cent and net profit at 50 per cent in the current year, on the back of the windfall in incoming cash flows from licensing and merchandising for its intellectual property (IP)-based content library.
“Currently, our library has a little over 470 hours of content. We produce 22 television series and six to seven television movies. By the time we end the 2011 financial year, we expect to have a library of over 600 hours of content,” he says. The company is planning to raise about Rs 30-crore short-term debt shortly to meet working capital requirements, and augment promotional and marketing efforts globally, he adds.
