MUMBAI: Eros International has acquired the satellite rights of Vinod Copra Productions’ 3 Idiots and has in turn sold it to Sony.
Sony has the exclusive world rights of the film for a period of five years barring a couple of countries like Poland and Switzerland. Additionally, Eros has also acquired other films namely Mission Kashmir, Munnabhai MBBS, Parineeta and Kareeb from Chopra and has sold the same to Sony.
Speaking to Businessofcinema.com, Max executive vice president and business head Sneha Rajani said, "We have acquired the exclusive world rights of the movie from Eros. The first airing of the movie will be either in end-June or mid-July."
When queried as to whether Sony would be looking at syndicating the rights of the movie ahead to other channels, Rajani replied in the negative. "We have the choice to syndicate it further, but we will not be looking at doing that," she said.
Directed by Rajkumar Hirani, 3 Idiots stars Aamir Khan, R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, Omi Vaidya, Parikshit Sahni and Boman Irani and has been the highest box office grosser Hindi film of all time.
Rajani adds, "Continuing with our long term relationship with Vinod Chopra as well as Eros International, this acquisition underlines the fact that we believe in bringing only the biggest and the best of entertainment to our viewers. With the acquisition of 3 Idiots, the network today boasts of an enviable bank of blockbuster film titles. We are happy that we continue to provide our audiences with the best of films and wholesome entertainment."
Eros International group CEO and managing director Jyoti Deshpande added, "Television syndication is an integral part of our business model and we are delighted to have concluded this very exciting deal. We are once again proud to be associated with Vinod Chopra, one of the very best producers Indian cinema has ever seen, and Sony with whom we enjoy a wonderful partnership built over many years. We simply had to be a part of history – 3 Idiots is the biggest blockbuster India has ever produced."
At the time of filing this story, the price of the deal could not be ascertained.
