'Jio Studios to focus on consolidating its market leadership, building franchises'

Mumbai: Jio Studios , which has at least ₹2,000 crore invested in content at any given point in time, is a profitable business, a top official told ET. The content arm of Reliance Industries (RIL) also intends to beat its FY24 box-office collections of ₹700 crore in FY25. Stree 2 , a joint production between Jio Studios and Maddock Films, has already grossed over ₹500 crore globally, including ₹426 crore from India.

The horror comedy film, which was produced at a cost of over ₹100 crore, has delivered a net box office collection of ₹361 crore. At a time when the film industry is struggling to deliver big hits, Jio Studios has delivered major hits in FY24, including Zara Hatke Zara Bachke, Article 370, Laapataa Ladies, and Shaitaan, besides Marathi movies Baipan Bhari Deva and Jhimma 2. "At any point in time, we have at least ₹2,000 crore invested in content," said RIL president, media business Jyoti Deshpande, adding, "It's (Jio Studios) a profitable business; we are ploughing back our free cash flow back into the business.

" She also said that the studio will now focus on tent poles, consolidating its market leadership, and building franchises like Stree, Singham, and Son of Sardaar. It will also focus more on theatrical releases rather than direct to digital releases as the streaming market has cooled down due to pressure on reducing costs and having a well-defined path to profitability. The content studio's upcoming slate in FY25 includes Singham Again (Diwali.