ANIMATION AND VFX MARKET ANALYSIS

Key Developments

• In October 2022, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the renowned visual effects division of Lucasfilm Ltd. and a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, announced the opening of a new full-fledged visual effects and animation studio in Mumbai, India. The new ILM Mumbai facility will operate a complete VFX and animation services pipeline, working on content for the local Indian market as a means to tap into the Southeast Asian talent pool. The studio will take on VFX and animation projects of varying sizes and scales for film, television, streaming, and in-person attractions, leveraging ILM's decades of experience and expertise in delivering award-winning visual effects.
• In August 2022, Cinesite, a leading global visual effects and animation company, acquired a majority stake in FX3X, a long-time visual effects studio with offices in Skopje and Belgrade in the Balkans. The acquisition added a deep roster of talented creative VFX supervisors and production managers to Cinesite's team, significantly increasing its global capacity to serve clients across feature films, episodic television, and streaming content on a larger scale with even higher quality visual effects.
• In July 2022, Netflix, the global streaming giant, announced the acquisition of Animal Logic, the renowned Australia-based animation studio with over 30 years of experience in producing award-winning design, visual effects, and animation. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Netflix's existing animation business and significantly increase its long-term capacity in the animation space, enabling the company to better entertain its members worldwide with high-quality animated content.
• In July 2022, Cinesite, a leading global visual effects and animation company, announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Squeeze, an acclaimed animation and motion capture studio based in Quebec City and Montreal, Canada. The acquisition is expected to allow Cinesite to further expand its animation content and service offerings for international markets, while also bringing Squeeze's mocap and Unreal Engine capabilities into the Cinesite group to enhance its offerings for video game and film productions. Squeeze is known for its world-class animation portfolio, including the popular animated series "Cracké", and will continue to operate under its existing brand and leadership team.