Deals in Brief – July 30, 2024

Tsuburaya's Ultraman and Marvel's Spider-Man are joining forces in a crossover comic, while Fauna's Kukuli IP is boosting its MENA presence with a new live show.

By Sadhana Bharanidharan

July 30, 2024

Marvel Comics and Tsuburaya Productions are readying a new crossover manga called Ultraman: Along Came a Spider-Man (pictured). The serialized Japanese manga comic—which sees the titular heroes take on Doctor Doom—is slated to roll out on August 13 in both Japanese and English. In addition to launching in retail stores, new chapters will also drop weekly on the Viz Manga app. And this all coincides with the release of another previously announced crossover series called Ultraman x Avengers.

The Kukuli live show (Fauna Entertainment)
Istanbul’s Fauna Entertainment and Dubai-based Spacetoon have teamed up on a new MENA live show based on Kukuli (52 x seven minutes), Fauna’s flagship preschool toon about a singing monkey. The 40-minute live musical made its regional debut on July 15 at the Qatar Toy Festival after previously running in Turkey and Azerbaijan. Plans are underway to take the show on tour across the UAE after the toy fair wraps up on August 14 (in a version that has been slightly modified for the region). Spacetoon picked up MENA broadcast rights to the Kukuli series in 2021, and last year, Fauna appointed Dubai’s Markettcom as the IP’s regional licensing agent.
VOD company Cineverse has signed a deal with Spotify to launch a raft of video titles from its FAST catalogue on the platform. The list includes classic kids shows from the Sid & Marty Krofft channel (which Cineverse officially launched in February), which includes H.R. Pufnstuf, The Bugaloos, Land of the Lost, Far Out Space Nuts, and Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. It’s a distribution move that’s designed to tap into the growing reach of Spotify’s video offerings. More than 170 million users have watched a video podcast on the platform as of last month, according to Spotify.
Dutch soft drink brand Candy Can is rolling out a Despicable Me-themed sparkling beverage in Canada next month. Regional grocery retailer Unique Foods will distribute the limited-edition canned drinks with a banana-candy flavor—a nod to the Minions’ love for the fruit. Illumination’s Despicable Me 4, which hit theaters earlier this month, has already grossed US$680 million worldwide.