Eros International

Overview

Eros International is a Mumbai-based entertainment company founded in 1977 that distributes Indian films globally across theatrical, digital, and home entertainment platforms. The company has been one of the primary international distributors of Bollywood and regional Indian cinema for decades, building a catalog of thousands of Indian film titles and maintaining theatrical relationships with Indian cinema exhibitors worldwide.

India is the world's largest film market by ticket volume, producing more films annually than any other country. The Indian film industry encompasses multiple distinct cinema traditions -- Hindi-language Bollywood, Tamil cinema (Kollywood), Telugu cinema (Tollywood), Malayalam cinema, and other regional film industries -- each with distinct distribution infrastructures, audience communities, and box office characteristics. Eros has historically focused on the Hindi and broader pan-Indian market.

ErosSTX

Eros International merged with US-based STX Entertainment to form ErosSTX in 2020, combining Indian cinema distribution infrastructure with US independent film production and distribution capabilities. This merger created a company with access to both the Indian market and the US independent film sector, though the combined company has faced financial difficulties since the merger.

International Diaspora Distribution

India's approximately 30 million-strong diaspora across the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and the Gulf represents one of the most commercially significant international audience communities for any national cinema. Indian diaspora audiences in these territories support theatrical runs for major Bollywood releases at multiplex venues in cities with large South Asian populations -- London, Birmingham, New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Dubai among them.

Eros has historically been one of the primary distributors managing Bollywood theatrical releases in these diaspora markets, working with multiplex operators and independent Indian cinema venues to bring Hindi-language releases to international audiences within days of their Indian premiere.

Streaming: ErosNow

Eros operates ErosNow, an SVOD streaming platform focused on Indian and South Asian content. ErosNow provides a dedicated streaming destination for the South Asian diaspora audience internationally, competing with Amazon Prime Video India (which has a large Indian content catalog) and Disney+ Hotstar (the dominant Indian streaming platform by subscribers).

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Indian filmmakers and producers seeking international distribution of Indian-language content, Eros is one of several major options alongside Yash Raj Films, T-Series Films, and Excel Entertainment. The company's international infrastructure -- particularly its diaspora theatrical relationships and ErosNow streaming platform -- makes it relevant for productions targeting both domestic Indian and international diaspora audiences simultaneously.

For international filmmakers seeking Indian co-production or distribution partnerships, Eros's scale and catalog relationships provide access to the Indian market, though the complexity of India's multi-language, multi-region film market means territory-specific expertise is often required alongside a pan-Indian partner.

See Also

For how Indian theatrical and streaming distribution differs from Western distribution models, see Distribution Deals Explained. For South Asian film festivals relevant to Indian diaspora distribution, see the Film Festivals Directory.