CineNow picks the UAE as HQ for a push to tokenize India's film industry

A film-tech platform is betting the UAE is the right place to turn movie rights into a tradable asset. CineNow is looking to tokenize intellectual property from India's cinema industry — which brought in USD 2.1 bn in revenue last year — turning film rights into a structured, investable asset class, according to a press release.

The pitch: Convert Hindi and regional-language film IP into rights that can be bought and sold — spanning theatrical, streaming, satellite, music, dubbing, and franchise rights. CineNow plans to expand the model to Arabic content, real estate, and aviation in the coming months.

It's setting up its HQ in the UAE to run operations, client portfolios, and investor relations — citing the country's position as a capital hub, its reach into multiple markets, and its rules on IP ownership, tokenization, and cross-border investment flows.

BACKGROUND- CineNow's move fits a broader pattern: Abu Dhabi has been courting film-industry money, not just film productions. Ethmar and GB Media launched a multi-mn-USD media fund in the emirate in January — the kind of financing infrastructure a platform like CineNow would plug into.

On the money: CineNow is targeting USD 150 mn for the fund and has secured 60% of that so far, from family offices and ultra-high-net-worth individuals — no further detail on who, specifically. It's aiming for up to USD 720 mn in IP monetization and a long-term portfolio value north of USD 1 bn.