Warner Bros. reshuffled several major release dates on its 2027 and 2028 theatrical calendar this week, most notably pushing Matt Reeves’ “The Batman Part II” back to early 2028 to make room for J.J. Abrams‘ long-in-the-works sci-fi fantasy film “The Great Beyond.”

The studio confirmed that “The Great Beyond,” starring Glen Powell and Jenna Ortega, will no longer open on Nov. 13, 2027, as previously planned. Instead, the film is moving up to Oct. 1, 2027. That shift set off a chain reaction across the studio’s slate, sending “The Batman Part II,” which had occupied the Oct. 1 date, to Feb. 18, 2028.

The new date places the Robert Pattinson-led superhero sequel on the four-day Presidents Day holiday weekend, a slot that has previously hosted major comic book releases including “Black Panther,” “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “Captain America: Brave New World.” Reeves announced the change on social media Wednesday morning. The film’s production start had already been delayed by five months earlier in its development, and the new release date gives the director additional time in post-production.

“The Batman Part II” will still receive Imax screenings on its new date. The film’s cast includes Pattinson returning as Batman, along with Andy Serkis as Alfred and Colin Farrell reprising his role as Penguin. New additions to the cast include Scarlett Johansson, Sebastian Stan, Jayme Lawson, Charles Dance, Gil Perez-Abraham and Sebastian Koch. The sequel will face competition on its new February 2028 weekend from an untitled Disney release and Sony’s original action sci-fi feature “Grandgear,” directed by Takashi Yamazaki, known for “Godzilla Minus One.”

Warner Bros. also moved two other titles on its calendar as part of the broader reshuffling. Sam Esmail’s thriller “Panic Carefully” and New Line’s horror sequel “Revenge of La Llorona” effectively swapped release dates. “Panic Carefully,” which had been scheduled for Feb. 26, 2027, will now open April 9, 2027, in Imax. “Revenge of La Llorona,” previously dated for April 9, 2027, moves up to Feb. 26, 2027.

“Panic Carefully” reunites Esmail, the creator of “Mr. Robot,” with “Homecoming” and “Leave the World Behind” star Julia Roberts. The cast also includes Eddie Redmayne, Brian Tyree Henry, Ben Chaplin, Aidan Gillen, Joe Alwyn, Naledi Murray and Elizabeth Olsen. On its new April date, the film will go up against Paramount Primal’s R-rated comedy “Boys for Life,” which was dated for the same weekend just a day before Warner Bros.’ announcement.

“Revenge of La Llorona,” meanwhile, will now compete against Paramount’s “K-Pop: The Debut” and Sony’s family drama “Live Like That” on its new February weekend. The film is directed by Santiago Menghini from a screenplay by Sean Tretta, and continues the story introduced in the 2019 horror film “The Curse of La Llorona.” Its cast includes Raymond Cruz, Monica Raymund, Martín Fajardo, Acston Luca Porto, Avie Porto, Edy Ganem and Jay Hernandez, with the sequel following a fractured family that must confront its past and enlist an estranged curandero grandfather to battle the vengeful spirit at the center of the franchise.

The reshuffling comes as “The Great Beyond” finalizes its production timeline. Early signs of the date change emerged when Amazon MGM Studios recently moved its action film “How to Rob a Bank” from Labor Day weekend to Nov. 13, effectively clearing the November date that “The Great Beyond” was vacating. The only wide release remaining on that November weekend is Paramount’s “Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol,” directed by Ti West and starring Johnny Depp.

According to reporting on the project, a recent test screening of “The Great Beyond” at a theater in Irvine, California, led Warner Bros. to commit to releasing the film in 70mm Imax prints, a format decision that factored into the scheduling shift. Abrams has been in the editing process on the film and was previously expected to complete post-production work in September. The new release date gives the director, best known for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker,” additional time to finish the project, which he also wrote. The film was first teased publicly at CinemaCon in April.

“The Great Beyond” marks Abrams’ first original film in more than a decade and lands in a launch window that has historically been favorable for Warner Bros., having previously hosted hits including “Gravity,” “Joker,” “A Star Is Born,” “Dune,” “Argo” and “The Departed.” In addition to Powell and Ortega, the film also stars Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Merritt Wever and Samuel L. Jackson. As of this week, “The Great Beyond” remains the only major studio wide theatrical release scheduled for Oct. 1, 2027.

The scheduling changes arrive as Warner Bros.’ pending acquisition by Paramount remains tied up in ongoing antitrust litigation, including lawsuits brought by the attorneys general of California, New York and ten other states. The 103-year-old studio’s merger with Paramount had previously been expected to close by the fall of 2026, though that timeline remains uncertain given the continuing legal challenges. Notably, the date shuffle puts Warner Bros. in direct competition with Paramount, its potential parent company, on two of the newly adjusted dates, as Paramount already had films scheduled for both Feb. 26 and April 9, 2027.

The moves represent some of the more significant scheduling changes on Warner Bros.’ calendar this year, affecting four separate films across genres ranging from big-budget superhero filmmaking to original science fiction, prestige thriller and horror sequel territory. With “The Batman Part II” now more than a year and a half away from release, fans of the franchise will have an extended wait to see Pattinson’s return, while Abrams’ passion project moves into a release window the studio has historically used to launch some of its biggest awards-season and box office successes.

The UK-India trade deal came into force this week carrying a £4.8bn-a-year prize. But for Sukhpal Ahluwalia, the entrepreneur who built Euro Car Parts from a single Wembley shop into a business he sold for £280m, the agreement itself is not the achievement. The achievement is what British businesses now build on top of it.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, signed last July, entered into force on 15 July after years of stop-start negotiation. It is one of the most significant trade agreements India has ever signed and the UK’s largest since Brexit, projected by the government to add £4.8bn a year to UK GDP and £25.5bn to annual bilateral trade in the long run.

Ahluwalia, who now chairs GSF Car Parts and property group Dominus, has spent decades building businesses across both markets. His conclusion is blunt: it is businesses, not agreements, that create long-term growth. Yet the capital flows, joint ventures and institutional links that two economies of this size should have still do not exist at anything like the scale they could.

Too often, he argues, the UK-India relationship has been viewed primarily through the lens of trade. The greater opportunity lies in creating a genuine two-way exchange of investment, talent and innovation.

For smaller firms, the gap between opportunity and uptake is stark. Just 17 per cent of UK small businesses currently export at all, and of those only 12 per cent sell into India, a shortfall that initiatives such as Great British Pitch India, which put more than 40 export-ready firms in front of Indian buyers last month, are designed to close.

Nor is the hard work over in Westminster. MPs on the Business and Trade Committee have already warned that billions in tariff savings could be put at risk by plans to cut almost 40 per cent of the trade staff tasked with helping businesses expand into India. Initial tariff savings for UK exporters are estimated at around £400m a year, rising to as much as £3.2bn annually within a decade, but only if firms are supported to navigate India’s administrative complexity.

The timing, Ahluwalia believes, could hardly be better. With the UK gearing up for a new Prime Minister, the incoming government arrives on a wave of momentum and has the chance to put UK-India relations at the centre of its growth agenda from day one, rather than letting the relationship drift down the list of priorities.

There is precedent for treating the agreement as a beginning rather than an end. Advisers noted during negotiations that external pressures helped focus minds on completing long-stalled post-Brexit deals, and the same urgency now needs to carry through into implementation.

Ahluwalia’s core lesson from decades straddling the two markets is a simple one. People, not policy, make growth happen. Governments can create the framework, but it is businesses, trust and long-term partnerships that turn trade agreements into lasting economic growth.

The deal is done. The biggest win is yet to come, and it will not be signed in a ceremony. It will be built, deal by deal and partnership by partnership, by the businesses willing to do the work.

Amy Ingham

Amy is a newly qualified journalist specialising in business journalism at Business Matters with responsibility for news content for what is now the UK’s largest print and online source of current business news.

Five of the nation’s largest lenders—including JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs—reported a 39% jump in combined earnings to over $49 billion, driven by surging Wall Street fees from a widespread “risk-on” environment, the recent SpaceX IPO, and the AI boom. Goldman shares soared over 9% on record profits, though Citigroup dropped 5% over concerns about elevated future expenses.

The fashion group, which owns Sports Direct and Flannels, said its recent takeover bids and moves to build stakes in rivals are bolstering its balance sheet amid a ‘challenging environment’

Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group has reported a surge in profits as it accelerates its transformation strategy and embarks on a string of takeover approaches for international retailers.

The fashion conglomerate, whose portfolio includes Sports Direct and Flannels, stated that its recent acquisition bids and strategic shareholding activity are strengthening its financial position despite a “challenging environment”.

The FTSE 250 business recorded revenue growth of eight per cent to £3.3bn in the year ending April, while pre-tax profit climbed by 39 per cent to £528m.

The Derbyshire-based group has recently acquired South African sporting goods retailer Holdsport and Norwegian sports chain XXL, as reported by City AM.

“Leveraging the strength of our UK Sport business and brand relationships, international expansion has become a powerful growth engine for the Group and a key pillar of our long-term strategy,” the firm said.

Frasers has intensified its acquisition activity in recent weeks with a £1.7bn offer for German fashion house Hugo Boss and a £166m approach for Australian footwear retailer Accent.

The group had been accumulating shareholdings in these businesses prior to launching its bids. These investments contributed £50m to adjusted profit over the past year, Frasers disclosed.

The relatively modest four per cent premium attached to the group’s Hugo Boss bid had prompted speculation amongst analysts that the company was not pursuing outright ownership of the luxury label. Frasers appeared to reinforce this stance on Thursday, stating that “increasing its investment in Hugo Boss will create value” for its shareholders.

The group further declared that it “remains supportive” of Hugo Boss’ existing leadership in its “pursuit of their sustainable growth strategy whilst continuing to build brand equity”.

The retailer opted against offering investors any forward-looking financial guidance, citing uncertainty surrounding these ongoing takeover bids.

Alongside its pursuit of rival brands, the company said it is working to “elevate” its existing portfolio of fashion labels, which includes Everlast, Slazenger, Karrimor and Jack Wills.

The fashion giant described its turnaround strategy as “going from strength to strength”, ploughing investment into its high street outlets, including a new flagship Sports Direct store in Liverpool.

However, the company acknowledged it “continued to feel the impact of tough trading conditions, subdued consumer confidence and industry-wide excess inventory levels” at the outset of this financial year.

Frasers’ shares dipped three per cent to 737p when markets opened on Thursday, although the stock remained 10 per cent higher for the year to date.

Tom Foss-Jacobsen
Chief Executive Officer

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to Borregaard’s Second Quarter 2026 Presentation. My name is Tom Erik Foss-Jacobsen. I’m the CEO of Borregaard, and I’ll be joined today by our CFO, Per Bjarne Lyngstad. Together, we will take you through this agenda.

I will start with the key highlights for the quarter and then give an update on the market situation across our business segments. I will then summarize the outlook before handing over to Per Bjarne. He will walk you through the financial performance then in more detail.

Before we begin, just a quick reminder to those of you watching the webcast that you are welcome to submit questions at any time during the presentation, and we’ll address them at the end.

Let’s begin with the highlights for the second quarter. EBITDA came in at NOK 515 million compared with NOK 522 million in the same quarter last year. This is a solid result broadly in line with a strong second quarter last year and also supported by good operational performance in the quarter.

Looking at the business areas, BioSolutions delivered higher sales volume, but with a less favorable product mix. BioMaterials had high deliveries and record production, while Fine Chemicals delivered another quarter with solid results.

On the cost side, we continue to see pressure from higher energy, logistics and chemical costs, partly offset by lower wood costs. The net currency effects were slightly positive in the quarter. We have also recognized an impairment of NOK 337 million on our investment in Alginor. The 3 main shareholders in Alginor, Borregaard, Must Invest and Hatteland with Hatteland acting as