US entertainment giant Warner Bros Entertainment is planning a venture with China Media Capital (CMC, 華人文化產業投資基金) to develop films for distribution in China and globally, according to a statement yesterday, as Hollywood seeks a greater share of the massive market.
The new venture — Flagship Entertainment Group (旗艦影業) — is to develop, fund, acquire and produce a wide range of films for distribution in China and around the world, it said. The first movies under the new imprint could emerge as early as next year.
Warner Bros will hold 49 percent of the venture, which is to be headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices in both Beijing and Los Angeles.
Photo: AP
Shanghai-based CMC, a private equity and venture capital firm, is to lead a consortium which is to hold a majority 51 percent stake in Flagship Entertainment, it said, adding that Hong Kong broadcaster TVB is also a member of the group.
No financial details were given. A spokesman for CMC did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The statement linked the deal to this month’s state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) to the US.
US studios are keen to get a bigger piece of the Chinese market, the world’s second-largest box office outside North America with revenue of US$4.8 billion last year, the Motion Picture Association of America said, but the number of foreign films entering China is restricted to an annual quota of just 34 and they face censorship over content deemed politically sensitive or obscene.
“We look forward to working with CMC in this exciting new venture, as we gain additional insight into the Chinese film industry,” Warner Bros chairman and chief executive officer Kevin Tsujihara said.
At the same time, cashed-up Chinese companies are ramping up investment in the foreign entertainment industry, as the nation seeks to boost its “soft power” by crafting films which appeal to global audiences.
CMC founder and chairman Li Ruigang (黎瑞剛) said that the deal would “further CMC’s commitment to building a premier platform for making films that resonate with both Chinese and worldwide audiences.”
In March, a unit of China’s state-backed Hunan TV (湖南電視) announced a US$1.5 billion agreement to fund the movies of US studio Lionsgate.
China’s Huayi Brothers Media Corp (華誼兄弟傳媒) plans to jointly produce at least 18 films with US film and television studio STX Entertainment, while Chinese conglomerate Fosun International (復興國際) has taken a stake in US media company Studio 8.
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