Warner Bros. in Deal to Make Chinese-Language Films
September 20 2015 - 9:40AM
Dow Jones News
By Carlos Tejada
BEIJING--Warner Bros., which makes movies ranging from "American
Sniper" to the most recent Batman films, will soon be shooting in
Chinese.
The Time Warner Inc.-owned studio said Sunday that it struck a
deal with private-equity firm China Media Capital to make
Chinese-language films for the fast-growing market. Warner Bros.
will own 49% of the venture, called Flagship Entertainment Group
Ltd., which will be based in Hong Kong.
With the deal, Warner Bros. will "gain additional insight into
the Chinese film industry," said Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros.
chairman and CEO, in a statement. The two didn't release financial
details.
The Wall Street Journal last month reported that the two sides
were in talks.
China's movie market is No. 2 in the world behind the U.S. and
is still growing. Earlier this month, official media reported
Chinese movie theaters had so far taken in 30 billion yuan ($4.71
billion) in ticket sales, surpassing the 29.6 billion yuan they had
taken in for all of last year.
Increasingly, Chinese-language productions are the big
moneymakers. "Monster Hunt," a whimsical live-action movie
featuring a monster baby and made locally, became China's top
movie, with 2.43 billion yuan in ticket sales, the first
domestically made movie to hold the top spot in more than two
decades.
Deals with local studios also look appealing for foreign
filmmakers because China still restricts the number of foreign
movies that can be shown in Chinese theaters.
Flagship Entertainment could release its first movie as soon as
next year, the two companies said in their statement. It said the
partnership will tap Warner Bros.'s distribution expertise and look
to make what the industry calls tentpole films, or big-budget films
intended to reap big-tickets sales.
The deal teams Warner Bros. with Li Ruigang, founder of China
Media Capital and also chairman of major state-owned media company
Shanghai Media Group. From his positions at both companies, Mr. Li
also has struck business deals in recent years with DreamWorks
Animation SKG and Walt Disney Co.
Write to Carlos Tejada at carlos.tejada@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 20, 2015 09:25 ET (13:25 GMT)
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