SHANGHAI, Nov 6: Chinese film distributor Bona Film Group Ltd will invest 235 million dollars into a slate of Twentieth Century Fox movies, the latest in a wave of tie-ups between Hollywood and Chinese partners to tap China’s fast-growing box office. Bona Film will invest through a financing body TSG Entertainment Finance, which has funded Fox movies including “X-Men Days of Future Past” and current box office hit “The Martian”, the Chinese firm said in a statement yesterday.
Twentieth Century Fox is a division of media tycoon Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox Inc. “We look forward to participating in more mainstream Hollywood productions and bringing high-quality foreign films to the domestic market,” US-listed Bona Film’s chief executive Yu Dong said in a statement.
China’s box office takings are catching up fast with the United States, with ticket sales set to rise to $8.9 billion in 2019 from about $5 billion this year, according to PwC. However, global studios often have a tough time navigating censors and getting around a strict quota system for imported films.
Hollywood has been pushing hard in China: Warner Brothers announced a joint venture with China Media Capital in September, while Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc, Lions Gate Entertainment Corp and Walt Disney Co have all hooked up with local partners.
While box office receipts in the United States and Canada combined fell 5 percent last year to $10.4 billion, box office receipts in China jumped around a third to $4.8 billion in 2014, according to the Motion Picture Association of America Inc.
The country is on course to set a new record this year with box office receipts having already overtaken last year’s total. (AGENCIES)
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