The partnership was formed to develop Chinese-language movies for audiences at home and abroad.
China’s box office receipts are skyrocketing but the market is tough for imported films that are subject to a quota system.
And tie-ups like this one are a good way of getting around that says analyst, Ben Cavender, Senior Analyst, China Market Research Group: “You know, if you are a foreign studio obviously you’re dealing with this quota in China where only 34 films can make it in every year. Having a JV partner that’s helping with co-development of new productions is a way to potentially bypass that quota or to, at the very least, develop stronger relationships that might help to sort of get your film to the front of the line as you look at coming into the market. That’s going to be increasingly important going forward since china, more and more is where the big box office dollars are coming from. So in that sense, this partnership makes a lot of sense.”
Other studios like DreamWorks also have gained a foothold in china.
Their Kung-fu Panda franchise is getting its first China co-produced film.
With the addition of a lip-synced Chinese version with alongside the English release.
https://youtu.be/ZSSim6s68jo
