Tencent Pictures, the motion picture arm of Chinese online company Tencent Holdings Ltd., has announced a partnership with Legendary Pictures involving investing an equity stake in "Warcraft," the film adaptation of the popular real-time strategy game of the same name, as well as the internationally successful online game "World of Warcraft," both by Blizzard Entertainment.
Wanda Cinemas, China's largest cinema chain, is also going to work with the two companies, using its network to promote and market "Warcraft."
Currently in post-production, "Warcraft" is directed by Duncan Jones and stars Ben Foster, Travis Fimmel and Paula Patton. It is set in Azeroth, the world in the games, and depicts a conflict between humans and orcs.
"Warcraft" is scheduled to be released next summer.
Tencent's deal is similar to Alibaba Pictures' deal with the production companies of "Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" in that it involves a combination of equity, marketing and promotion support.
The announcement was part of an event wherein Tencent Pictures unveiled a slate of new projects, including a remake of classic 1970s martial arts film "The Magic Blade" with Celestial Pictures. The original film was produced by Shaw Pictures.
Other projects announced include a number of adaptations of comic books, video games and novels. As one of China's largest video game distributors, Tencent seems to be playing to its strengths when it comes to the kind of films the group's film unit if focused on making.
China's three Internet giants--Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu--have all made recent steps to aggressively move into the creation and generation of long-form content.
Last week, Tencent announced the launch of Penguin Pictures, a new Shanghai-based arm focused on Web dramas.
Alibaba signed a deal with Chinese film company DMG and Hunan TV to bundle Internet, cable and mobile entertainment, together with gaming, film and TV content to subscribers. The company has also acquired an 8.8-percent stake in Enlight, one of China's leading TV and film production companies, and a minority stake in Huayi Bros.
Tencent's deal with Wanda will have the two companies making use of China's largest private sector cinema chain to promote their content. A separately listed unit of Dalian Wanda, Wanda Cinemas owns the U.S.-based AMC Cinemas and Australia-based Hoyts chain.