'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' characters appear at NY Comic Con 2012 on October 12, 2012 in New York City. (Photo : Getty Images/ Neilson Barnard)
Nearly four months after acquiring Legendary studio in Hollywood, China's Wanda Cinema Line and its subsidiary Movie Media Group/ CMM Films announced on May 11, Wednesday, that it will be co-financing Paramount's "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows." The deal was the first time the Chinese giant invested in an American studio film.
Wanda Line Cinema, a movie theater subsidiary of Chinese real estate and investment conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group is owned by China's richest man, Wang Jialin. In June 2015, Wanda purchased Movie Media, a marketing and investment company.
In a statement of Movie Media Group in PR News Wire, Wanda said its subsidiary will act as a significant agent of Wanda Line Cinema in investing in Hollywood films. CMM Films had worked with Paramount in a number of high quality Hollywood projects in the past.
It included films such as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Interstellar," "Terminator Genisys" and "Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation." The global box office sales of these films had reached a total of $1.84 billion.
After Wanda acquired Legendary, it said it will continue to collaborate with major Hollywood studios and capitalize in their tentpoles. It was part of Wanda Cinema Line's move to reportedly position the company as a key player in the global film industry. Aside from Legendary Entertainment, Wanda also acquired AMC Entertainment Holdings for 2.6 billion in 2012.
Meanwhile, the news came after Alibaba Pictures, the film subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba Group announced in April that it is co-financing "TMNT 2," The Beijinger reported. With the "TMNT 2" being financed by Chinese investors Wanda and Alibaba, it stirred speculations, whether the movie will be seen in Chinese cinemas too.
"TMNT 2" has a Chinese version of the trailer and its Chinese poster showed that it will be available in 3D, IMAX 3D and Chinese film giant screen called CFGS. It is directed by Dave Green and produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes.
The sequel will still star Megan Fox as April O'Neil and Stephen Amell as Casey Jones. It will be shown on June 3 in North American cinemas.
Check out the trailer of "TMNT 2":
