Wang Zhongjun, chairman of Huaiyi Brothers Media, stands beside Vincent van Gogh's "Vase with Daisies and Poppies" at Sotheby's in Hong Kong, Dec. 6, 2014. (Photo : REUTERS)
STX Entertainment has been identified as the U.S. film company that Huayi Brothers had closed a deal with for the funding, shooting and releasing of more than 18 films before the end of 2017.
The deal with STX allows Huayi to make a major entry into the film business while giving STX a faster rate to achieve its goal to become a major studio.
There was widespread speculation that the previously unnamed American partner of Huayi Brothers is one of the big six American studios, namely: Warner Bros. Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Columbia Pictures, Universal Studios, and 20th Century Fox.
"From the scale of 18 films and Wang Zhongjun's ambitious international strategy, we can guess it can be one of the six American studios," said the Huxiu media business website.
Huayi Brothers, a leading Chinese private film and TV company run by brothers Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei, was a major investor in Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf's "Fury."
The regulatory statement from the Huayi Brothers said that besides the distribution rights for Greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and Singapore, it will also have global revenue share of the co-produced films.
The pact will work through Huayi Brothers' U.S. unit.
The company described the deal as one "of great significance" and marked "a new era for the internationalization of Chinese film." This will be the first time that a Chinese film company will be involved in the entire Hollywood procedure from investment to shooting to distribution and in taking a cut of global revenue.
It will also be the first time for a Chinese film company to have a copyright of the co-produced films.
Huayi Brothers posted a revenue of $380 million last year, up 19 percent, while its operating profit was up 61 percent to $188 million.
In November, Huayi Brothers announced its plan to raise $588 million in a private placement, with technology giants Alibaba and Tencent buying stakes in it.
