Hong Kong Immigration focuses on Hong Kong Economic Development: China's important cultural media investment and operation institution—China Cultural Industry Investment Fund, announced on the 20th in collaboration with the renowned Hollywood film company Warner Bros. jointly invest to establish 'Flagship Pictures' headquartered in Hong Kong, to jointly develop Chinese and English films for global distribution.
Chairman of China Cultural, Li Ruigang, stated that mutual benefit and win-win cooperation aimed at the global market is the future direction for active exploration by Chinese and American film institutions. The Chinese film and entertainment market is experiencing explosive growth, and international interest in Chinese-themed content is continuously increasing.
Li Ruigang said: "Through cooperation with Warner Bros., China Cultural will combine world-class blockbuster creative development experience, production and distribution systems, and technical operations with China's culture, talent, and market to create an innovative platform for Chinese films aimed at the international market."
Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman of Warner Bros., expressed that Warner Bros. looks forward to collaborating with China Cultural under this new joint venture framework, which will help Warner Bros. better understand the growing Chinese film industry.
Tsujihara stated: "Warner Bros. is a film production company with a long history, known for its excellent works. We are very willing to share our experience with our Chinese partners. Chinese culture has a long history and profound depth, providing a vast treasure trove of stories for our film creation. We hope that through our efforts, we can tell Eastern stories to the younger generation of film enthusiasts in China and around the world."
It is reported that Flagship Pictures is controlled by a consortium led by China Cultural with a 51% stake, while Warner Bros. holds a 49% stake. Among them, Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited holds a 10% stake in the China Cultural consortium.
The new joint venture company is headquartered in Hong Kong, with business branches in Los Angeles and Beijing. Flagship Pictures will develop, invest in, and produce a series of mainstream Chinese films and top global blockbusters, distributing them to China and globally through the distribution networks of China Cultural and Warner Bros. The first film produced by the new company is expected to be released as early as 2016.
Both parties stated that Flagship Pictures represents a strategic cooperation that spans both China and the United States, integrating Hollywood and film resources from Hong Kong and mainland China. It is also a substantial result of cultural exchanges between the two countries, which will help promote the industrialization and systematization of Chinese cinema, deepen talent exchanges and learning, and produce and distribute high-quality Chinese works and international blockbusters, meeting the viewing needs of Chinese and global audiences for quality content and Chinese stories.
China Cultural is a comprehensive investment and operation platform focused on the media and entertainment cultural industry, owning multiple investment institutions and operational entities. China Cultural's industries cover three major areas: media and entertainment, internet and mobile, and lifestyle, establishing and promoting a number of industry-leading enterprises in key sub-sectors such as film, television, animation, performing arts, music, sports, financial media, and internet television.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. is a leading global comprehensive entertainment company with a wide range of businesses covering various platforms in traditional and new media. As a subsidiary of WarnerMedia, Warner Bros. owns global entertainment brands and holds a world-leading position in film, home entertainment, DVD and Blu-ray global distribution, digital distribution, animation, comics, brand licensing, and broadcasting.