Chinese film distributor invests in Burbank’s Legendary Entertainment for two upcoming movies
China Film Co. Ltd., the largest film distributor in China, has invested in two forthcoming movies from Legendary Entertainment, the Burbank-based film finance and production company.
Legendary East, an affiliated company of Legendary Entertainment, said on Monday afternoon that China Film Co. made “an over eight figure equity investment” in the films “Seventh Son” and “Warcraft,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
If the pictures are approved for release in China, China Film Co. will distribute them there.
Universal Pictures, with whom Legendary Entertainment has a distribution and marketing pact, will release the movies in the U.S.; “Seventh Son” is slated to come out Feb. 6, 2015, and “Warcraft” on March 11, 2016.
Legendary Entertainment’s credits include the “Dark Knight” and “Hangover” trilogies, and last summer’s “Man of Steel.” Legendary East, which has offices in Beijing and Hong Kong, was formed in 2011.
Legendary East and China Film Co. already have a relationship: In May, they signed a multi-year agreement to co-produce movies.
Legendary Entertainment signed a distribution deal with Universal Pictures in July. Under terms of the arrangement, Universal, a unit of NBCUniversal, will market, co-finance and distribute Legendary films for five years beginning this year.
Legendary previously had a distribution and co-production deal with Warner Bros.
“Seventh Son,” a fantasy film that stars Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore, previously had been slated for release by Warner Bros. in January; after Legendary struck its deal with Universal, the movie’s debut was pushed back.
“Warcraft” is based on an Activision Blizzard Inc. gaming franchise that has spawned more than two dozen novels, comic book series and tabletop games.
The best-known of the “Warcraft” games is “World of Warcraft,” a multiplayer online role-playing game that counted 7.7 million subscribers as of last summer.
-- Daniel Miller, Los Angeles Times
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