Alibaba Pictures

Last updated
Alibaba Pictures
Industry Film
Headquarters
Zhejiang, China
Shanghai
,
China
Hong Kong
Key people
Fan Luyuan (chairman & CEO)
Parent Alibaba Group
Subsidiaries Amblin Partners (minority stake)
Website www.alibabapictures.com

Alibaba Pictures Group is a Chinese film company under the Alibaba Group. The film company was formerly ChinaVision Media, of which Alibaba Group bought a majority stake in late 2014. It subsequently was renamed from ChinaVision to Alibaba Pictures Group. By April 2015, it was the largest Chinese film company by worth, with a market value of US$8.77 billion [1] and by June of the same year it was worth US$9.6 billion. [2]

Contents

According to researchers, Françoise Paquienséguy and Miao He, there are almost 30 companies, varying from investment groups to media and film studios, under the Alibaba umbrella. “These include, but are not limited to, such leading companies as Youku Tudou Inc., Enlight Media, Huayi Brothers, Bona Film Group, Wasu Media, Sina Weibo, XiamiMusicand Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao Football Club. In addition, Ma Yun also occasionally engages in capital operations, such as establishing Yunhuang and Yunxi Capital…” (Paquienséguy, He).

History

In March 2014, Alibaba Group bought a 60% stake in ChinaVision Media for $805 million. [3] Alibaba initially registered a film company in the following April with the name Alibaba Films Group before changing it to Alibaba Pictures Group later in the month. Two heads from ChinaVision were listed as directors of Alibaba Pictures. [4] In June 2014, ChinaVision Media was officially renamed to be Alibaba Pictures Group. [5] The following July, Zhang Qiang resigned as vice president of China Film Group to become the head of Alibaba Pictures. [6] Later in the month, Alibaba Pictures entered agreements with filmmakers and film companies, including director Wong Kar Wai and the Hong Kong-based film production company Block 2. [7]

The company purchased Yueke and at the end of 2015, Taobao Movie and Yulebao. [8] On October 9, 2016, Amblin Partners struck a deal with Alibaba, in which Alibaba acquired a minority equity stake in the company and will handle marketing, distribution, and merchandising of Amblin Partners films in China in addition to co-financing Amblin and DreamWorks films worldwide. [9] [10] As described by the Financial Times , "Amblin Partners and Alibaba Pictures teamed up to "finance, produce, market and distribute films in China and globally." [11] Alibaba Pictures released the projection in February 2017 that its unaudited 2016 losses could be over US$140 million. The company stated the losses resulted from a promotion known as Tao Piao Piao, where theater tickets are subsidized. [11]

In July 2017, Alibaba increased its stake in Tao Piao Piao, an online ticketing platform, from 87.6% to 96.7%, for 1.3 billion yuan. [12]

Alibaba Pictures has become a giant in film production and finance. [13] Its success is not limited just to mainland China. Through its first domestic release See You Tomorrow, the company combined both mainland Chinese and Hong Kong values, reaching both audiences in new ways. The installment also saw “ the ongoing mainlandization of Hong Kong filmmaking practice and the corresponding Hong Kongification of contemporary Chinese popular cinema,” according to Mark Gallagher, author of “Alibaba Goes to the Movies.” [14]

Alibaba Pictures’ mid-2010s expansion was not limited only to Hong Kong however. [15]

2015 saw Alibaba Pictures’ first investment in U.S. cinema, with their financial support of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation .

In 2016, Alibaba Group partnered with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, an American film production company. [16]

The partnership drew international attention, with Hollywood’s highest-grossing director and one of the most active Chinese film studios coming together for production, distribution and financing.

In 2019, Alibaba Pictures financed 23 films, “ accounting for one-fifth of China's total box office,” according to Alizila, an Alibaba news outlet. [17]

At a briefing regarding the partnership in Beijing, Spielberg was quoted by Reuters as saying, “Some of the stories I’m hoping Jack and I can tell in this new partnership between Amblin Partners and Alibaba Pictures will be able to bring Chinese-themed stories to the American audience, and we can do co-productions between our company and your company…” [18]

Alibaba Pictures partnered with California-based STX, an American entertainment company, to bring “Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year” to American silver screens in 2019.

After a substantial show of interest in the film on social media by Mandarin-speaking audiences STX and Alibaba partnered together for a U.S. release, with the goal of audiences being able to see the film in the States while it was still in theaters in China according to STXfilms chairman Adam Fogelson in Yahoo Finance. [19]

“The increasing appreciation for and interest in Chinese culture, the fact that the story of a family dynamic during the holiday, and the entry point of Peppa, which most American audiences are familiar with, creates a dynamic where there certainly could be — not on the Marvel level of course — broad interest,” said Fogelson, “…Our first goal was to make sure that Mandarin speakers in the U.S. would have access to the film while the movie was playing in China.”[ citation needed ]

Filmography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Touchstone Pictures</span> Defunct American film label of Walt Disney Pictures

Touchstone Pictures was an American film production label of Walt Disney Studios, founded and owned by The Walt Disney Company. Feature films released under the Touchstone label were produced and financed by Walt Disney Studios, and featured more mature themes targeted at adult audiences than typical Walt Disney Pictures films. As such, Touchstone was merely a pseudonym label for the studio and did not exist as a distinct business operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renny Harlin</span> Finnish film director and film producer

Renny Harlin is a Finnish film director, producer, and screenwriter who has worked in Hollywood, Europe, and China. His best-known films include A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, The Adventures of Ford Fairlane, Die Hard 2, Cliffhanger, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Deep Blue Sea.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American global mass media and entertainment company. Originally a Canadian company, it was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, and is currently headquartered in Santa Monica, California. In addition to its flagship Lionsgate Films division, its other divisions include Lionsgate Television and Lionsgate Interactive. It owns a variety of subsidiaries such as Summit Entertainment, Entertainment One, Debmar-Mercury, and Starz Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures</span> American film distribution studio

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing and promotion for films produced and released by the Walt Disney Studios, including Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios; the Searchlight Pictures label operates its own autonomous theatrical distribution and marketing unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Legendary Entertainment</span> American film studio

Legendary Entertainment is an American mass media and film production company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull along with Jon Jashni, Larry Clark, William Fay and Scott Mednick. The company has collaborated with many major studios, including Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures, Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Studios and Paramount Pictures, as well as streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. Since 2016, Legendary has been a subsidiary of the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group and American equity firm Apollo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bona Film Group</span>

Bona Film Group Company Limited, also known as Polybona Films or the Bona Film Group, is a Chinese production company and distributor of films from mainland China and Hong Kong. It is run as a subsidiary of the China Poly Group, and is one of China's largest share-holding film distribution companies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution</span> A business segment of Disney

Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution (DMED), formerly Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International (DTCI), was one of The Walt Disney Company's five major business segments consisting of Disney's streaming services and overseas media businesses, formed in March 2018. As part of the segment's formation, Disney Streaming Services was placed under Direct-to-Consumer & International.

IM Global, LLC was an American independent film and TV production company, The company was founded by Stuart Ford in April 2007 and operating in international film, television and music production, as well as sales and international distribution. The company financed or produced over 30 Hollywood feature films and controlled a library of over 300 films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Huayi Brothers</span> Chinese film production company, record label and talent agency

Huayi Brothers Media Corp. is a Chinese multinational entertainment company that owns a film studio, a television production company, a talent agency, a record label, entainterment theme parks, and a movie theater chain founded in Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Macau, & Taipei by Dennis Wang Zhongjun and James Wang Zhonglei in 1994. The company made world news on October 30, 2009, when the Shenzhen Stock Exchange ChiNext Board was halted, after HBMC's stock price reached 122.74 percent above its IPO price, to open at 63.66 yuan per share. Patrick Frater of Variety called it "China’s largest private sector film conglomerate". In 2014, the company was the seventh-largest film distributor in China, with 2.26% of the market.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Entertainment One</span> Canadian entertainment company

Entertainment One Holdings USA Inc., trading as Entertainment One, is a Canadian-American multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films.

DreamWorks Pictures is an American film studio and distribution label of Amblin Partners. It was originally founded on October 12, 1994, as a live-action film studio by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen, of which they owned 72%. The studio formerly distributed its own and third-party films. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses of more than $100 million each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">RatPac Entertainment</span> American media company

RatPac Entertainment, LLC is an American media and entertainment company that finances and produces motion pictures, television, documentaries, live theater, and podcasts, owned by Brett Ratner and James Packer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanda Group</span> Chinese conglomerate

Wanda Group, or the Dalian Wanda Group (大连万达), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning and headquartered in Beijing. With regards to the conglomerate's core businesses, the company operates as a private property developer and entertainment company, effectively acting as the owner of Wanda Cinemas and the Hoyts Group line of cinema chains.

Rob Moore is an investor in Esports and CEO of Sentinels. Moore is the former Vice Chairman of Paramount Pictures, America's largest Hollywood film and television production/distribution company. He oversaw the following divisions: marketing, distribution, home entertainment, digital, interactive, television, licensing and business affairs.

Bron Studios is a Canadian motion picture company based in British Columbia owned by Bron Media Corporation. Bron's notable productions include Joker, Bombshell, Queen & Slim, Greyhound, Judas and the Black Messiah,The Mule, Henchmen, Roman J. Israel, Esq.,Rudderless, Welcome to Me, The Addams Family,TheWilloughbys, and Ghostbusters: Afterlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wanda Film</span> Chinese cinema operator and film business

Wanda Film Holding Co. is a cinema operator, film production and film distribution company in China, headquartered in the Wanda Plaza in Chaoyang District, Beijing. It is a part of the Dalian Wanda Group. As of 2014 Wang Jianlin is the head of the company. As of January 2018, Wanda Cinema remained China's largest film distributor. Some locations are named Wanda International Cinemas with Hollywood and Chinese movies as the main offering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">STX Entertainment</span> American media company

STX Entertainment is an American entertainment and media company. Founded in March 2014 by film producer Robert Simonds, the studio produces film, television, and digital media projects.

Tencent Pictures is a Chinese film distributor and production company owned by Tencent. It has created films based on books, manhua, donghua and video games. In 2015, Tencent set up Tencent Penguin Pictures (Shanghai), a new movie production unit, focusing on online drama and minority investments in feature films.

Amblin Partners American entertainment company

Storyteller Distribution Co., LLC, doing business as Amblin Partners, LLC., is an American entertainment production company. It develops and produces films under the Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Pictures banners, as well as television series through Amblin Television. The company's investment partners include Reliance Group's Reliance Entertainment, Lionsgate's Entertainment One, Alibaba Group's Alibaba Pictures, and NBCUniversal/Comcast's Universal Pictures. Films produced by Amblin Partners are primarily distributed by Universal in North America and select international territories, and by third-party distributors through Mister Smith Entertainment in other countries.

Tao Piao Piao, or Taopiaopiao, is an online movie ticket distributor and film promotion service.

References

  1. ↑ Patrick Frater (April 9, 2015). "Chinese Media Stocks Stage Major Rally in U.S. and Asian Markets". variety.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2018. Retrieved April 14, 2015.
  2. ↑ Rob Cain (June 7, 2015). "Is Jack Ma's Alibaba Pictures Really Worth $10 Billion?". forbes.com . Archived from the original on March 27, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  3. ↑ Osawa, Juro (May 12, 2014). "Is Alibaba Going Into the Movies?" . The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on September 26, 2019. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  4. ↑ Staff (May 12, 2014). "China's Alibaba registers film company in Hong Kong". reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  5. ↑ Ying, Huang; Jing, Meng (June 3, 2014). "ChinaVision becoming Alibaba Pictures". China Daily . Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  6. ↑ Chu, Kathy (July 17, 2014). "Alibaba Hires Zhang Qiang to Run Alibaba Pictures Production Company" . The Wall Street Journal . Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  7. ↑ Frater, Patrick (July 20, 2014). "China's Alibaba to Finance Wong Kar Wai Movie Slate". Variety . Archived from the original on May 2, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2015.
  8. 1 2 Frater, Patrick (March 29, 2016). "Alibaba Pictures Achieves First Profits". Variety . Archived from the original on June 11, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners Inks Strategic Pact with Alibaba Pictures". 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 16 February 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  10. ↑ "China's Alibaba Takes Stake in Steven Spielberg's Amblin; Will Team on Global Pics". 9 October 2016. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  11. 1 2 Fei Ju, Sherry; Clover, Charles (April 1, 2017). "China's Hollywood war chest threatened by poor ticket sales" . Financial Times . Retrieved April 3, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Alibaba Increases Stake in Online Ticketer Tao Piao Piao | CFI". China Film Insider. 2017-07-27. Archived from the original on 2021-06-11. Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  13. ↑ Poujol, Patrice (2019), Poujol, Patrice (ed.), "Alibaba Pictures: An Illustration of Changing Business Cultures and Film Finance", Online Film Production in China Using Blockchain and Smart Contracts: The Development of Collaborative Platforms for Emerging Creative Talents, International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology, Springer International Publishing, pp. 127–181, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-02468-0_5, ISBN   978-3-030-02468-0, S2CID   169534729
  14. ↑ Gallagher, Mark (2018), Magnan-Park, Aaron Han Joon; Marchetti, Gina; Tan, See Kam (eds.), "Alibaba Goes to the Movies", The Palgrave Handbook of Asian Cinema, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 109–127, doi:10.1057/978-1-349-95822-1_6, ISBN   978-1-349-95822-1
  15. ↑ "Book Review: Hollywood Made in China". China Film Insider. 2018-01-04. Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  16. ↑ Angeles, Alyssa Abkowitz in Beijing and Erich Schwartzel in Los (2016-10-10). "Alibaba Goes to Hollywood in Deal With Steven Spielberg's Amblin Partners" . Wall Street Journal. ISSN   0099-9660. Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  17. ↑ "Alibaba Pictures Helps Drive China's Billion-Dollar Box Office in 2019". Alizila.com. 2019-12-20. Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  18. ↑ "Alibaba Pictures, Amblin to co-produce films for global, Chinese audiences". Reuters (in German). 2016-10-09. Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  19. ↑ "Exclusive: Alibaba is making a huge play to bring Chinese movies to America". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2020-03-27.
  20. ↑ Jaafar, Ali (June 24, 2015). "'Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation' To Receive Investment From Alibaba Pictures". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on July 31, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  21. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (January 3, 2016). "'Star Wars', Local-Language & Family Pics Lead; 'Sherlock' Shines In Korea – Intl B.O." Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on January 4, 2016. Retrieved January 4, 2016.
  22. 1 2 Brzeski, Patrick (April 17, 2016). "China's Alibaba Pictures Invests in Paramount's 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2,' 'Star Trek Beyond'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 25, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  23. ↑ Ali Jaafar (June 4, 2015). "Alibaba Pictures Plans To Raise $1.6 Billion Through Share Sale". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  24. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (October 12, 2015). "Alibaba Pictures In 'Real' Deal; Pacts For First Korean Film Investment". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Film in Production". english.entgroup.cn. EntGroup Inc. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Jaafar, Ali (June 14, 2016). "China's Alibaba Pictures Unveils Development And Production Strategy; Intends To Use Online Dominance To Help Creative Partners". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2016.
  27. ↑ Xu Fan (China Daily) (June 18, 2015). "Internet Giants Move From Behind the Camera to Front". english.entgroup.cn. EntGroup Inc. Archived from the original on June 18, 2015. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  28. ↑ Tartaglione, Nancy (July 13, 2018). "Tom Cruise Says 'Mission: Impossible – Fallout' Is "Love Letter" To Paris At World Premiere". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  29. ↑ Chou, Christine (2019-02-15). "Alibaba Pictures Starts Year of Pig With Box Office Successes". Alizila.com. Archived from the original on 2019-02-26. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
  30. ↑ McNary, Dave (11 January 2019). "China's Alibaba Pictures to Partner on STX's UglyDolls Franchise". Variety . Archived from the original on 7 November 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  31. ↑ Sun, Rebecca; Brzeski, Patrick (April 25, 2016). "China's Alibaba Pictures to Remake 'Night at the Museum'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on April 27, 2016. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  32. ↑ Kroll, Justin (April 6, 2016). "Skydance, Alibaba Team Up on World War II Movie 'Flying Tigers'". Variety . Archived from the original on April 28, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  33. ↑ Rahman, Abid (June 13, 2016). "China's Alibaba Pictures Sets Renny Harlin-Directed 'Legend of the Ancient Sword'". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on August 28, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  34. ↑ Frater, Patrick (June 13, 2016). "Renny Harlin to Shoot 'Legend of the Ancient Sword' for Alibaba". Variety . Archived from the original on June 13, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  35. ↑ Brzeski, Patrick (December 1, 2016). "Director Renny Harlin on Staging His Second Act in China (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
  36. ↑ Frater, Patrick (January 25, 2016). "Vicky Zhao to Direct Animated 'My Fair Princess' for Alibaba Pictures". Variety . Archived from the original on January 30, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2016.
  37. ↑ Frater, Patrick (April 17, 2016). "Italy's Giuseppe Tornatore to Shoot Movie for China's Alibaba Pictures". Variety . Archived from the original on April 21, 2016. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  38. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (November 21, 2016). "David Heyman signs on to produce a film version of the "Warriors" children's book series". GameSpot . Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.