Headlines from China: China’s Largest Real Estate Firm Forms Partnership with Huayi Brothers 

Tapping into Amusement Park Business, China’s Largest Real Estate Firm Forms Partnership with Huayi Brothers 

China’s largest (by revenue) real estate firm Evergrande Group has been actively expanding itself in China’s entertainment market. And this time, they bring China’s leading media and entertainment company Huayi Brothers on board. Although Evergrande and Huayi have not responded to the reports, publicly available documents indicate the collaboration is happening. This year in June, a company called Wuhan Hengyi Film and Culture was registered with investment of 100 million yuan. And among the four core staff members of the newly registered company, two are from Evergrande Group, and the other two are from Huayi Brothers. Read more on Ent Group

What Chinese Investors Care Today When They Invest in Cinemas

While there are not many exciting news about the China box office lately, some IPO and M&A cases in China’s film exhibition sector are worth our attention. Hengdian Cinemas and Jinyi Cinemas went public. China Media Capital (CMC) acquired UME cinemas. Observing all this, there seem to be a new trend starting to form since 2016. Before 2016, investors were enthusiastic about owning more theaters and screens through investing in and acquiring cinema chains. After 2016, investors seem to care more about the ROI of each movie theater they acquire. Take CMC & UME acquisition deal as an example, UME only owns 25 movie theaters, but some of their theaters are very upscale and profitable, which is the main reason why CMC wants to acquire them. Read more on TMT Post 

China to Remake Spanish Suspense Film ‘The Invisible Guest’

Spanish director Oriol Paulo recently attends the local premiere of his suspense film ‘The Invisible Guest’ in Beijing. At the preview event, the director talks about where his inspirations come from and who have influenced him on his filmmaking journey. He admits that the way he uses timeline is influenced by Christopher Nolan. In addition, Hitchcock’s movies have big impact on him. Paulo also reveals that the rights to remake ‘The Invisible Guest’ in mainland China have been sold. Read more on 1905.com

Acclaimed German Film Score Composer Hans Zimmer to Compose for Chinese Film ‘Sky Hunter’ 

Hans Zimmer, one of the world’s best film score composers, will write music for the upcoming Chinese war film ‘Sky Hunter‘, which marks Zimmer’s first participation in the production of a Chinese movie. This, however, is not the first time Zimmer gets involved in a Chinese project. He has written music for popular Chinese game ‘Honor of Kings’, which is also the world’s highest grossing game. Hans Zimmer’s works include ‘The Lion King’, ‘the Pirates of the Caribbean’ series, and ‘Dunkirk’. Read more on Mtime

14 Films to Compete During China’s Weeklong National Day Holiday in October

After playing domestic films during summer import blackout and mostly imported films during September, Chinese movie theaters will once again present audiences a feast of 14 domestic films, including Feng Xiaogang’s ‘Youth‘, war film ‘Sky Hunter’, and Jackie Chan‘s ‘The Foreigner’, during China’s weeklong National Day (10/01) holiday in October. Except animation and thriller, the 14 films almost cover every genre, according to a cinema manager. For China’s box office, National Day holiday is the second most important season after the Spring Festival holiday. Read more on D-entertainment