Netflix Bets On Big Budget Films
Netflix is banking on a slate of big budget films to attract new subscribers. The streamer is spending over $550 million to make just three big budget films.
Universal
The China Retreat
Viacom has had enough of China. The New York-based company is in talks with at least one Chinese group to sell some or all of the company’s operations on the mainland.
Studio Netflix
Netflix plans to release 80 films in 2018; nearly as many as all six major studios combined.
Point of No Return for North America’s Box Office
In 2017, North American theatrical admissions fell to 1992 levels. Admissions in the U.S and Canada dropped 6% to 1.23 billion tickets sold.
Inside Baidu’s Hollywood Expansion
Since launching in 2010, iQiyi has accumulated the most paid SVOD subscribers in China, however, calculating an accurate subscriber base is challenging.
Lionsgate Inks Long-Term Digital Licensing with iQiyi
Lionsgate entered into a long-term content licensing agreement with iQiyi in November 2016 for upcoming features and select library films.
Hollywood Welcomes Wanda Group’s CEO Wang Jianlin
Wanda’s CEO Jianlin is in Hollywood to purchase more media properties. The acquisition of Legendary for $3.5 billion was the biggest Hollywood-China tie-up.
Netflix Calls Out Theater Owners
At The New Yorker’s TechFest event last Friday the CEO of Netflix attacked the theater owners for the lack of innovation in the film business.
Rush to Offshore
China’s Perfect World Pictures will co-finance 25% of Universal’s B-slate over five years. The $500 million deal is the second major tie-up in a week.