Creative China Holdings Limited (Creative China or the Group; HKG:8368) announced today that the Group and Truth Pictures (Hong Kong) Limited (Truth Pictures) have signed a cooperation framework agreement (the Cooperation Framework Agreement) committing to cooperating on the distribution, broadcasting and marketing promotion planning of foreign movies in Mainland China. The Cooperation Framework Agreement sets out the basic principle for subsequent cooperation valid for five years then renewable for one year automatically and indefinitely if at expiry no party disagrees.
At the same time, the Group has also signed a non-legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) on subsequent cooperation (the “Possible Cooperation”). It is subject to further due diligence, and the terms and conditions of the formal agreement. Truth Pictures and the Group propose to carry out cooperation in the distribution of six foreign imported films in Mainland China through cinemas, television stations and/or the New Media (as the case may be). The plot of the six films includes reality, fantasy love, thriller, crime/comedy, e-sports/youth, and art.
Creative China engages mainly in program production, film and television program pre-production, distribution and related services, and organizing concerts and events, mobile live broadcasting and e-commerce, and artist management. The Group is experienced in marketing promotional planning of domestic and foreign imported films by providing event organization services including the premiere ceremony for the film, producing high-quality television programs on the reality casting variety show of films, programs introducing upcoming films with film trailers, interviews of the cast and behind-the-scenes video in Mainland China. In recent years, it has expanded its program production business to cover distributing licensing rights of serial programs and investing in the pre-production of films and serial programs. Currently, the segment focuses on three major businesses in the film and television industry chain, namely project planning and script creation, production and publishing, generating increasing value for Creative China.
Truth Pictures, which is incorporated in Hong Kong, is in the business of distribution, development and production of films and television programs in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with extensive resources. According to Truth Pictures, the founding team has more than 20 years of industry experience, with in-depth partnerships including Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros. Movies, Maoyan Entertainment, Alibaba Pictures, Tencent Pictures, iQIYI Pictures, China Film Group Corporation and Huaxia Film Distribution. Its projects include “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”, “Spectre “, “Terminator Genisys”, “Angry Birds”, “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”, “Baby Driver”, “Peter Rabbit”, “The Current War” and “Dance with Me”. The founder was the China co-producer of “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”, “Terminator: Genisys”, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” and “Peter Rabbit”.
Mr. Philip Yang, Chairman and Executive Director of Creative China, said, “Even though 2021 has been thus far still rather challenging, the box office of movie theatres in Mainland China has continued to grow. We expect to reap powerful synergies from this partnership and possible acquisition and integration with the team of industry veterans at Truth Pictures. We are confident that this cooperation will enable us to further our reach into the film sector, giving us the chance to diversify our program production segment and expand our market share in the film industry. We look forward to working with Truth Pictures and bringing more substantial theatre box office revenue and copyright transaction revenue to the Company.”
According to data from China Film Administration and ENDATA, the box office of Chinese movies was approximately RMB 60.9 billion, 64.2 billion and 20.4 billion, respectively from 2018 to 2020. Affected by COVID-19, the box office of imported films accounted for approximately 38%, 36% and 16% (approximately RMB 23.1 billion, 23.1 billion and 3.3 billion) of the total movie box office respectively. According to industry data from DengTa Professional APP, the number of imported films was approximately 121, 136, and 61, respectively, year-on-year. In terms of revenue, China is one of the world’s two largest movie markets. The nation’s film industry continued to recover in 2021. According to PriceWaterHouse Coopers’ “Global Entertainment and Media Industry Outlook 2021 to 2025” China Summary, apart from a few cinema closures because of local COVID outbreaks in the second half of 2020, there was an 8.3% year-on-year increase in the number of screens, bringing the total to 75,581. The box office revenue of Chinese New Year in 2021 films also hit a record high. China’s box office continues to add significantly to global box office revenues. The number of moviegoers in the country has rebounded sharply to about 1.4 billion in 2021 and will reach 1.8 billion by 2025, exceeding pre-pandemic levels. China’s film revenue in 2025 is expected to account for 23.5% of the world’s total revenue of US$47 billion, second only to the United States’ 24.1%. The compound annual growth rate of China’s film revenue is estimated at 8.25% between 2021 and 2025.
About Creative China Holdings Limited (HKG:8368)
Creative China is dedicated to turning creativity into wealth and fostering the development of the creative industry with innovation. The Group mainly engages in program production, film and television program pre-production, distribution and related services, concert and event organization, mobile live broadcasting and e-commerce, and artist management. The original creative cultural products of the Group included television singing concerts, movie premieres and award presentation ceremonies, multimedia musicals and star-hosted television shows. Such first-of-their-kind productions have served as a guidepost for the industry. Having organized many creative and high-standard international activities and afforded creative stage designs, creative visual and public relations efforts, it boasts great influence and communication capability in Mainland China.
For more information of Creative China, please visit: http://www.ntmediabj.com/index.php.
About Truth Pictures (Hong Kong) Limited
Truth Pictures, which is incorporated in Hong Kong, is in the business of distribution, development and production of films and television programs in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan with extensive resources. According to Truth Pictures, the founding team has more than 20 years of industry experience, with in-depth partnerships including Sony Pictures, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, Warner Bros. Movies, Maoyan Entertainment, Alibaba Pictures, Tencent Pictures, iQIYI Pictures, China Film Group Corporation and Huaxia Film Distribution. Its projects include “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”, “Spectre”, “Terminator Genisys”, “Angry Birds”, “xXx: Return of Xander Cage”, “Baby Driver”, “Peter Rabbit”, “The Current War” and “Dance with Me”. The founder was the China co-producer of “Transformers: Age of Extinction”, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”, “Terminator: Genisys”, “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water” and “Peter Rabbit”.