Warner Brothers in talks to make movies in China

Rather than wait for China to open its doors to Hollywood, Warner Bros. is making a big play to take up residency in China soon.

The Time Warner Inc.-owned studio TWX, -3.98% is in talks with China Media Capital, a state-backed investment fund focused on the entertainment industry, to form a joint venture that would produce local-language films, people with knowledge of the potential partnership said.

The expected pact is a show of faith that the world’s fastest-growing major film market will continue to devour motion pictures, even as Wall Street sweats about growth prospects for the overall Chinese economy.

Hollywood studios have worked with partners in China to produce movies there in the past, usually on a one-off basis. The Warner deal, which is intended to make numerous films annually, appears to be the largest and most expansive of its kind.

It wasn’t immediately clear how many movies the joint venture would produce or how much money each partner would invest. It’s also possible that the recent financial turmoil in the country could make closing the deal more challenging.

Source: MarketWatch