China's Bona Film Group invests in Hollywood blockbusters "Avatar 3" and "Deadpool 3"

According to Variety , Chinese film company Bona Film Group invested in Hollywood blockbusters such as "Avatar 3" and "Deadpool 3," but the investment amount was not disclosed.

Variety report:

Chinese film company Bona Film Group has reached an agreement with US financial company TSG Entertainment Finance to invest in a series of upcoming Hollywood films. The agreement is reported to include the upcoming "Avatar 3" and "Deadpool 3" movies. The agreement was signed on December 31, and the move is seen as an extension and expansion of the partnership between Bona and TSG that began in 2015.

In an earlier agreement, Bona pledged $235 million to co-invest with TSG in a series of films including "The Martian," "Independence Day 2," "The Greatest Showman," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," "Alien: Covenant" and "X-Men: Apocalypse," most of which were distributed by 20th Century Fox.

Such joint portfolio financing agreements typically provide a degree of risk management for film studios. The financial institutions are primarily passive investors with little say in the creative process of a film, but by investing in multiple projects, they can expect to receive a healthy return.

Sino-US film list transactions were common in the mid-2010s, when Chinese companies actively participated in Hollywood as investors, financial partners and potential acquirers. But things have changed a lot since 2018. During this period, the United States and China were embroiled in a trade and technology war, which led to a significant reduction in cross-border business transactions. The rise of streaming media also forced film companies to consolidate, including Fox, which was acquired by Disney.

Meanwhile, Hollywood movies are making far less in Chinese theaters than they did before the pandemic, and Chinese films have come to dominate the domestic cinema and streaming markets to the point where long-standing import quotas may be on hold.

Yu Dong said in a statement: "We are very pleased to continue our eight-year partnership with TSG. Through further cooperation, Bona will become a new player in the Avatar and Deadpool series through TSG, and maintain our investment in the Planet of the Apes, Alien series and many more new and exciting films to be released."