Dalian Wanda Group Unveils Sprawling All-Inclusive Qingdao Movie Metropolis and Wanda Studios
18.10.2016
Los Angeles CA, October 17, 2016 – In an effort to significantly harness the vast opportunity between the Eastern and Western entertainment communities, Dalian Wanda Group today revealed details of an $8.2 billion, 408 acre Movie Metropolis that will include Wanda Studios, China’s first world-class production facility based in Qingdao. The announcement was made by Wanda Chairman Wang Jianlin at a special event hosted by Wanda, which also featured remarks from Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and AMPAS President Cheryl Boone Isaacs.
To further incentivize and drive creative and business collaborations in entertainment between the United States and China, Wanda Group and the Qingdao municipal government have also jointly established China's first internationally competitive film and television industry development fund. This incentive program will see qualifying projects from both Chinese and international producers receiving a rebate of 40% of qualifying production expenditures in the Qingdao region, which include, but are not limited to, backlot and stage rental, set construction, equipment rental, accommodations, transportation, post production, and beyond.
“Wanda has continually worked to advance international collaboration, and we are pleased to introduce Wanda Studios and the ambitious Qingdao Movie Metropolis to filmmakers around the world. Wanda Studios and QMM lay the groundwork for a unified and streamlined global production community, and we are pleased to leverage our platform and significant infrastructure in China on behalf of our partners in the US and abroad,” said Chairman Wang.
Designed in consultation with the UK’s legendary Pinewood Studios, Wanda Studios will feature 30 state-of-the-art sound stages, including the world’s largest at over 107,000 square feet, the country’s most advanced temperature-controlled underwater stage and a 221-acre backlot. Scheduled to officially open in August 2018, the studio will provide a comprehensive range of services to facilitate international productions in China, including assistance with language, logistics, location scouting, permitting, banking, payroll, customs and visas. Wanda Studios will be the first and only filmmaking destination in China that meets international production standards.
Legendary Entertainment will shoot the next installments of PACIFIC RIM and GODZILLA at the studio. Additionally, Lionsgate with China Media Capital backed Infinity Pictures, Arad Productions, Arclight Films, Kylin Pictures, Base Media, Beijing Dirty Monkey Culture Industry Development and Juben Pictures have also agreed to shoot upcoming films at the studio in Qingdao.
Separately, Digital Domain, an Academy Award®-winning creator and proprietor of visual effects content, is exploring the opportunity to establish its first motion capture stage in Asia at Wanda Studios, providing services in digital imaging and digital imaging technician location grading for film production.
Wanda Studios is part of the larger Qingdao Movie Metropolis (QMM), a massive mixed-use urban living development that will include a convention center, showground, world-class shopping mall, six resort hotels, four indoor theme parks, a marina, international schools, an international hospital, and Asia’s largest cinema with 30 halls and 5300 seats. Situated on a 408-acre site, QMM will create a safe, comfortable, city-within-a-city where filmmakers from all over the world can work and live along with their families and support teams. QMM was strategically designed to serve as a central hub for global content production, as well as the physical gateway to the world’s largest and most coveted entertainment market outside of the United States.
Through its extensive digital and physical infrastructure, Wanda is well-positioned to serve as a global partner for companies seeking access to the vast Chinese movie-going audience. Wanda’s assets in China include Wanda Cinema Line, Asia’s largest cinema owner; 100+ entertainment plazas; its growing theme park business; and its leading electronic movie ticketing platform. Wanda also recently announced a significant exhibition deal with IMAX, which will see the construction of 150 additional IMAX theatres in China.
Wanda has also made significant investments and entered into mutually beneficial pacts with leading entertainment companies to further its position as a worldwide entertainment leader. Its acquisitions in the US include national theatre chain AMC and leading film production company Legendary Entertainment. Wanda recently entered into a strategic alliance with Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group to leverage Wanda’s massive consumer-facing infrastructure in China to bolster a number of Sony Pictures’ upcoming high-profile releases in China, several of which will receive equity co-financing from Wanda. The company also owns Odeon & UCI in Europe, and Hoyts in Australia.
Qingdao, the largest city in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong, is a bustling modern port metropolis best known internationally as the home of Tsingtao beer. Located about 400 miles southeast of Beijing and 450 miles north of Shanghai, greater Qingdao has a population of roughly 9 million people.