Bona Film Group, the Chinese Company that had the biggest deal at this Cannes Film Festival with the $80M lead investment on director Roland Emmerich’s WWII battle film Midway for The Mark Gordon Co., has entered into an agreement with CAA.
CAA and Bona Film Group announced the launch of a long-term film fund, with an initial $150 million investment. The first film from this fund is, of course, Midway.
Both companies say that the fund will be co-managed by Bona and CAA, with a focus on financing English-language films for the global marketplace, Chinese co-productions, and Chinese-language films for the local market. All films financed through the fund will be distributed in China by Bona Film Group while CAA will rep the North American (and select international distribution rights) to all the films they partner on.
Bona Film Group’s businesses include film and TV production and distribution, cinema investment and management, advertising and marketing, talent representation, and location-based entertainment. As of January of this year, the company operates 41 theaters (338 screens) in the Middle Kingdom.
“Upon closing of the initial funding, CAA will have directed more than a half-a-billion dollars of Chinese capital into English-language content and it marks the first investment vehicle the agency has managed that will help finance Chinese-language films as a portion of its portfolio,” the announcement said.
“The fund furthers our goal of producing films that resonate around the world, while simultaneously serving as a bridge between best-in-class creative talent and China’s thriving film market,” said Yu Dong, Chief Executive Officer, Bona Film Group in a statement. “CAA’s vast resources are an ideal complement to our extensive experience in-market and I look forward to our work together,”
CAA, which opened its China office in 2005, also recently announced a partnership with CMC Capital Partners (CMC) to form CAA China.
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