China’s Dalian Wanda Group is set to take on a controlling stake in Hollywood film studio Legendary entertainment.
The deal has been agreed for a fee in the region of $3.5 billion (£2.4 million).
Legendary is the maker of hits such as Jurassic World, the Dark Knight Batman trilogy and Godzilla.
Wanda is the world’s biggest movie theatre operator – it also owns a majority stake in the US chain AMC.
The group is led by China’s richest man, Wang Jianlin, who has reportedly been keen to purchase a Hollywood studio for several years.
Wang said that Hollywood films would have to adapt to the Chinese market if they wanted to succeed there: “I think this is very normal because US companies want to grab a share in the Chinese high-growth market. They should do something to cater to Chinese audiences’ interests — if they don’t, there might be trouble”.
The company will reportedly aim to avoid any movies that could potentially cause problems with the strict censorship of political matters in China.
Wanda described the deal as “China’s largest cross-border cultural acquisition to date”It is intended to increase ties between Hollywood and the world’s fasted growing movie market, China.
Legendary’s films have reportedly grossed over $12 billion globally.
