STXfilms is reteaming with Alibaba Pictures for U.S. distribution rights to Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year, a feature film based on the British cartoon franchise. The film opens in China on February 5, in time for the first day of Chinese New Year and the first day of the Chinese zodiac’s Year of the Pig. At the same time, STX is planning to release the English-subtitled version in 65 theaters across 32 U.S. markets.
The trailer for Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year dropped earlier this month and went viral with the Mandarin hashtag #WhatisPeppa gathering more than 1.45 billion views via popular microblogging platform Sina Weibo.
eOne controls the rights to the franchise.
This collaboration adds to the ongoing partnership between STX and Alibaba. The two companies recently announced a pact to co-produce and co-finance content from STX’s UglyDolls franchise with an aim to build a long-term global IP. The animated feature film based on David Horvath and Sun-Min Kim’s popular toy line opens on May 3.
In addition, STX and Alibaba Pictures are also co-producing the forthcoming action sci-fi film Steel Soldiers from Robert Zemeckis and the live action/CGI hybrid film Warriors, based on a series of young adult books.
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