Latest in Wanda

Shares of AMC Entertainment were up a hefty 40% in early trading Monday on a report in U.K. outlet The Daily Mail that Amazon may be interested in acquiring the theater chain, which has been hard hit by COVID-19. The report is not confirmed. AMC Entertainment had no comment. Amazon said the company does not comment on…

Cineworld, the second-largest exhibitor in the world, clocked its lowest ever share price today as global markets continue to drop in the face of the coronavirus pandemic. European markets are down as much as 10% this morning. Entertainment shares are being hit hard, and UK-based Cineworld, which owns U.S. outfit…

UPDATED with details of executive compensation plan: In an unusual move for a big public company and a bid to buck up the malingering stock, AMC’s 14 top executives including CEO Adam Aron agreed to slash their cash salary and bonuses for three years in exchange for stock that will only vest if the price doubles or…

What to watch for in the overseas film industry in 2019: 1. Staying alive One of the most common refrains I hear from independent sales and distribution companies is how tough it is just to survive these days. As Netflix soars and studios, theaters and audiences continue to gravitate toward sequels, prequels and spinof…

Wanda Cinema Line Corporation has signed a purchase agreement with RealD to install no less than 100 of their Ultimate Screens across their theater circuits in China over the next two years. Most of the 100 RealD Ultimate Screens will be installed in Wanda Cinema Line's premium cinemas. The first auditoriums to…

Event cinema specialist Trafalgar Releasing has scored another big documentary result, this time with Burn The Stage: The Movie, about K-Pop phenomenon BTS. Released globally on November 15 in a limited engagement, the film has drawn in 1.4M admissions in more than 79 territories and 2,650 movie theaters for a box…

AMC Entertainment’s non-Executive Chairman, Lincoln Zhang, has resigned from his position at North America’s leading exhibition chain. Also known as Zhang Lin, the exec is expected to transition to a new role at AMC parent Dalian Wanda Group. AMC noted the change in a regulatory filing this week. Zhang was Chairman…

EXCLUSIVE: Writer-director Chen Sicheng's Detective Chinatown 2, the sequel to his 2016 hit, has nearly quadrupled that film’s box office to become the No. 3 movie ever in China. With $464M through Thursday, the movie has surpassed The Fate Of The Furious to fall in line behind Wolf Warrior 2 ($854M) and The Mermaid…

China's Dalian Wanda Group is to sell its Beverly Hills development that was once pegged to become its Hollywood headquarter. The group, run by Chinese billionaire Wang Jianlin, is reportedly selling both is California development and its complex in Chicago as it offloads a number of global property assets after…

Tencent Holdings is leading a consortium of investors to acquire a 14% equity stake in Wanda Commercial Properties Co, the flagship subsidiary of Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group, for RMB 34B ($5.37B). The move by Tencent, Suning Holdings, JD.com and Sunac China Holdings to buy out minority private investors will…

EXCLUSIVE: James Madigan is set to direct the space station action title Starfall which is aiming for a May 2018 production start. Starfall is based on David Coggeshall’s script with rewrites by Jordan and Aaron Kandell (Moana).  Madigan has worked in visual effects for over 20 years on such films as Iron Man 2 and The…

EXCLUSIVE: This is an important week for China, and Hollywood. October 18 kicks off the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party. There will be much fanfare, with an opening ceremony broadcast live on China Central Television. The Congress is meant to unveil new leadership and set a blueprint for national…