Veteran producers Sid Ganis, Nancy Hult Ganis, Mark Johnson, Joe Roth and Jeff Kirschenbaum have signed on with The H Collective, a new film financing, production, marketing and distribution company, the producers announced Monday.
The lead project on the new company’s slate is a fourth sequel to Vin Diesel’s “xXx” action franchise following Paramount’s January release of “xXx: Return of Xander Cage,” which grossed $346 million worldwide.
The H Collective will finance the new film, which will be produced by Roth and Kirschenbaum, and acquire all rights excluding TV and U.S. theme park rights.
The company plans to finance four projects per year in a wide mix of budgets over the next four years, with a focus on four categories: family/comedy, action adventure, horror and prestige.
A rep for the company declined to comment on the company’s capitalization, the source of its funding, what executive or executives lead it or the precise budget range of its projects.
In addition to financing and producing films, The H Collective aims to acquire domestic distribution rights to select content. The company has an exclusive partnership with Beijing Culture, the Chinese entertainment conglomerate, and has secured North and South American rights to three films for which it will handle distribution and marketing.
The films include “Wolf Warrior 2,” the sequel to 2015’s Chinese hit “Wolf Warrior,” which grossed $80 million in China and is one of the most highly anticipated releases this summer, as well as “Hanson and the Beast” and “A Better Tomorrow 4.”
In addition to “xXx 4,” other projects on the H Collective’s slate include:
• “Three Sisters” — Ruby Rose (“XXx: Return of Xander Cage”) stars in this action comedy with Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”) directing a script by Derek Haas (“Wanted”). Roth and Kirschnbuam will produce
• “A Children’s Song” — When two students competing for a music scholarship discover that their original compositions are based on a single family song, both are determined to prove ownership, leading them to uncover the long lost true origin of the melody: a story of salvation and hope when over 20,000 Jews immigrated to Shanghai during WWII. The film will be produced by Sid Ganis and Nancy Hult Ganis.
• “Raven Road” — After a friend dies in mysterious circumstances on a deserted stretch of road made famous by urban legend, a group of investigate the myth. Brian Anderson scripted the horror-thriller, which Johnson will produce.
• “White House Chef ” — A Chinese chef working in the White House must save the first family after he becomes unintentionally involved in a secret terrorist plot targeting an important state dinner. Johnson is producing the action-comedy.
• “The Parts You Lose” — When a young deaf boy comes across a wounded man in a snowdrift, he moves him to a nearby barn and helps nurse him back to health. Before long, it becomes clear how dangerous this man is, and the unlikely friendship that develops between the two may have grave consequences. Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad“) is attached to star, and Johnson will produce.
“I’m extremely happy to be part of The H Collective family from the beginning,” Ganis said in a statement. “The company has a great understanding of motion picture investment and an eye for quality productions.”
Roth added, “In today’s Hollywood, it requires strong partners to produce and finance such big-budget movies as the ‘xXx’ series, and The H Collective is a welcome and exciting new company that we look forward to working with.”
“The H Collective has proposed a very clever and original model for making films of all sizes and shapes, and at all price levels,” Johnson said. “We are excited with the challenge of making diverse and arresting films for today’s global audience.”