STX Partners With The Young Astronauts to Develop Short-Form Videos

This year alone, “Bad Moms” studio STX has branched out into unscripted TV, music and virtual reality. Now, it’s taking on branded content.

On Friday, STX announced that it has reached an agreement with Canadian interactive media company The Young Astronauts to co-produce and co-develop short-form digital video content for celebrity influencers and brands. The agreement will also allow STX to expand its capabilities into mobile app development and managing social media for prominent online personalities.

The Young Astronauts has worked with household names like Bruno Mars, Drake, Red Bull and Nike. Content produced by the company was streamed more than 10 billion times in 2015 across all platforms.

Also Read: 'Bad Moms' All-Male Spinoff 'Bad Dads' Booked for Summer 2017

“STX is committed to providing a one-stop shop for talented storytellers and artists to work with us across all media, whether it be through film, television, innovative online content or even virtual reality,” STX President Sophie Watts said in a statement. “Enlisting The Young Astronauts is a powerful way we can collaborate with music and celebrity talent and brands to find the platform that best serves their voice and engages with their fans across digital, mobile and social.”

Toronto-based The Young Astronauts will maintain its Canadian headquarters, but will set up a permanent shop at STX’s Burbank campus.

“STX Entertainment and The Young Astronauts both share a true understanding of global media and how to unlock significant opportunities in the changing media landscape,” The Young Astronauts Co-Founders Nev Todorovic and Tyler Savery said in the statement. “We look forward to adding our own capabilities to their platform and expanding the scope of our work across all traditional and interactive formats, so together, we can give stars, brands and storytellers the best opportunities to make their mark across a diverse set of platforms, in new and disruptive ways.”

Also Read: STX Gets Tencent Investment to Fund Digital, VR and Mobile Expansion

Robert Simonds founded STX in 2014 with a star-centric philosophy and plans to spend up to $1 billion a year to produce about a dozen movies anchored by A-listers. STX has released seven films to date, with mixed results.

“Bad Moms” became a massive hit on a $20 million budget, making $179 million worldwide and spawning a “Bad Dads” spinoff, but “Free State of Jones” made just $23 million worldwide on a $50 million budget.

However, part of STX’s strategy is to use those headliners as linchpins for cross-platform content, like TV shows and digital series in the U.S. or around the world, helping them to enhance their brand and draw income from multiple avenues. To that end, STX has dramatically grown its non-movie lines of business this year.

Also Read: STX Board Member Dominic Ng Says Hollywood Should Not Fear 'Chinese Values'

STX opened an international division in London earlier this year and has deep ties to China, the world’s second-biggest movie market — and closing in on the top spot. China’s Hony Capital was a founding investor in the studio. In August, STX received a strategic investment from Chinese tech and media giant Tencent and Hong Kong’s PCCW to fund its expansion into music, VR, mobile and digital content which valued the studio at about $1.5 billion. STX acquired VR firm Surreal Inc. later in August.

The studio also signed content partnerships with Tencent and PCCW, further deepening its roots in Asia. STX had inked a co-financing deal with China’s Huayi Bros. Media last year.

Hollywood's 22 Biggest Box Office Champs in China (Photos)

Chinese moviegoers love to spend their hard-earned yuan on Hollywood blockbusters like "Captain America: Civil War," "Avatar" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Comedies and dramas? Not so much. Read on to see which American hits have raked in the most money (according to BoxOfficeMojo) in that nation across the Pacific.
Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm/Fox
"Furious 7" (2015)

$390.9 million

The Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson revved-up action flick is easily the highest-grossing Hollywood movie ever in China. The late Paul Walker remains among China's most beloved American actors.
Universal
"Transformers: Age of Extinction" (2014)

$320 million

Mark Wahlberg starred in the sci-fi movie based on the foldable toys, which was co-produced by two Chinese firms and was the first Hollywood movie to make more than $300 million in the Middle Kingdom.
Paramount
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" (2015)

$240.1 million

The superhero mashup is China's highest-grossing Marvel Cinematic Universe film, a franchise that's been embraced by the country's young-leaning moviegoers.
Marvel
"Zootopia" (2016)

$235.6 million

The buddy-cop comedy is the highest-grossing imported animated film in the history of the Chinese box office, and it played especially well in China's second- and third-tier cities.
Disney
"Jurassic World" (2015)

$228.7 million

Like "Furious 7," the dinosaur sci-fi adventure was produced by Legendary Entertainment, which was acquired by China's Dalian Wanda Group in January.
Universal
"Warcraft" (2016)

$220.8 million

Another Legendary film, this one inspired by a video game series, flopped in the U.S. but dominated the Chinese market, which is home to about half of the video game's players worldwide.
Universal
"Avatar" (2009)

$204.1 million

The worldwide smash hit also captivated Chinese audiences, even back in 2009, when the country's box office was a fraction of the size that it is today.
Fox
"Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

$190.4 million

The latest film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- with an ensemble cast that includes Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Don Cheadle -- continued the iconic comic book company's momentum in China.
Marvel
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon" (2011)

$165.1 million

The prequel to this film, 2009's "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," made $65.8 million in China, setting the stage for "Dark of the Moon" to be the country's highest-grossing Hollywood film since "Avatar" at the time.
Paramount
"Kung Fu Panda 3" (2016)

$154.3 million

The Mandarin-language version of the movie starring Jack Black as a friendly fighting bear had the characters reanimated so their mouths moved naturally with the translated words.
DreamWorks
"The Jungle Book" (2016)

$150.1 million

The live-action/animation hybrid was a hit in several international markets, especially India, and it also played well throughout China.
Disney
"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" (2015)

$135.7 million

China's Alibaba Pictures invested in "Rogue Nation," and star Tom Cruise visited several Chinese cities to promote the film, helping it open strong and stick around in theaters even though its China debut came more than a month after its U.S. premiere.
Paramount
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (2016)

$124.2 million

Despite China being one of the few markets that didn't catch "Star Wars" fever -- the movie put some people there to sleep -- Disney's promotional efforts helped it clear $100 million.
Lucasfilm
"Interstellar" (2014)

$122 million

The epic space adventure starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain connected with Chinese audiences, even though it wasn't in the 3D format that crowds there have grown used to.

Paramount
"The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies" (2014)

$121.7 million

The third and final installment in Peter Jackson's "Hobbit" series was another movie that succeeded even though it was released in China well after its U.S. premiere.
Warner Bros.
"Iron Man 3" (2013)

$121.2 million

All three movies in the Robert Downey Jr. franchise have played in China, helping build brand awareness beyond just the bankable Marvel name.
Marvel
"X-Men: Apocalypse" (2016)

$12o.8 million

Disney bought Marvel Entertainment in 2009, but Fox acquired the film rights to Marvel's "X-Men" franchise before then. It doesn't seem to matter much in China, where anything Marvel often turns into a big hit.
Fox
"Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014)

$115.6 million

The predecessor to this year's "Civil War," "Winter Soldier" was a hit despite its fairly political content, which is usually a negative in Chinese theaters.
Marvel
"Terminator Genisys" (2015)

$113.2 million

The fifth "Terminator" film was the franchise's lowest-grossing since the 1984 original, but it was the first in the series to get a Chinese theatrical release.
Paramount
"Pacific Rim" (2013)

$111.9 million

The futuristic sci-fi adventure, in which humans battle sea monsters, is yet another fantasy action movie that Chinese audiences loved.
Warner Bros.
"Ant-Man" (2015)

$105.4 million

Yet another Marvel Cinematic Universe movie, "Ant-Man" made just $180.2 million at the domestic box office but was a much bigger hit in China.
Marvel
"San Andreas" (2015)

$103.2 million

China knows Dwayne Johnson from the "Fast and Furious" franchise, and the earthquake disaster film he headlined last year reverberated at the Chinese box office.
Warner Bros.

1 of 23

Chinese moviegoers can’t get enough of America’s big-budget action flicks

Chinese moviegoers love to spend their hard-earned yuan on Hollywood blockbusters like "Captain America: Civil War," "Avatar" and "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Comedies and dramas? Not so much. Read on to see which American hits have raked in the most money (according to BoxOfficeMojo) in that nation across the Pacific.

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Hollywood's 22 Biggest Box Office Champs in China (Photos)

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