China's Wanda Group CEO Heads to Hollywood With All Eyes on Him

Monday evening, most everyone who’s anyone in Hollywood will gather at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art to hear from the man who’s trying to move the center of the entertainment universe a little further east.

Wang Jianlin is China’s richest man and the founder and CEO of China’s Wanda Group, which this year alone acquired Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion and is in talks to add Dick Clark Productions for another billion. Wanda also formed an alliance with Sony Pictures last month and is on pace to spend $30 billion in deals this year — half in sports and entertainment.

After speeches by luminaries including Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti at Monday’s “U.S.-Sino Business Evening,” Wang will take the stage at the museum’s Bing Theater. There, he’s expected to announce news relating to Wanda’s Hollywood ambitions — which have recently sparked some backlash in Washington.

Also Read: Why DC Started Caring About Dalian Wanda Group and China in Hollywood

Over the weekend, news leaked that Wanda plans to unveil a 40 percent rebate at the event — funded by the company and several Chinese regional governments — intended to lure filming to Wanda’s under-construction Qingdao Movie Metropolis, a 408-acre film studio that includes the world’s largest indoor sound stage. Wanda would become the first private entertainment company to underwrite such a rebate, which are commonly doled out by local governments wanting to grow filming.

Wang is also expected to reveal specific production commitments for several Hollywood projects at Monday’s presentation. This month, Legendary Entertainment’s “Pacific Rim 2” will become the first film to shoot at the Qingdao park.

Wanda’s boss comes to America at a pivotal time for Wanda — and China’s exploding movie industry. While the Chinese conglomerate has been increasing its footprint in Hollywood since its 2012 acquisition of AMC Theaters, Washington has begun to push back amid fears that China’s Hollywood ambitions — and notably, those of the Wanda Group — have gone too far. Several individuals close to China’s leadership have economic ties to the Wanda Group.

Also Read: Lawmaker Wants DOJ to Probe Dalian Wanda's Hollywood Acquisitions

On Oct. 4, the Government Accountability Office agreed to a request from 16 members of Congress to review the legal powers of Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, which examines national security implications of foreign transactions — a request partially sparked by Wanda’s buying spree.

The next day, the Washington Post published a strongly worded editorial saying that “China already has imposed its censorious values on Hollywood studios,” using access to its hundreds of millions of film fans as leverage, and warned that “China could seek to spread pro-regime propaganda via ownership of U.S. entertainment media.”

The day after that, Rep. Jim Culberson sent a letter to the Department of Justice urging it to take another look at the Foreign Agents Registration Act, specifically mentioning Wanda’s entertainment purchases and their potential to be used for “propaganda purposes.”

Also Read: Washington Post Warns That China's Hollywood Invasion Is a 'Propaganda' Play

To a certain degree, Wang has invited this pushback with some of his bombastic proclamations, talking openly about buying a major studio and threatening to make Disney’s new Shanghai theme park unprofitable.

“We want to smash them,” Wang told CNN in September, speaking of Disney. “It’s not personal — it’s where the interest of the company lies.”

Monday night, with a who’s who of the entertainment industry in attendance — and the recent mood in D.C. — Wang might change his tone, if not his goals. Hollywood will have its popcorn ready.

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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