China’s LeTV establishes $200M film production fund, opens office in LA

LeVision Pictures, the film production branch of Chinese video streaming site LeTv, will establish a US$200 million dollar fund as part of a new Los Angeles-based subsidiary. It’ll be called LeVision Pictures USA Hollywood Reporter first picked up the news yesterday, after which LeTV CEO Gu Yueting confirmed the story on his official Weibo page.

LeTV is best known as a popular online video streaming site in China, but its production branch has grown increasingly active over the past several years, both in the US and in China. It provided financing and Chinese distribution for The Expendables 2 & 3, along with upcoming sci-fi flick Automata starring Antonio Bandares. According to Techweb, LeVision Pictures produced, financed, or distributed nine feature films across China, bringing in a total of RMB 2 billion (about US$326 million) in box office sales. LeVision CEO Zhang Zhao reportedly hopes to produce 20 titles and rake in RMB 5 billion (about US$815 million) in 2015.

In an effort to capitalize on China’s growing demand for video entertainment, the country’s internet giants continue to invest money on both sides of the globe in hopes of bringing the best film and television to screens across the Middle Kingdom. Tencent announced three weeks ago it had established a film production unit that is currently producing seven titles. Back in March, ecommerce giant Alibaba purchased a controlling stake in the ChinaVision Media group for US$804 million, and later changed its name to Alibaba Pictures Group. Everyone wants to make movies.

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