Fox International Productions has closed a co-financing deal with Ivanhoe Pictures for local language films in Asia.
The 20th Century Fox subsidiary and the film and TV financier have inked a four-year, multi-picture agreement for local language movies in India, Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan. Ivanhoe’s initial allocation is $130 million.
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“Last year, Asia as a whole represented 42% of the International box office and local language films globally account for $6.5 Billion, or around 30% of the total International box office,” FIP president Sanford Panitch said in a statement. “With the top four local product markets all being in Asia (India, China, Japan, and Korea), it continues to be a priority for Fox International Productions as we expand our activities in the region with this new deal. [Ivanhoe head] Robert Friedland is an impressively forward-thinking and global-minded businessman and we look forward to working with him and his team.”
Ivanhoe Pictures’ president John Penotti added: “Ivanhoe Pictures was launched with an initial mandate to cultivate, finance, production and distribution opportunities between North America and Asia. There is no better partner than FIP to help realize these goals. Sanford and his team have taken the time to fully understand the local markets and therefore excel by collaborating with the best directors, producers and actors. We too believe in this approach to global filmmaking. As we ramp up operations in the North America and internationally, the Ivanhoe team looks forward to a long and fruitful relationship with FIP.”
Ivanhoe will invest in 10 FIP-produced films in various stages of production in India, Korea, China and Taiwan. FIP is currently making movies in 11 countries throughout Asia, Western Europe and Latin America, recently crossing $500 million in box-office grosses from local language films it has produced since it was founded four years ago.
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Ivanhoe Pictures, led by international financier Friedland, producer Penotti and media executive Ray Chen, recently announced plans to finance and co-produce Kevin Kwan‘s bestseller Crazy Rich Asians.
The deal was negotiatied for Ivanhoe Pictures by Walk the Walk Entertainment’s Steve Hutensky, Ivanhoe’s head of business affairs Brian Kornreich and vice chairman Gary Gartner.
