The world's biggest film studio is being built in the eastern Chinese coastal city of Qingdao as part of a multi-billion-dollar project at a cost of USD 5 billion by a company owned by China's richest man.
Wang Jianlin's Dalian Wanda Group today unveiled plans for the mega project at an inaugural launch ceremony in Qingdao attended by Hollywood movie stars Nicole Kidman, Leonardo DiCaprio and John Travolta.
The property and entertainment conglomerate intends to invest 30 billion yuan (USD 5 billion) in the Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, consisting of of 20 studios including one of which Wanda says will be the world's largest at 10,000 square meters and a permanent underwater stage.
The 540-hectare facility will include a movie theatre, wax museum, exhibition centre, yacht club, hotels and other cultural and tourist facilities.
Expected to be completed in 2017, the park will host around 30 foreign production groups and at least 100 domestic teams annually, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Wang, who acquired the US-based cinema operator AMC last year, has high hopes for China's film industry, estimating the nation's box office will surpass that of the United States by 2018.
He expects domestic film revenue to be double that of the US by 2023.
The centre is part of Wang's cultural development strategy and an attempt to create a Chinese cultural brand.
With the huge potential that comes with a population of 1.3 billion, the global film industry will recognise that the sooner you partner China, the sooner you make more money, Wang said.
