U.S. film company Alcon Entertainment is teaming up with China's DMG Entertainment to produce big-budget action films in hopes of appealing to the world's two biggest movie markets, following DMG and Walt Disney Co.'s success with "Iron Man 3."
DMG will join Alcon in financing, producing and distributing the sci-fi film "Transcendence," starring Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman, and "Point Break," an updated version of the 1990s film about undercover federal agents investigating a criminal ring that surfs, according to a statement from DMG.
Each of the movies will have a budget of at least $100 million, said a person familiar with the matter.
The partnership is the latest in an increasing number of Hollywood-China production deals. U.S. film finance and production company Legendary Pictures LLC announced in May plans to launch a movie venture with China Film Co., China's largest producer and distributor, and produce films for global audiences. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. said in April it would work with state-controlled China Film to produce an animated film on Tibet.
The two companies are hoping to follow the success that DMG and Walt Disney had with "Iron Man 3," which made $1.2 billion at box offices world-wide, $121 million of which came from China's audiences, according to film tracking site BoxOfficeMojo.com.
"To watch DMG's performance on the U.S./China collaborations of 'Looper' and 'Iron Man 3,' and then know our movies are following on that kind of success...it's nothing less than awesome," said Alcon co-founders and co-chief executives Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove in the statement.
"Transcendence," a story that explores artificial intelligence, is under production and is set for release next April. The film is directed by Wally Pfister, the cinematographer for the Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," and will be distributed in the U.S. by Warner Bros. studio.
Alcon's productions have included "Dolphin Tale," a 2011 movie that also starred Morgan Freeman and grossed $95 million, according to BoxOfficeMojo, and "Blind Side," which took in $309 million world-wide in 2009 and starred Sandra Bullock.
The Los Angeles company, which emerged in 1997 with the backing of FedEx Corp.'s founder, is looking for its cut of China's lucrative film market. Box-office sales in China surged 30% to $2.74 billion in 2012, according to official Chinese government figures.
Alcon's most recent film, "Beautiful Creatures," a supernatural teen-literature adaptation, flopped with audiences, taking in $60 million globally, just enough to cover production costs, according to BoxOfficeMojo.
Beijing-based DMG has added in recent years a string of foreign co-productions, like "Looper," starring Bruce Willis, to its run of domestic productions, including the 2009 Chinese government propaganda film "The Founding of a Republic."