China’s Bona Film to Invest in ‘Avatar,’ ‘Deadpool’ Franchise Titles via Chip Seelig Deal
variety.comPatrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese studio Bona Film Group has struck a deal with U.S. financier TSG Entertainment Finance to invest in a slate of upcoming Hollywood franchise movies.
The deal is understood to include upcoming “Avatar” and “Deadpool” titles. The agreement, signed on Dec. 31, is described as an extension and expansion of a relationship between Bona and TSG that began in 2015.
The financial terms were not disclosed. Through the earlier deal Bona committed to providing $235 million to co-invest with TSG in a slate of films including “The Martian,” “Independence Day: Resurgence,” “The Greatest Showman,” “War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children,” “Alien: Covenant” and “X-Men: Apocalypse,” most of which were distributed through 20th Century Fox.
Such co-investment slate financing deals tend to provide studios with a degree of risk management. The financiers are mostly passive investors who have little or no say in the film’s creative process, but across a portfolio of titles can expect to earn a respectable margin.
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