Footnotes / references financial data unaudited[1]
Le Vision Pictures is a film production and distribution company in China. Founded in 2011, Le Vision Pictures was originally a subsidiary of LeEco, a Chinese conglomerate founded by Jia Yueting. In 2018, Le Vision Pictures was sold to Chinese property group Sunac and renamed Suniverse Film Entertainment.[2]
The company engaged in film production, film publicity and release, copyright operations, and business development. In 2019, Suniverse Film Entertainment was incorporated under the Sunac Culture Group with the goal of building a platform for family entertainment.[3] Films produced and distributed by the company include: The Expendables franchise, The Bullet Vanishes, and Tiny Times. The company also owns the copyrights to Chinese TV drama series, such as Empresses in the Palace, Legend of Mi Yue, and Red Sorghum.[4]
History
In 2011, the former president of Enlight Pictures, Zhang Zhao (Chinese: 张昭; pinyin: Zhāng Zhāo), founded Le Vision Pictures, where he is the current Chairman and CEO. Zhang Yimou joined the firm as a contracted movie director and creative director in May 2013.
In August 2013, the firm raised RMB 200MM in its first round of financing, valuing it at RMB 1.5 billion.
In March 2014, director Lu Chuan joined the company.
In its first two years, Le Vision introduced its "O2O Marketing System," a business model designed to engage consumers through a seamless integration of online and offline platforms.
By 2014, the company had become the sixth-largest film distributor in China, holding 4.1% of the market share,[5] and announced a second round of financing of RMB 340 million, at which time its value reached RMB 4.8 billion.
LeEco announced that Le Vision Pictures would be sold to sister company, le.com on 5 December 2015, subject to the approval of the shareholders of the listed company. As of 8 November 2016, the deal was not completed.[6] In January 2017, Sunac China acquired a 15% stake from LeEco.
Films
Le Vision produced and distributed six films in 2012. The Bullet Vanishes was nominated for four Golden Horse Awards (Taiwan), including “Best Picture”, and thirteen Hong Kong Film Awards. The Expendables 2, in which Le Vision co-invested and also co-distributed in China, grossed over $57 million in China, accounting for 18.5% of its total global box office revenue.
In 2013, Le Vision released nine films, grossing a total of $170 million. This included Love Will Tear Us Apart, Tiny Times, andTiny Times 2. Tiny Times took in $78.9 million at the box office that summer, setting a new record in China for a 2-D film opening.
In 2014, Le Vision released 13 films, grossing nearly $390 million in box office revenue[citation needed].
^"关于继续推进重大资产重组事项及后续工作安排说明的公告"(PDF). le.com (in Chinese). Shenzhen Stock Exchange. 9 November 2016 [Written on 8 November 2016]. Archived from the original(PDF) on 9 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
