Highly sought-after designation guarantees greater access and a larger revenue share in the world's second biggest film market.
DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3 will receive official co-production status in China, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
The highly sought-after designation was secured following a lengthy application process and guarantees greater access and a larger revenue share in the world's second biggest film market.
China’s State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) confirmed on its website that DreamWorks Animation, its Chinese unit Oriental DreamWorks and their Chinese partners, which include China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance, filed and received co-production status for the threequel on January 15.
The official co-production status will allow the animated feature to bypass the quota system usually imposed upon foreign films and avoid blackout dates. Co-productions also stand a much stronger chance of getting a mainland Chinese release and receive a larger share of box office receipts, roughly 43 percent.
Late last year, DreamWorks Animation and distribution partner 20th Century Fox said they were pushing back Kung Fu Panda 3 from December 23, 2015 to March 18, 2016 so as to avoid being overwhelmed by J.J. Abrams' Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which opens in theaters six days earlier, on December 18.
The Chinese release date has yet to be announced.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
