Hollywood film giant exclusively licenses to Chinese video portal

Date:2011-11-07wangxin  Text Size:

The blockbuster "Transformers: Dark of the moon" will be exclusively shown on a Chinese video-viewing site beginning Nov. 21, becoming the first collaboration between a Hollywood film giant and a domestic video portal in a form of "exclusive copyright."

Paramount Pictures has licensed Chinese video site Qiyi.com for the exclusive online showing of the 2D and 3D versions of the third installment of the Transformers' series, said Qiyi CEO Gong Yu on Friday.

The live-action hit has pocketed more than 1.6 billion yuan (253 million U.S. dollars) in the Chinese mainland since its July debut.

"It is undoubtedly a huge breakthrough, considering that mainstream film companies have been consistently cautious toward new-media strategy," Gong said .

Qiyi.com is a popular video-viewing platform controlled by search giant Baidu.com.

The four-month turnover from its debut in Chinese theaters to exclusive play on Qiyi is the shortest for a Hollywood blockbuster's arrival on domestic online video.

More international film companies are eyeing China's huge Internet market. In September, Chinese web portal Sohu.com announced that 20th Century-Fox Film Corp. will grant it rights to show more than 400 blockbusters.

Internet users in China usually pay 1 to 5 yuan to watch these films online.

The exclusively licensed online availability will make the "Transformers fever" last longer, Gong said, while it also offers a good template for future cooperation between Chinese video providers and international film studios.

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