After the smash hit movie Kung Fu panda set box offices in Shanghai alight, the powerhouse studio behind it is making waves in the city again. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. along with China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance (all three Chinese companies backed by the city government) have come to form Oriental DreamWorks. This just four years after DreamWorks opened a studio in Bangalore, India partnered with Technicolor Services.
DreamWorks Animation will own 45% of the studio while the rest will be owned by the city government. The studio plans to hire nearly 800 people over the next few years. Aptly, their first planned film release will be Kung Fu Panda 3, set to release in 2015 or 2016. But plans for the panda franchise don’t stop there. The studio’s ‘Dream Center’ project is scheduled to be completed in 2016 along the Huangpu River. The new center will feature theaters, performance halls, shops, restaurants and various entertainment zones; many of them Kung Fu Panda themed.
Along with the release of the next film in this popular franchise, the studio also plans to release its own feature film in 2017, however nothing has been said of what that film may be. The studio will move into live action films over the course of the next few years after the animation division gets off the ground.
With over £217 million going into Oriental DreamWorks and a total of £1.9 billion going into the entire development of the Dream Center, the company is highly optimistic that the ambitious development will reap significant dividends. However, competition looms on the horizon. Disney has announced a similar venture in Shanghai, complete with matching theme park, to open in 2016. It seems that Dreamwork’s cuddly panda may be yet to face his greatest battle- the mightiest mouse on the planet.
By: Tyler M. Reid
