Tencent Pictures Strengthens Intellectual Property Portfolio

Provides updates on projects that leverage and expand leading IP content
across multiple platforms

BEIJING, April 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Tencent Pictures recently provided updates on several domestic and international strategic projects which are further strengthening its intellectual property (IP) portfolio across multiple platforms.

• Tencent Pictures will join forces with Channing Tatum's production company Free Association to produce a film adaptation of the top title on Tencent's digital comics & animation platform, which is loosely translated as Zombie Brother.
• Tencent Pictures announced the release of Fighter of the Destiny on April 17, 2017, a fantasy TV series based on a popular novel, with film and mobile game adaptations currently under development.
• Tencent Pictures launched a sub-brand, Youth Tencent Pictures, which will focus on producing film and TV productions by young talent for the Chinese youth market. Youth Tencent Pictures will launch its first project to adapt ten popular original anime titles on Tencent's digital comics & animation platform into film and TV productions, in cooperation with five international and domestic peers, including Fox International Productions.

"With our parent company Tencent straddling multiple entertainment channels, including online literature, comics and animation, gaming and social platforms, Tencent Pictures has a unique advantage in creating high-quality, proprietary content that seamlessly integrates across the Tencent ecosystem," said Edward Cheng, Vice President of Tencent and CEO of Tencent Pictures. "We are very excited to leverage our advantages to introduce top-notch Chinese titles to global audiences. As one of the first Chinese original youth IPs to be adapted for overseas markets, Zombie Brother is a great example of how we are leveraging premium content from the Tencent platform to expand our footprint."

With about 2 billion clicks to date, Zombie Brother is a hit animated series on the Tencent platform. The digital comic book version from which it is adapted has received over 11.2 billion clicks on the Tencent digital comics & animation platform as of April 18, 2017, and the stage play adaptation has been performed in six cities in China. For the upcoming movie, Kung Fury's David Sandberg is attached to direct with Matt Lieberman on board to pen the script. 

Tencent Pictures also recently announced the release of the urban fantasy romance movie Hanson and the Beast, jointly produced by Tencent Pictures and renowned Chinese movie studio CKF Pictures.

Tencent Pictures recently co-presented Legendary/Warner Bros' Kong: Skull Island globally and supported the film's China release by leveraging its precision big-data marketing technology and multi-channel promotional capabilities to deliver approximately 1.7 billion user impressions, and cooperated with more than 30 brands and over 700 movie theaters. As of April 20, the film's box office revenue in China has reached RMB 1.15 billion. Tencent Pictures previously co-presented Legendary/Universal's Warcraft globally and supported the film's release in China. The film enjoyed box office revenue of RMB 1.47 billion in China, accounting for over 50% of its global revenue. Tencent Pictures was also involved as a strategic partner in the recent release of Lionsgate's La La Land in China.

About Tencent

Tencent uses technology to enrich the lives of Internet users. Every day, hundreds of millions of people communicate, share experiences, consume information and seek entertainment through our integrated platforms. Tencent's diversified services include QQ, Weixin/ WeChat for communications; Qzone for social networking; QQ Game Platform for online games; QQ.com and Tencent News for information and Tencent Video for video content.

Tencent was founded in Shenzhen in 1998 and went public on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2004. The Company is one of the constituent stocks of the Hang Seng Index. Tencent seeks to evolve with the Internet by investing in innovation, providing a mutually beneficial environment for partners, and staying close to users.

SOURCE Tencent Holdings Limited