China’s film industry is on the verge of becoming the world’s largest movie market. Box office revenues hit a record high in 2015, and Hollywood produced more movies specifically for the Chinese market. The Heat examines how Chinese companies and Hollywood film studios are working together and what it could mean for future storylines.

CCTV America’s Nathan King reports.

China’s movie ticket sales reached close to $7 billion last year. Industry experts say China is on track to become the world’s largest film market within the next couple of years.

Several Hollywood studios have partnered with Chinese production houses, and recently, the Dalian Wanda Group bought a majority stake in the U.S. movie studio, Legendary Entertainment.

DreamWorks also released its first Hollywood-China co-production of its beloved panda franchise. On January 29th, DreamWorks and Shanghai’s Oriental DreamWorks released Mandarin and English versions simultaneously of the animated feature film, “Kung Fu Panda 3.”

Creative teams from Shanghai and Los Angeles worked together for two and a half years to create an industry first. Animators meticulously designed an authentic Chinese village, modified mouth movements of their characters, and tailored puns specifically for Chinese audiences.

The movie earned a record $57 million in the first three days of its premiere in China, and $41 million in its opening weekend in the United States.

The Heat spoke to guest James Fong, CEO of Oriental DreamWorks, the Chinese-American film production company involved in the creation of “Kung Fu Panda 3” about China’s growing film industry.

The Heat also interviewed two film producers behind many successful Hollywood-China collaborations:

• Janet Yang, a Golden Globe and Emmy winning producer behind such films as “Shanghai Calling,” “Dark Matter” and “The Joy Luck Club.”
• Peter Shiao, founder and CEO of Orb Media Group and founder and chairman of the U.S.-China Film Summit.