China Media Capital Group (CMC) has become the first company to obtain a cinema-chain operation license in China since authorities began reissuing them three years ago. CMC acquired Chinese cinema chain UME in 2017. In the wake of the National Film Bureau’s decision to issue the permit, UME will “cooperate with CMC… to strengthen the development and distribution of CMC film content,” the two companies said in a joint statement issued in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Last December, the bureau...
China Media Capital
Ruigang
Li
Chairman
Having been hailed as the cleverest man in the room in China’s political hierarchy, in Chinese business circles and in Hollywood, where he has numerous high-level connections, Li has seen some of the shine come off his China Media Capital investment empire in the past year. The two-pronged group ranges from stakes in Imagine Entertainment and Jaunt VR pioneer to CAA China and Manchester City soccer club, so some consolidation or disposals seem in the cards. The dissolution of Oriental Dreamworks in 2018 was a blow, but a $1.5 million capital infusion in July should help. So, too, should the box-office success of “The Meg,” the $150 million giant-shark movie co-produced by Gravity Pictures, a CMC portfolio company, and Warner Bros.