Oriental Movie Metropolis is a major Chinese studio facility, combining film and television production and several other facilities. The Metropolis was funded by

Wang Jianlin Wang Jianlin (; born 24 October 1954) is a Chinese business magnate, investor and philanthropist. He is the founder of Dalian Wanda Group, China's largest real estate development company, and the world's largest movie theater operator. He previo ...

, one of China's wealthiest men and head of the

Dalian Wanda Group Wanda Group (), or the Dalian Wanda Group (), is a Chinese multinational conglomerate founded in Dalian, Liaoning and headquartered in Beijing. It is a private property developer and owner of Wanda Cinemas and the Hoyts Group. With invest ...

, until rising debt forced Wanda to sell ownership of the facility to Sunac, another Chinese real estate developer. The Metropolis is based in

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. It is part of a broader redevelopment of a previously undeveloped piece of land 25 km from central Qingdao, and partly funded by the sale of residential apartment buildings also being constructed that benefit from proximity to the studios. It is described by its owners as the "Movie Metropolis of the East" or "Hollywood of the East", and is the biggest movie production complex in the world, featuring some of the world's largest and most technologically-advanced facilities. Oriental Movie Metropolis officially opened on 28 April 2018.

Description

The studio is planned to be fully operational in August 2018. It will cover . The Oriental Movie Metropolis will also be the home to a celebrity wax museum, a film museum, an

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...

research lab,

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

's largest movie theaters, a convention center, shopping mall, resort hotels, indoor theme parks, a marina, international schools, an international hospital, an advanced temperature-controlled underwater stage and the world's largest indoor stage. The Metropolis will have its own international film festival. The goal of the Oriental Movie Metropolis is to become an industry powerhouse. According to Wang Jianlin, China's film box office revenue will surpass North America's by 2018 and double it by 2023. 130 films are planned for production each year, including 30 foreign movies.

History

In May 2012, the Wanda Group bought the

AMC Theatres AMC Entertainment Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a AMC Theatres, originally an abbreviation for American Multi-Cinema; often referred to simply as AMC and known in some countries as AMC Cinemas or AMC Multi-Cinemas) is an American movie theater chain fou ...

movie chain for ., although it gave up majority control in a subsequent sale of shares to Silver Lake Overall, the Wanda Group is investing to build the studios and the recreational activities. A handful of movie stars and executives from the film industry were paid to attend the grand opening of the Metropolis on September 22, 2013, including Leonardo DiCaprio,

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid act ...

Christoph Waltz Christoph Waltz (; born 4 October 1956) is an Austrian-German actor. Since 2009 he has been primarily active in the United States. His accolades include two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two British Academy Film Awards and two Scree ...

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress and model. After some minor television roles, her film debut was ''Much Ado About Nothing'' (1993) while a student at the University of Oxford. She appeared in British costume ...

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and the BAFTA Britannia Humanitarian Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British ...

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, Rob Friedman,

Cheryl Boone Isaacs Cheryl Boone Isaacs (born 1949) is an American film marketing and public relations executive. She represented the Public Relations Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), known for its annual Academy Awards (Oscars), on ...

, Zhang Ziyi,

Jet Li Li Lianjie (courtesy name Yangzhong; born 26 April 1963), better known by his stage name Jet Li, is a Chinese film actor, film producer, martial artist, and retired Wushu champion. He is a naturalized Singaporean citizen. After three years ...

, Tony Leung,

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

Huang Xiaoming Huang Xiaoming or Mark Huang (, born 13 November 1977) is a Chinese actor, singer, and model. He graduated from the Performance Institute of the Beijing Film Academy in 2000. Huang first rose to prominence in 2001 for playing Emperor Wu of Han in ...

, and

Zhao Wei Zhao Wei (; born 12 March 1976), also known as Vicky Zhao or Vicki Zhao, is a Chinese actress, businesswoman, film director, producer and pop singer. She is considered one of the most popular actresses in China and Chinese-speaking regions, a ...

, amongst others. On January 11, 2016, Wanda Group announced that it concluded an agreement with shareholders to acquire

Legendary Entertainment Legendary Pictures Productions, LLC ( doing business as Legendary Entertainment or simply Legendary) is an American film production and mass media company based in Burbank, California, founded by Thomas Tull in 2000. The company has collaborated ...

for , making it the largest acquisition of an American media company by a Chinese firm. In October 2016, Legendary announced that filming of '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' would take place at the Oriental Movie Metropolis facility along with '' Pacific Rim: Uprising''.

References

{{Wanda Group Chinese film studios Buildings and structures in Qingdao Dalian Wanda Group