The move follows a string of other high-profile Hollywood collaborations with China including US Studio Dreamworks Animation which will co-produce the next Kung Fu Panda film with its new Chinese partners, having already established a joint venture with China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment Limited. First move of the venture was to launch Oriental Dreamworks, a new local studio in China which will work on joint film projects initially but is expected to produce its first stand-alone film by 2017. The group will also open a new themed entertainment destination in Shanghai, consisting of restaurants, bars and cinemas.

Although the distribution market for US and international 3D films was recently given a boost in China following the relaxation of previously strict import quotas for foreign films, to allow for an additional 14 premium format films per year (including 3D), both CPG and DWA are looking to intricate themselves at the heart of the emerging specialist 3D market in China. This rush of activity is expected to serve not only local consumer demand for 3D in China, but also produce 3D content for global consumption.

The wider opportunities also encompass 3D TV content production and live broadcasts in order to help fill the 3D content gap in the home and create new opportunities for 3D content across the value chain. China is expected to finish 2012 as the second largest box office market globally (worth an estimated $2.6bn), and is expected to more than double in value again by 2016.