World's Biggest Film Studio to be Built by Chinese Billionaire, But Not in Hollywood

Recently adjudged as China's richest billionaire by the Hurun Report, Wang Jianlin is set to embark on an ambitious goal to build what could become the world's biggest film studio in China.

On Sunday, Mr Wang's Dalian Wanda Group Co which operates hotels, cinemas and department stores, revealed plans for the US$8.7 billion project during an inaugural launch ceremony in the port city of Qingdao in eastern China.

The glitzy affair was attended by movie stars who flew in from Hollywood, among them Nicole Kidman, John Travolta and Leonardo DiCaprio. They were joined by local stars Zhang Ziyi, Jet Li and Xu Zheng.

The Dalian Wanda Group Co has already started the construction of the sprawling 540-hectare complex facility. It will have 20 film studios, an indoor water park and seven hotel resorts. Also included are a movie theatre, wax museum, exhibition centre, yacht club, hotels and other cultural and tourist facilities. It is expected to become operational from 2016.

"The future of the world's film industry is in China because we have 1.3 billion people," Mr Wang said during the ground-breaking ceremony, noting that the United States' box office will be overtaken by China in just the next five years and then become double by 2023.

"Whoever realises now that China is the future of the film industry will benefit from this trend," he added.

China's 59-year-old richest billionaire, according to the Hurun Report's 2013 China Rich List, said his group had signed agreements with a various film studios and talent agencies that will see the facility producing 30 foreign movies a year, plus 100 local films.

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Mr Wang likewise said that starting 2016, an annual Qingdao International Film Festival every September will be held worldwide to be supported by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.