Huayi Brothers Media Corp. () is a Chinese entertainment conglomerate founded in 1994 by brothers Dennis Wang Zhongjun and James Wang Zhonglei. It rose to prominence through successful collaborations with directors Feng Xiaogang and Jiang Wen early in their careers, particularly through Feng's Chinese New Year films. Huayi Brothers played a key role in the marketization of China's film industry in the 1990s and emerged as a leading entertainment company in the 2000s, with businesses spanning film and television production, talent management, music, and fashion. The company was listed on the ChiNext board of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in 2009. Since the 2010s, it has experienced a gradual decline.
History Huayi Brothers operates through a number of wholly owned and affiliated subsidiaries, including Huayi Brothers Talent Agency Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers Film Investment Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers Television Program Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers Music Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers Advertising Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers International Distribution Co., Ltd., Huayi Vision Media Advertising Co., Ltd., Huayi Brothers Cinema Investment Co., Ltd., and Huayi Brothers Fashion & Culture Media Co., Ltd., among others. In mainland China, its principal competitors are Bona Film Group, China Film Group Corporation, Hairun Pictures, and Orange Sky Golden Harvest.
In 2008, Huayi Brothers acquired the talent agency Zhongqian Longde and the film and television production company Jinze Taihe.
In May 2011, Tencent invested RMB 450 million in Huayi Brothers, acquiring approximately 4.6 percent of the company's shares. The following month, Huayi Brothers announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Huayi International had formed a joint venture with Legendary Entertainment and other partners to establish Legendary East, a company focused on the production of English-language films. In March 2012, Huayi Brothers partnered with Now TV, Edko Films, and Peter Chan's We Pictures to launch Channel 133 in Hong Kong.
In July 2013, Huayi Brothers acquired a 50.88 percent stake in Yinhan Technology, a Chinese mobile game developer and operator, through a combination of equity and cash, valuing the company at RMB 671.61 million. From 6 to 8 June 2014, Huayi Brothers held a large-scale anniversary event in Haikou to commemorate the company's twentieth anniversary.
In 2015, Huayi Brothers announced plans to spin off its new media business and establish it as a separate internet entertainment company for independent listing. That same year, the company made several high-profile acquisitions of celebrity-affiliated companies. In November 2015, Huayi Brothers acquired a 70 percent stake in Dongyang Meila, a company founded by director Feng Xiaogang, for RMB 1.05 billion, despite the company having been established only two months earlier with minimal assets. In October 2015, Huayi Brothers also announced the acquisition of a 70 percent stake in Zhejiang Dongyang Haohan Film & Television Entertainment Co., Ltd., a company established one day earlier, valuing it at over RMB 1 billion.
Huayi Brothers Movie World, a theme park inspired by the company's film productions, opened in Suzhou on 22 July 2018. The same year, following the fallout from Fan Bingbing's tax evasion case, which triggered industry-wide tax audits, capital withdrawals, and regulatory tightening, Huayi Brothers was among the companies most affected. It reported a net loss of approximately RMB 1.2 billion in 2018, marking its first annual loss since its 2009 listing. The company has continued to record losses in subsequent years, accompanied by significant year-on-year revenue declines.
In June 2022, the Zhejiang branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission issued warning letters to Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei after determining that they had failed to suspend trading and timely disclose changes in their shareholdings as required, only filing the relevant equity change reports in December 2021.
Artists
Duan Yihong Fei Feng Shaofeng Pace Wu Li Bing Bing Lu Ning He Zhuoyan Zhou Xun (2005-2010) Yao Chen Wang Luoyong Vision Wei Chen Wang Zhuocheng
Productions
TV series Year English Title Alternative Title Episodes 2006 Soldiers Sortie 士兵突击 28 2009 My Chief and My Regiment 我的团长我的团 43 2009 Dwelling Narrowness 蜗居 35 2010 Legends of the message 风声传奇 30 2011 Pursuit 追逃 30 2011 Armor Hero 铠甲勇士 52 2011 Armor Hero XT 铠甲勇士XT 60 2012 Husband and Wife 夫妻那些事 34 2012 Vary Peri 幻变精灵之蛋糕甜心 40 2013 The Heart Without Thieves 无贼 48 2015 Jing-ju Cats 京剧猫 200 2018 Long time no see 好久不见 42
Films Year English Title Alternative Title Notes 2003 Cell Phone 手机 2004 A World Without Thieves 天下无贼 2004 Kung Fu Hustle 功夫 2006 The Banquet 2006 Rob-B-Hood 宝贝计划 2007 The Matrimony 心中有鬼 2007 Assembly 集结号 2008 The Forbidden Kingdom 功夫之王 2008 If You Are the One 非诚勿扰 2009 The Message 风声 2009 Look for a Star 游龙戏凤 2009 The Equation of Love and Death 李米的猜想 2009 The Spring in The Winter 2010 Aftershock 唐山大地震 2010 Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame 狄仁杰之通天帝国 2012 LOVE 爱 2012 CZ12 十二生肖 2012 Taichi 0 太極：從零開始 2012 Painted Skin: The Resurrection 画皮II 2013 Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons 西遊·降魔篇 2013 Mr. Go 大明猩 2013 Personal Tailor 私人订制 2013 Young Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon 狄仁傑之神都龍王 2014 Women Who Flirt 撒娇女人最好命 2015 Lost and Love 失孤 2015 Only You 命中注定 2015 Mojin: The Lost Legend 鬼吹灯之寻龙诀 2015 Dragon Blade 天将雄师 2015 Mr. Six 老炮儿 2016 The Boy 灵偶契约 2016 Warcraft 魔兽世界 2016 Free State of Jones 烈火邊境 2016 The Wasted Times 罗曼蒂克消亡史 2016 Hardcore Henry 硬核大战 2016 The Edge of Seventeen 成长边缘 2016 Rock Dog 摇滚藏獒 2016 Bad Moms 坏妈妈 2017 The Space Between Us 回到火星 2017 Revenge for Love 瘋岳撬佳人 Distribution 2017 The Foreigner 英伦对决 2017 A Bad Moms Christmas 阿姐響叮噹 2017 Molly's Game 茉莉牌局 2018 Mile 22 22 英里 2018 Peppermint 薄荷 2018 The Happytime Murders 快乐时光谋杀案 2018 Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings狄仁傑之四大天王2018Ash Is Purest White江湖儿女2018Mojin: The Worm Valley云南虫谷2019Radioactive放射性Uncredited 201921 Bridges21座桥梁2020The Eight Hundred八佰2021Rock Dog: Rock Around the WorldDirect-to-Video 2021Extinct2022The 3552022Moonfall月落 2022 Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank 炽热的武士 Distributed by Paramount Pictures in the United States and select countries (under Nickelodeon Movies)2022Rock Dog: Battle The BeatDirect-to-Video Thunder Agents untitled Horror film (co-production with Dark Castle Entertainment)
See also C-pop
References
External links