Warner Bros. teams up with Chinese investment company to produce Chinese-language films

Hollywood studio Warner Bros. is teaming up with a Chinese investment company to produce a slate of Chinese-language movies for the international market.

Warner Bros. and China Media Capital announced their Hong Kong-based joint venture Sunday, two days before a state visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the United States is due to kick off.

Flagship Entertainment Group Ltd. will be 51 percent owned by a consortium led by China Media Capital and 49 percent owned by Warner Bros. It will produce films and distribute them internationally, and have offices in Beijing and Los Angeles.

Hollywood studios have been increasingly chasing the rapidly growing Chinese market as domestic box office receipts fall. Hollywood films are increasingly using Chinese actors and settings to try to appeal to the Chinese audience.