Chinese production company Eastern Mordor will release Donnie Yen-starrer “Painted Skin” on more than 1,100 screens.
Pic is a $10 million supernatural action thriller set in the 18th century and helmed by Hong Kong’s Gordon Chan.
Mordor says it has packed with ten Chinese exhibition chains for the Sept. 28 release. Company says that should put it on course for a 100 million yuan ($14 million) haul at the Chinese box office. Release will be handled by Shanghai Film Group.
The planning ahead and early marketing campaigns are signs of the growing professionalism in the Chinese distribution sector, which last year was worth some $400 million. So too is pic’s financing, which is one of the most diverse for a Chinese-originated project.
SFG is one of eight Chinese and international investors and co-producers. Others include Singapore’s MediaCorp Raintree and Hong Kong’s Salon Films.
Mordor is also repping the film in international territories and will be taking a booth at the Cannes Market. It has already licensed it in parts of Asia to News Corp’s STAR TV and is in discussion with distribs and all-rights buyers from further afield.
