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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 8, 2017 0:17:46 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/open-road-acquired-by-tang-media-group-1027208It's Official: Tang Media Group Acquires Open Road Tom Ortenberg will continue as CEO of the distributor, orginally launched by Regal and AMC. Tang Media Partners announced today that it has acquired Open Road Films from AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group. Tom Ortenberg will continue as the company's CEO. While terms of the deal, which was first reported by The Hollywood Reporter, weren't disclosed, the Los Angeles-based Tang Media, headed by CEO Donald Tang, said it is part of a larger overall $500 million expansion plan, made possible by a major round of funding earlier this year with a broad base of partners and investors, including China's Tencent Holdings. Founded in 2015 by Tang, a former chairman and CEO at Bear Stearns Asia, Tang Media has been on a buying spree over the past year, taking a majority stake in IM Global, the international sales and production finance business headed by Stuart Ford, and more recently buying Luke Ryan's content developer Chaotic Good Studios and its proprietary Fanalytics service, which provides data to film, TV and gaming studios about audience engagement and behavior. With today's announcement, Tang Media said that by buying the 6-year-old motion picture distributor, it will be able to create, develop, finance, produce, market and distribute movies in the U.S., China and internationally. "Open Road is among the best independent theatrical distribution companies in the entertainment world, from its established infrastructure and dedicated leadership, to its solid track record for producing captivating stories," Tang said. "Open Road's addition to Tang Media Partners is a critical step in our strategy to enable our production team to collaborate with the most talented, visionary filmmakers in bringing targeted content to audiences everywhere." Ortenberg added, "Our Open Road team is excited for this new milestone with TMP. We have cultivated a strong reputation with filmmakers who seek theatrical releases outside of the major studio ecosystems. By joining TMP we're able to offer these filmmakers studio capabilities that reach beyond established limits and international borders." Upcoming films from Open Road include the animated comedy The Nut Job 2, opening Aug. 11; Hallie Meyers-Shyer's Home Again, starring Reese Witherspoon, on Sept. 8; and the Thurgood Marshall drama, Marshall, starring Chadwick Boseman and directed by Reginald Hudlin, on Oct. 13. Originally launched as a joint venture between theater chains AMC and Regal to provide theaters with mid-range product in between studio tentpoles, the company has built a library of more than 35 features, the best known of which is the best picture Oscar-winning Spotlight. But with disappointing returns on movies like Snowden, Fifty Shades of Black and Max Steel, the venture had also lost money, leading to Regal and AMC reaching out to potential buyers.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 8, 2017 0:19:32 GMT -6
deadline.com/2017/08/tang-media-partners-formalizes-deal-for-spotlight-distributor-open-road-1202143802/Tang Media Partners Formalizes Deal For ‘Spotlight’ Distributor Open Road BREAKING, updating with writethrough: Tang Media Partners has formalized its acquisition of Open Road Films, the indie movie distribution company that steered Spotlight to a Best Picture win in 2016. Deadline reported last week that the deal was imminent. The company’s founding CEO, Tom Ortenberg, continues in that role under the new ownership. The company was started in 2011 by theater chains AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment, to acquire and produce films as those exhibitors expanded into the production business. It has been clear for the past year that a change was coming as those theater chains stopping investing new capital in the company. In Open Road, Tang Media Partners inherits the company’s film library that boasts some strong titles. The distribution company’s highlights include the Dan Gilroy-directed Nightcrawler, the Jon Favreau-directed Chef, the David Ayer-directed End of Watch and the Joe Carnahan-directed The Grey, and the company was a ground floor production partner with Participant Media, as well as distributor of the Tom McCarthy-directed Spotlight, the Boston pedophile priest scandal expose which won two Oscars including Best Picture. TMP has said that the Open Road deal is part of a $500 million investment strategy in entertainment, and the production/distribution company joins the previously acquired IM Global, the global sales and distribution company run by Stuart Ford. TMP says its goal is to create, develop, finance, produce, market, and distribute movies in the U.S., China, and internationally. TMP CEO Donald Tang said in a statement: “Open Road is among the best independent theatrical distribution companies in the entertainment world, from its established infrastructure and dedicated leadership, to its solid track record for producing captivating stories. Open Road’s addition to Tang Media Partners is a critical step in our strategy to enable our production team to collaborate with the most talented, visionary filmmakers in bringing targeted content to audiences everywhere.” Said Ortenberg: “Our Open Road team is excited for this new milestone with TMP. We have cultivated a strong reputation with filmmakers who seek theatrical releases outside of the major studio ecosystems. By joining TMP we’re able to offer these filmmakers studio capabilities that reach beyond established limits and international borders.” Upcoming releases for Open Road include the animated comedy The Nut Job 2, which bows Friday and features the voices of Will Arnett and Jackie Chan; the Hallie Meyers-Shyer-directed Reese Witherspoon-starrer Home Again on September 8, and Marshall, the Reginald Hudlin-directed drama that stars Chadwick Boseman as America’s first African American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. The film, which also stars Josh Gad and Kate Hudson, opens October 13. TMP completed a large round of funding earlier this year from shareholders and partners that include Tencent Holdings. As for AMC and Regal, the companies announced it will retain a long term marketing partnership, even as it exits as owners. “The independent film segment that Open Road occupies is an important part of the theatrical exhibition ecosystem – giving a platform to countless filmmakers who create truly unique content that impacts moviegoers around the world” said AMC Entertainment Inc. and Regal Entertainment Group in a joint statement. “We strongly support the transition of Open Road to TMP and share in TMP’s vision for the evolving theatrical landscape made possible by this new partnership.”
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 8, 2017 0:22:37 GMT -6
variety.com/2017/film/news/open-road-sale-tang-media-tom-ortenberg-1202518058/Open Road CEO on Tang Media Sale: ‘The Best Is Yet to Come’ Open Road’s sale to Tang Media Partners will allow the indie studio behind “Spotlight” and “End of Watch” to expand the number of films it releases, CEO Tom Ortenberg told Variety. The studio is doing an average of eight movies a year, but with the fresh capital it expects to receive from its new owner, Open Road will increase its output to between 10 to 12 films. The company has carved out a niche for itself making mid-budget films, but Ortenberg said he also expects to “be taking a couple of bigger swings,” which presumably will come with a higher price tag. “Overall, our mission to provide quality midsize theatrical releases remains the same,” Ortenberg said shortly after the deal was formalized. Open Road had been co-owned by AMC and Regal, the country’s two largest theater chains, but the partners had been looking to sell the company for months. They will remain involved, however, through a long-term marketing partnership. Tang Media Partners is a Chinese company that has been actively buying up television and film companies — last year it purchased IM Global. As part of the pact, Ortenberg singed a new long-term contract to remain at the company, which he cites as “evidence of my enthusiasm.” He thinks Open Road may use the new capital to add to its staff of 47 and praised Tang Media Partners as a “passionate and enthusiastic partner.” Despite Ortenberg’s optimism, the Open Road sale comes at a rough time for movie companies, particularly ones that aren’t part of larger media conglomerates. In recent months indie players such as Relativity Media, Alchemy, and Broad Green have closed down or dramatically scaled back their operations, and ticket sales have taken a sharp nosedive. Domestic revenues are down 3% for the year and the summer box office is off more than 10%. “I think the challenges facing all theatrical motion picture companies is the same as ever,” said Ortenberg. “It’s all about the movies. When we do the right movies and market them and distribute them on a cost-efficient basis, we win.” He predicts that Open Road may be responsible for some of these winners in the coming months when it releases a sequel to “The Nut Job,” the Johnny Depp thriller “Labyrinth,” and “Marshall,” an upcoming biopic about Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. “The best is yet to come,” said Ortenberg.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Aug 8, 2017 0:25:04 GMT -6
variety.com/2017/film/box-office/spotlight-studio-open-road-sells-to-tang-media-partners-1202517264/‘Spotlight’ Studio Open Road Sells to Tang Media Partners Tang Media Partners has purchased Open Road Films, the Oscar-winning distributor of “Spotlight” and “Nightcrawler.” As part of the deal, Open Road’s Tom Ortenberg will continue as the motion picture company’s CEO. Open Road was started in 2011 by AMC Entertainment and Regal Entertainment Group as part of an effort by the theater chains to produce broadly appealing films for all times of the year — traditionally, studios saved their best fare for the winter holidays and summer. But Open Road struggled with consistency. The studio had hits with “The Nut Job” and “End of Watch,” but also released such duds as the Bill Murray comedy “Rock the Kasbah” and “The Gunman,” an ill-conceived attempt by Sean Penn to rebrand himself as an action hero. The sale comes as many indie players are struggling to stay in business. Last week, Broad Green Pictures laid off 20% of its staff and shuttered its production division, while EuropaCorp, a French-based player, suffered a huge flop with “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.” Other studios, such as the Weinstein Company, have become more focused on television as the market for theatrical releases grows more challenging. Tang Media was founded in 2015 by Donald Tang, a former chairman and CEO of Bear Stearns Asia. The company is based in Los Angeles and Shanghai and is active in the development, financing, production, and of content that will appeal to both North American and Chinese consumers. Backers have been reported to include Tencent, Huayi Brothers, Sequoia Capital, and China Media Capital. Tang has been an active buyer. Last year, it purchased a majority stake in Stuart Ford’s sales-financing company IM Global, it also snapped up content developer Chaotic Good Studios. The companies said that both AMC and Regal will remain partners with Open Road through a long-term marketing partnership. They did not disclose a sales price.
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