China’s Fantawild Animation and new Netherlands-based distributor MovieCompany have struck a deal at AFM for the theatrical release across Benelux of three films in 2023 including latest instalments from the $600m-grossing Boonie Bears family franchise.
The first feature to get a release will be Boonie Bears: Back To Earth in February. The children’s animated adventures about a pair of bears grossed more than $150m in China earlier this year – Fantawild has targeted a Boonie Bears film release over Chinese New Year each year since 2014 – and it also opened in the UK, CIS, Latin America, Turkey, Middle East and North Africa region, and Japan. Releases are scheduled for Spain, France, Poland and the US.
Boonie Bears: The Wild Life and new property Realm Of Terracota – Fantawild’s first production outside the Boonie Bears franchise – will follow. In addition to the theatrical releases MovieCompany, which distributes family titles and independent animation titles, plans to exploit the Boonie Bears brand through access to a library of more than 1,500 television episodes and through merchandising, which Bort said has generated more than $450m in sales to date.
MovieCompany co-founder Andy van Veen said, “We started our brand new company to bring high-quality content for kids to the cinemas in the Benelux. When we came into contact with Fantawild and their animated films, we were immediately sold by the unique stories and high quality of the films. We see a big potential for our pair-up in our territory.”
“We are very excited about our upcoming partnership with MovieCompany for Benelux”, said Bort, head of international business at Fantawild Animation. “We were very impressed by the vision and the planning Rik and Andy presented us with, so we decided to jump in and develop a full strategy to penetrate the market together.”
“MovieCompany is aiming for the best moments to release high-quality content in the market in consultation with the cinemas,” added MovieCompany co-founder Rik Sinkeldam. “Also with our data-driven office, we assure a big targeted audience for our movies.”
Fantawild is currently in development of the ninth instalment of the Boonie Bears films. “Once we find a winning partnership we develop a long-term relationship with distributors that will allow us to maximise our returns in each territory,” said Allen Lo, director of international for Fantawild Animation. “We hope to create another winner with MovieCompany.”
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