Joy Pictures, a Beijing-based producer-distributor with a rapidly growing presence in animation, is on the Cannes market this year with ten Chinese titles to sell, including two of its animated films.
Here are the details:
- The first animated film is The King of Fighters: Awakened, A 3D adaptation of the Japanese fighting game franchise The king of fighters. Joy collaborates with Original Force, based in Jiangsu (whose first feature film Duck Duck Goose is on Netflix) and Idragon Creative Studio.
- The second film is Candy, a stop-motion family fantasy film about a girl who likes to bake and befriends an elf sent to collect her soul after she becomes seriously ill. The film was made with Hangzhou Steamworks, a specialized stop motion team. Both features will launch in the summer of 2022.
- Joy's greatest animation success to date is The legend of hei presented in competition on Annecy Online. The company co-financed the film, a spin-off of a popular web series. It raised $ 45 million in China last year. A sequel is in development.
- Meanwhile, Joy is producing three animated films with Beijing's Magic Hill Animation, as well as a title based on the mythological character Ne Zha, who inspired an extremely popular film last year. IS Variety Last year's article has more. These four titles were originally slated to launch between late 2020 and 2022, but the coronavirus caused production delays.
- Founded in 2014, Joy started her life as a marketing company before expanding into distribution. He made a name for himself by successfully launching foreign titles like La La Land in China. It was also distributed abroad: for example, it was launched The legend of hei in Japan.
- In recent years, he has been dedicated to financing and sales of animation, a rapidly growing sector in China and with great potential for intellectual property development. Last year, Joy's CEO Jia Zhang said Variety, "Animated characters will never get old and they won't ask for a raise. They are the real assets."
- While the Cannes Film Festival won't physically take place this year, its official commercial counterpart, the Marché du Film, will take place online. It will be held from 22 to 26 June and has 12.500 attendees, according to official figures.