The Chinese animated film “Eight Immortals” has broken out during the summer box office season, grossing 1.4 billion yuan (approximately $207.8 million) in 24 days with a stable 8.2 rating on Douban. Produced by Chengdu Huameng Chengzhen Film & Television Culture Media Co. (the Southwest headquarters of Oriental DreamWorks), the film not only validates China’s industrial animation capabilities but also brings into focus the full-industry-chain “Eastern Hollywood” blueprint painstakingly assembled over years by its architect—CMC Inc. chief Li Ruigang.
From upstream content producers like Oriental DreamWorks and Daylight Entertainment, to the midstream distribution system of China Media Capital Pictures, to the downstream theater network of UME Cinemas, and complemented by Wireless Group (formerly TVB) and Shaw Brothers on the capital markets side, Li has completed a “production—distribution—exhibition—capital” closed loop across Greater China.
“Eight Immortals” has been a dark horse in terms of market performance. Sandwiched between “Kung Fu Women’s Soccer” and “Spider-Man,” the film launched with virtually zero pre-release marketing—a “naked release”—and relied purely on word-of-mouth to stage a comeback. The film focuses on the mortal lives of the Eight Immortals before their ascension, portraying a ragtag group of characters with obvious flaws yet kind hearts. Its narrative style, blending tear-jerking moments with humor, has attracted large numbers of family audiences.
From a financial return perspective, this animated film has already entered highly profitable territory. According to industry sources, the film’s production budget was estimated at 100 million yuan (approximately $14.8 million), with extremely low upfront marketing spend. Under China’s film industry revenue-sharing rules, after deducting the 5% national film development fund and 3.3% in relevant taxes and fees, production companies typically receive 39% to 43% of the total box office. Based on the current 1.4 billion yuan gross, the production side’s share is approximately 540 million yuan (approximately $80.2 million). After deducting production and marketing costs, net profit stands at roughly 440 million yuan (approximately $65.3 million). If the film maintains momentum through the remainder of the summer season and reaches 2 billion yuan (approximately $296.9 million) at the box office, the production company would net at least 700 million yuan (approximately $103.9 million). Additionally, the animated IP’s online platform rights, derivative merchandise, and overseas distribution revenues will continue to unlock commercial value.
Just before the release of “Eight Immortals,” Li Ruigang also made a critical move in the capital markets. On July 24, Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) officially retired its 59-year-old name and rebranded as “Wireless Group Limited,” with its stock short name changing to “Wireless Group.” This marked TVB’s first name change since its independent listing in 1988.
Behind TVB’s rebranding lies a clear capital strategy. Since CMC Inc. became the largest single shareholder in 2015 (holding approximately 25.02%), Li Ruigang has served as vice chairman of TVB’s board since 2016, leading its transformation. Although TVB suffered seven consecutive years of losses after 2018, with 2024 revenue falling to HK$3.26 billion (approximately $415.3 million), it returned to profitability in 2025 with net profit attributable to shareholders of HK$59.29 million (approximately $7.6 million), driven by the hit drama “The Queen of News,” ending its loss-making streak. The rebranding aims to shift the company’s valuation logic from a traditional broadcast television enterprise to an entertainment IP conglomerate, with core assets redefined as its vast library of Hong Kong drama IP, artist resources, and content production capabilities.
The group transformation has also opened new avenues for TVB. In June, Wireless Group established its headquarters in Shenzhen’s Qianhai district and entered into a deep strategic partnership with Volcano Engine, a subsidiary of ByteDance, leveraging large AI models to mass-produce short dramas and short videos, piloting AI-generated film and television projects. Simultaneously, its strategic focus has shifted toward the Greater Bay Area and mainland China’s consumer market, with mainland advertising revenue now several times that of Hong Kong’s local market.
An even earlier capital maneuver was equally pivotal. In January, Hong Kong-listed Shaw Brothers announced plans to acquire core film and television assets from its major shareholder CMC Inc. via a share placement. These assets included leading drama producer Daylight Entertainment, film investment and production company Shanghai CMC Pictures, overseas distribution arm CMC Pictures, and the UME cinema brand operating 63 theaters. As of end-September 2025, Shaw Brothers’ total assets were less than 500 million yuan (approximately $74.2 million), while the net asset value of the assets to be injected reached approximately 8.56 billion yuan (approximately $1.3 billion)—a 17-fold disparity, staging a “snake swallowing an elephant” asset injection. Upon completion, CMC Inc. folded all its businesses outside of TVB into the Shaw Brothers listed platform, with Li Ruigang assuming the role of Shaw Brothers chairman and CMC Inc. holding 59.74%, effectively achieving a de facto overall listing.
Tracing Li Ruigang’s strategic path: in 2012, he led a joint venture with DreamWorks Animation to establish Oriental DreamWorks, which produced “Kung Fu Panda 3,” grossing 1 billion yuan (approximately $148.4 million). In 2018, CMC Inc. acquired the American partner’s full equity stake, turning Oriental DreamWorks into a wholly Chinese-owned enterprise. After honing its craft through multiple productions, the company has finally closed the animation industrialization loop with “Eight Immortals.” A virtuous cycle of “capital raising—IP acquisition—content monetization—capital market value appreciation—reinvestment in new projects” is now clearly visible.
On the production side, Oriental DreamWorks, Daylight Entertainment, and TVB correspond to animated films, mainland Chinese drama series, and Hong Kong dramas respectively. The distribution side is coordinated by CMC Pictures. Offline, the controlling stake in UME Cinemas secures the theater channel. Wireless Group and Shaw Brothers capture value in the capital markets, supplemented by e-commerce livestreaming and short drama businesses driven by TVB’s artist resources. The “Eastern Hollywood” architecture Li Ruigang has constructed is now complete. With “Eight Immortals” proving this pathway can generate profits, the next challenge lies in whether the group can consistently produce blockbuster IP, transforming a single-point success into systematic content production and commercial monetization capability.
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