News Center



Home News Center News

The Iron Man in the Chinese film industry - Peter Xiao BiMBA EMBA 2012

May 21-2013   



 

 

On May 1st, 2013, the highly anticipated “Iron Man 3” Premiered in China just in time to catch the end of the Labor Day long weekend, and the box office did not disappoint. The midnight showing itself raked in more than 2 million US dollars, and surpassed the record previously held by “Transformer 3”. In the global market, “Iron Man 3” takes away 174 million US dollars in three days, second-highest opening Ever in U.S. and around 680 million US dollars around the world. This success was expected since it was a blockbuster film and an anticipated sequel to the extremely popular Iron Man series, but what many film watchers didn’t know was that “Iron Man 3” was actually created through a partnership between China and US, with DMG as the Chinese counterpart.

 

In light of the ongoing global financial crisis, and the decelerating of Chinese economy, how did this newcomer to the Chinese film industry suddenly rose onto the shoulders of huge Hollywood giants like Disney? Let us take a closer look at DMG.

 

The Iron Man in the Chinese film industry

Peter Xiao, Chairman of DMG Entertainment and a part of BiMBA EMBA 2012 Class considers himself a late-comer to the Chinese film industry. However, he expressed that his entrance wasn’t due to his desire to make money, but it actually stemmed from the pursuit of his and his partner’s dreams. The “Three Pillars” is what the three partners that founded DMG are commonly referred to as, who are respectively Chairman Peter Xiao, President Wu Bing, and CEO Dan Mintz.

 

Mr. Xiao expressed that the success of low-budget films attracts a lot of people, but the probability for such extraordinary successes are extremely low, and as an entrepreneur, you cannot gamble on such small odds. Investments must be based on strategies and careful planning.

 

 

Established by two partners who are both avid film watchers, DMG has had its eyes in the film industry since its creation more than 10 years ago, but the company really took it slow and planned every step of the way to ensure its success. Before “Iron Man 3”, DMG has already had an in depth partnership with Hollywood through the movie “Looper”. The movie was filmed in the US like any other Hollywood film, since this was a partnership with DMG, the movie specially arranged scenes to be filmed in China and even casted Chinese Actor Xu Qing. On September 2012, “Looper” premiered worldwide and was extremely successful, especially in the Chinese market. This movie was seen as a huge contributor to the partnership between China and the US in the film industry.

 

 

 

Right People, Right Place, Right Time

Mr. Xiao knew that the success of DMG in recent years has been largely due to the partnership with US, the cooperation between its founders, and the right timing. After the 2008 global financial crisis, both financial as well as manufacturing industries were severely hit, and investments into these industries hindered. The film industry, however, as a major part of the cultural innovation industry, actually gained from this change in economic environment. In 2011, cultural innovation industry was an important part of the government’s agenda, and this timing really benefited entertainment companies like DMG.
The “Three Pillars” realized that as the corporate circle grows bigger, the radius also increases, and for entrepreneurs in the center of the circle, they most rise higher in order to see farther. Macroeconomic trends will affect different industries differently, and it will take more work to navigate through and predict the future.

 

 

2013051017075161671897 (1)

 

Therefore, even though the company’s projects are becoming more time consuming, Mr. Xiao have decided resist venturing into the unmarked territories of the Chinese film industry, and enroll into the BiMBA program at the National School of Development in Peking University to recharge and learn. When addressed, Mr. Xiao jokingly told the reporter “Right now, I’m just a student at BiMBA”.

 

Mr. Xiao stated that for 2013, he has two main priorities: the premier of “Iron Man 3”, and the schoolwork at BiMBA. He hope to use his time at BiMBA to interact with top economists like Justin Lin, Zhou Qiren, and Yao Yang and learn more about the future trends of the Chinese economy, expand his horizon, and ensure DMG’s next venture will be just as successful as his venture into the film industry back in 2009.

The Iron Man in the Chinese film industry - Peter Xiao BiMBA EMBA 2012

May 21-2013   



 

 

On May 1st, 2013, the highly anticipated “Iron Man 3” Premiered in China just in time to catch the end of the Labor Day long weekend, and the box office did not disappoint. The midnight showing itself raked in more than 2 million US dollars, and surpassed the record previously held by “Transformer 3”. In the global market, “Iron Man 3” takes away 174 million US dollars in three days, second-highest opening Ever in U.S. and around 680 million US dollars around the world. This success was expected since it was a blockbuster film and an anticipated sequel to the extremely popular Iron Man series, but what many film watchers didn’t know was that “Iron Man 3” was actually created through a partnership between China and US, with DMG as the Chinese counterpart.

 

In light of the ongoing global financial crisis, and the decelerating of Chinese economy, how did this newcomer to the Chinese film industry suddenly rose onto the shoulders of huge Hollywood giants like Disney? Let us take a closer look at DMG.

 

The Iron Man in the Chinese film industry

Peter Xiao, Chairman of DMG Entertainment and a part of BiMBA EMBA 2012 Class considers himself a late-comer to the Chinese film industry. However, he expressed that his entrance wasn’t due to his desire to make money, but it actually stemmed from the pursuit of his and his partner’s dreams. The “Three Pillars” is what the three partners that founded DMG are commonly referred to as, who are respectively Chairman Peter Xiao, President Wu Bing, and CEO Dan Mintz.

 

Mr. Xiao expressed that the success of low-budget films attracts a lot of people, but the probability for such extraordinary successes are extremely low, and as an entrepreneur, you cannot gamble on such small odds. Investments must be based on strategies and careful planning.

 

 

Established by two partners who are both avid film watchers, DMG has had its eyes in the film industry since its creation more than 10 years ago, but the company really took it slow and planned every step of the way to ensure its success. Before “Iron Man 3”, DMG has already had an in depth partnership with Hollywood through the movie “Looper”. The movie was filmed in the US like any other Hollywood film, since this was a partnership with DMG, the movie specially arranged scenes to be filmed in China and even casted Chinese Actor Xu Qing. On September 2012, “Looper” premiered worldwide and was extremely successful, especially in the Chinese market. This movie was seen as a huge contributor to the partnership between China and the US in the film industry.

 

 

 

Right People, Right Place, Right Time

Mr. Xiao knew that the success of DMG in recent years has been largely due to the partnership with US, the cooperation between its founders, and the right timing. After the 2008 global financial crisis, both financial as well as manufacturing industries were severely hit, and investments into these industries hindered. The film industry, however, as a major part of the cultural innovation industry, actually gained from this change in economic environment. In 2011, cultural innovation industry was an important part of the government’s agenda, and this timing really benefited entertainment companies like DMG.
The “Three Pillars” realized that as the corporate circle grows bigger, the radius also increases, and for entrepreneurs in the center of the circle, they most rise higher in order to see farther. Macroeconomic trends will affect different industries differently, and it will take more work to navigate through and predict the future.

 

 

2013051017075161671897 (1)

 

Therefore, even though the company’s projects are becoming more time consuming, Mr. Xiao have decided resist venturing into the unmarked territories of the Chinese film industry, and enroll into the BiMBA program at the National School of Development in Peking University to recharge and learn. When addressed, Mr. Xiao jokingly told the reporter “Right now, I’m just a student at BiMBA”.

 

Mr. Xiao stated that for 2013, he has two main priorities: the premier of “Iron Man 3”, and the schoolwork at BiMBA. He hope to use his time at BiMBA to interact with top economists like Justin Lin, Zhou Qiren, and Yao Yang and learn more about the future trends of the Chinese economy, expand his horizon, and ensure DMG’s next venture will be just as successful as his venture into the film industry back in 2009.