Japan’s Rakuten Invests In H Collective’s ‘Brightburn’, ‘xXx 4’ – Cannes
The H Collective has secured investment funding from Japanese internet services giant Rakuten for upcoming features Brightburn and xXx 4. Under the agreement, Rakuten has provided financing to Brightburn, The H Collective’s first global title, starring Elizabeth Banks and produced by James Gunn. Sony is releasing Brightburn on May 24 domestically. Rakuten will also provide financing for the next installment of the xXx franchise, directed by DJ Caruso and starring Vin Diesel.
The H Collective and Rakuten will further establish a joint venture in Japan which will support the release of Brightburn and distribute xXx 4 as well as the animated film, Spycies, locally. The latter is directed by Guillaume Ivernel (Dragon Hunters) and has investment from The H Collective. China’s iQiyi produced the film.
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The H Collective CEO Nic Crawley says, “I couldn’t be happier to be strengthening our relationships in Asia by partnering with Rakuten – which is one of the most exciting companies in the world. Having them invest in Brightburn, our first global release and xXx 4, is a sign of their commitment to film investments. Japan is a fantastic market, ripe with distribution opportunities given the rising quantity of cinema admissions. These are just the first steps in our new business relationship.”
Adds Mickey Mikitani, CEO of Rakuten, “This is the next step for Rakuten to empower the entertainment industry through strategic investment. I’m very excited to collaborate with The H Collective and look forward to growing our partnership to invest in international cinema and bring more great international films to Japan.”
Launched in 2017, and with offices in Los Angeles, The H Collective is a global film finance, production, marketing and distribution company. Its slate also includes Christopher Cantwell’s thriller The Parts You Lose starring Aaron Paul and horror thriller The Beast which will be directed by Christine Crokos.
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