Valiant Entertainment and DMG Entertainment announced Monday a new partnership to span motion pictures, television, publishing, and licensing that will culminate in the big screen debut of Valiant’s universe of characters in theaters around the world.
Valiant is a comic book publisher with a library of more than 2,000 characters, including X-O Manowar, Bloodshot, Harbinger, Shadowman, Archer & Armstrong, and more. DMG Entertainment is a Beijing-based entertainment company.
In conjunction with this new partnership, DMG has made an eight-figure (USD) series C round of equity investment into Valiant, which the company will use to further its efforts in international publishing, film, television, licensing and beyond.
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DMG has dedicated an additional nine-figures (USD) of film financing capital toward the production of theatrical films and television programs based on Valiant’s library of superhero characters.
Utilizing DMG’s expertise in international film development, production, and distribution, Valiant will begin to establish its cinematic universe in the United States, China and beyond.
“Comic superheroes are the most lucrative and sought after IP for movie franchises,” said DMG CEO Dan Mintz.
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Current Valiant feature films in development include the previously announced Bloodshot from Sony Pictures in partnership with Original Film; Shadowman in partnership with the Sean Daniel Company from a script by J. Michael Straczynski; and Archer & Armstrong, also with the Sean Daniel Company from a script by BenDavid Grabinski; among others. Valiant has also already begun development on several television projects.
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The partnership between Valiant and DMG offers both companies the ability to develop and co-produce tent-pole theatrical films for distribution and release simultaneously in the United States, China – the world’s fastest growing film market with more than $4.8 billion in box office receipts in 2014 – and the rest of the world.
Beyond film alone, DMG and Valiant will work in concert to form China-focused licensing partnerships for Valiant’s stable of characters in areas such as Chinese language publishing, animation, online gaming, toys, apparel, live events, theme parks, and more, with a focus on bringing Valiant’s heroes to new audiences in China and Asia-Pacific.
