More Chinese films set for UK and US release

The agreement was revealed at the Cannes Film Festival. [Photo: thinkstock]

China's hit Monster Hunt films are coming to the UK and the USA after a distribution agreement was signed.

The agreement will see Lionsgate films pick-up the rights to Monster Hunt 2, which it plans to release internationally at the same time as the film's Chinese release in 2018.

In a week which has seen the UK Chancellor, at the Belt and Road forum, indicate that China and the UK could become stronger partners in business this could be one of the first signs of that relationship.

The original Monster Hunt became the highest earning Chinese film of all time, grossing a whopping $380 million at the box office.

It's understood that the deal will also enable Lionsgate to benefit from a share of the profit from merchandise and promotional activities surrounding the release.

We've reported extensively over the last few months on the growing importance of the Chinese market to Hollywood film producers. There's now also a growing number of Chinese films that are attracting extensive interest in the UK and the USA.

For example, in March, we reported on the come-back of Mr. Bean as part of the Chinese comedy film Top Funny Comedian, also starring Guo Degang and Yue Yunpeng.

In the same month, we also revealed that an uber-cute production is in the making, as a joint project between China and the UK.

The film will apparently tell the story of Ruth Harkness - the first person to take a live panda between China and the USA in 1936.

The fact that the bear in question was an orphaned baby will surely only add to the cuteness factor of the film.

Nevertheless, there's also certain to be some serious cultural interest in the movie. It'll follow Ruth's journey - which was through an area of China that was hardly known outside the country at the time.