Visual Effects Firm Zooms In on China

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Playa Vista visual effects company Digital Domain plans to expand in China with a new studio in Beijing.

The firm also has offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, as well as in Vancouver, British Columbia; Portland, Ore.; New York; and London.

In addition, the company has also appointed Frank Ming Wei vice chairman and chief executive of its greater China division. The executive comes from Chinese online video and streaming platform Youku Tudou Inc.

Digital Domain was co-founded in 1993 by James Cameron, Scott Ross and the late Stanley Winston. The company’s visual effects have appeared in the films “Titanic,” “Furious 7” and “Deadpool,” among many others.

Hong Kong-based holding company Sun Innovation acquired the firm in 2013. The effects company trades on the Hong Kong stock exchange as Digital Domain Holdings Inc. Reliance MediaWorks of Mumbai holds a minority stake.

Digital Domain Holdings had 2016 revenue of $68 million – a 45 percent increase from $98.5 million a year earlier, according to a March regulatory filing. It had a net loss of $64.3 million over the same period, however – nearly tripling its loss of $23.1 million in 2015.

The company said a variety of factors led to the loss, including the payout of stock options, and increased expenses related to expanding its business in China and India, as well as costs associated with developing virtual reality content, games and 360-degree cameras.

– Diane Haithman

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