China's entertainment industry is now investing in animation studios as the country's largest private firm Huayi Brothers Media Corp. prepares to launch an animation division soon. 

Joe Aguilar, a former executive producer at DreamWorks Animation LLC and Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp. will lead the company's animation unit, which will produce films highlighting the rich characteristics of China and its people, according to the China Daily.

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Marcus Mannimen, a Hollywood veteran and visual effects director of "Kung Fu Panda" and "The Croods" has also been tapped to serve as the firm's art director.

To be based in Shanghai, China, the animation studio plans to launch its first animated movie by 2017, and then produce four films annually, with an aim to develop projects mainly targetting the Chinese market.

"The establishment of the company signifies that Huayi will enter the animation film industry with world-class production skills, and its original production capacity will be further improved," a statement released by Huayi said.

Animation has become a highly-lucrative genre in China, a development that has given local companies an incentive to establish their own animation studios.

"Kung Fu Panda 3" earning nearly 1 billion yuan ($150 million), while Disney's "Zootopia" is currently dominating the Chinese box-office.

The Spring Festival in February of this year raked in revenues of more than $1 billion. In fact, a lot Hollywood-made films have performed significantly better in China, as compared to their North American run.

This unprecedented growth in sales has been attributed to the increasing number of movie screens in China, which is now considered the world's second-largest film market.

Wang Zhonglei, Huayi Brothers General Manager and movie mogul, observed that animation films go beyond the boundaries of culture and age, making it more profitable for China's animation studios to develop film series and derivative products based on the North American film market experience.

According to Wang, the company's latest move aims to boost its content creation reserve, while enabling the firm to establish a foothold on the international market and strengthening the operations of its film business.

Recognizing the huge potential of animation studios, China technology giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd agreed to invest a combined 2.8 billion yuan in Huayi, joining Ping An Insurance Group Co Ltd of China and CITIC Construction Co in the venture. 

Tagschina, Animation Studios, China Entertainment Industry