Enlight Media, a privately-ownedbChinese media group, has selected Hollywood, California-based Legacy Entertainment as the designer of its ‘Enlight Movie World’ project in the eastern city of Yangzhou. The project, first announced in 2018, marks Enlight Media’s first foray into the Location Based Entertainment sector, and will ultimately encompass a total area of 651 acres with an investment of 16.4 Billion Yuan ($2.5 Billion USD).
The cultural and tourism section of Enlight Movie World, the Enlight Epicenter, will feature experiences and attractions inspired by Enlight’s popular animated film properties. Offerings will include elaborately themed retail and dining experiences, anchored by a family entertainment centre, and connected by a series of Art Gardens.
Eric Carnagey, Legacy’s managing director, and one of the company’s owners, said: “Unlike studio-themed parks in America and Europe which tend to look towards the past, the relative youth of China’s homegrown IP-based LBE industry is all about looking forward. We get a unique chance to imagine and create the ‘film studio and movie theme park of tomorrow’ by utilizing Enlight’s prominent position as a China-based film production and distribution company alongside their widely recognized properties. This poses an incredibly exciting creative angle for our team to run with.”
Subsequent phases will include a wide variety of uses, including a world-class theme park, along with expansive fiilm and television production facilities.
Legacy Entertainment had previously worked with China’s Hengdian World Studios, the world’s largest film studio, on their recent expansions. The first of these projects, the Hengdian Shanghai Bund, debuted in 2019 with a mix of theme park-style rides and shows, along with ample production facilities.
“Just as in our extensive collaboration with Cirque du Soleil, we love working with brands which are expanding into location-based entertainment projects for the first time,” added Carnagey. “With groups like Enlight, we have the chance to create something completely new because there are no rules in place. What is the studio-themed destination of the future? Working closely with a great collaborator like Enlight, we are looking forward to answering that question in new and exciting ways.”