Relativity Media

Billionaire Ron Burkle has added movie production and concert promotion to the arenas he wants to play in. The man who made his fortune bagging supermarket chains and selling them off for billions went into the live music business Thursday by purchasing Artist Group International, a New York agency that books concerts for Billy Joel, Metallica and others. He concurrently invested in the movie business by taking a stake in independent movie studio Relativity Media. Y Entertainment group, a newly formed subsidiary of Burkle's investment firm Yucaipa Cos., made the two deals separately for undisclosed sums of money.

It may take half a decade for the couple in "The Five-Year Engagement"to make it to the altar, but the romantic comedy will quickly outrun the competition to the top of the box office this weekend. The movie starring Jason Segel and Emily Blunt is expected to debut with a solid sum of $18 million to $20 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The film about a troubled relationship is likely to perform far better than three other movies hitting theaters this weekend.

Relativity Media Chief Executive Ryan Kavanaugh's top lieutenant, Michael Joe, will now oversee the independent studio on behalf of its primary investor. In the latest executive shake-up at the West Hollywood company in the last year, Joe has relinquished his role as president and will supervise Relativity on behalf of its sole investor, the New York hedge fund Elliott Management. Elliott has invested more than $1 billion in Relativity, which has lost several hundred million dollars over the last few years, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Most of Hollywood spent the weekend preparing for the Oscars, but moviegoers preferred to go to war. "Act of Valor," a military action movie featuring real Navy SEALs, opened to a solid $24.7 million, according to an estimate from distributor Relativity Media, making it by far the most popular choice for audiences. "Good Deeds," the latest movie from writer-director Tyler Perry, opened to a decent $16 million. It's the second-smallest opening ever for the prolific filmmaker and actor, ahead of only 2007's "Daddy's Little Girls.

Independent studio Relativity Media is jumping into the fast-growing Chinese film market with a deal that gives it a stake in a local production company and a means to release its own movies in the country. Relativity said Sunday evening that it was investing in SkyLand Film & Television Cultural Development Ltd., a China-based entertainment production company. By doing so, Relativity is joining forces with SkyLand's two other financial backers: SAIF Partners, an Asian private-equity firm with $3.5 billion under management, and IDG China Media, the Chinese arm of Boston-based tech firm International Data Group.

If you can't join 'em, compete against 'em. With top pay cable channels HBO and Showtime and upstart Epix largely refusing to let Netflix stream movies during the long periods that they control the rights, the DVD subscription service is going around them, starting with independent film financing and production company Relativity Media. The two companies have signed a five-year-plus agreement through which Relativity's movies will be distributed via Netflix's Internet streaming service instead of the typical runs on pay-cable channels, which start four to seven months after a DVD release.

For the last five years, Ryan Kavanaugh has been one of Hollywood's go-to people to share the risk on movies. The chief executive of Relativity Media has invested in 138 films, most of them at Sony Pictures and Universal Pictures, where his company has long-term agreements to co-fund 75% of both studios' film slates. Co-financing movies can be an easy way to lose money ? a large reason the flood of private equity funds that flowed into Hollywood several years ago dried up. And Relativity has seen the downside in the last couple of years through its association with a string of money losers from Universal, including "Land of the Lost" and " The Wolfman.

Sony Pictures said Relativity Media would provide funds to co-finance the studio's films over the next five years. Relativity Media Holdings I will provide revolving credit to invest in "a majority" of films released by Sony's Columbia Pictures studio. The agreement comes less than a week after Los Angeles-based Relativity Media, led by Ryan Kavanaugh, announced the creation of a film finance fund with money provided by Citigroup Inc.

Relativity Media has signed a four-year agreement with 20th Century Fox for the studio to release Relativity movies on DVD as the independent company attempts to transition from a film financier into a bona fide studio. The first three movies to be distributed by Fox were all box-office flops, illustrating the challenges that Relativity, led by Chief Executive Ryan Kavanaugh, faces now that it is fully financing and releasing its own pictures. After losing money from its co-financing partnerships with Universal Pictures and Sony Pictures over the last five years, Relativity and its backer, hedge fund Elliott Associates, are hoping to do better by developing and controlling their own films.

Sony Corp. and Universal Pictures raised $700 million through closely held Relativity Media to finance 19 films through the end of 2007, the second time this year the three have partnered to raise production funds. The deal, Gun Hill Road II, lets the studios keep creative and distribution control of their films, the partners said in a statement Thursday.

Heading into this weekend's box-office battle,"Act of Valor"has the competition in its cross hairs. The action film featuring about a dozen active-duty Navy SEALs is poised to pick off its rivals at the multiplex, claiming the No. 1 position with roughly $23 million in ticket sales, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. The film's distributor, Relativity Media, is projecting a softer opening of no more than $17 million. Tyler Perry's latest film, the romantic drama "Good Deeds," is likely to be the runner-up with about $17 million.

A Los Angeles film company that invested in a $500-million fund to co-finance Sony Pictures movies filed a lawsuit alleging that the fund's manager and a later investor cheated it out of at least $44 million. Aramid Entertainment Fund alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday that the Sony fund, which co-financed 18 movies since 2008, was shut down late last year in a manner that benefited both fund manager Relativity Media in West Hollywood and the investor, New York money management firm Fortress Investment Group, at Aramid's expense.

Billionaire Ron Burkle has added movie production and concert promotion to the arenas he wants to play in. The man who made his fortune bagging supermarket chains and selling them off for billions went into the live music business Thursday by purchasing Artist Group International, a New York agency that books concerts for Billy Joel, Metallica and others. He concurrently invested in the movie business by taking a stake in independent movie studio Relativity Media. Y Entertainment group, a newly formed subsidiary of Burkle's investment firm Yucaipa Cos., made the two deals separately for undisclosed sums of money.

"Immortals," Relativity Media's first big-budget bet, battled to the top of the box office this weekend, hewing down rivals from Clint Eastwood and Adam Sandler. The film, an expensive 3-D sword-and-sandals epic based on Greek mythology, claimed the top spot with a solid $32 million, according to an estimate from its distributor. That was enough to fend off Sandler's cross-dressing comedy, "Jack and Jill," which took in a decent $26 million. "J. Edgar," the Eastwood-directed biopic of the longtime FBI director, meanwhile, collected a modest $11.5 million.

As production on the comedy "21 and Over" was getting underway in Seattle this summer, the cast and filmmakers received surprising news from producer Ryan Kavanaugh. Although the movie is about a group of students out for a night of partying in a U.S. college town, additional scenes would have to be shot, and set, in China. Why? Kavanaugh's Relativity Media could grab significant new money by making "21 and Over" a Chinese co-production, said a person close to the movie who requested anonymity because the discussions were private.

A gun-wielding Christian missionary packed heat at the box office this past weekend as "Machine Gun Preacher" got off to a respectable start in limited release. The film — based on the real-life story of thug-turned-preacher Sam Childers, who traveled to Sudan to help children affected by the war there — opened in four theaters and collected $44,000, according to an estimate from distributor Relativity Media. That gives the movie, which played in New York and Los Angeles, a decent per-theater average of $11,000.

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., which recently said it would finance fewer movies to reduce production and marketing costs, has made a multiyear distribution deal to release as many as five films a year from Relativity Media. The arrangement will enable Lions Gate to fill out its annual release schedule without having to spend much more money.

A Los Angeles film company that invested in a $500-million fund to co-finance Sony Pictures movies filed a lawsuit alleging that the fund's manager and a later investor cheated it out of at least $44 million. Aramid Entertainment Fund alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday that the Sony fund, which co-financed 18 movies since 2008, was shut down late last year in a manner that benefited both fund manager Relativity Media in West Hollywood and the investor, New York money management firm Fortress Investment Group, at Aramid's expense.

Independent studio Relativity Media is jumping into the fast-growing Chinese film market with a deal that gives it a stake in a local production company and a means to release its own movies in the country. Relativity said Sunday evening that it was investing in SkyLand Film & Television Cultural Development Ltd., a China-based entertainment production company. By doing so, Relativity is joining forces with SkyLand's two other financial backers: SAIF Partners, an Asian private-equity firm with $3.5 billion under management, and IDG China Media, the Chinese arm of Boston-based tech firm International Data Group.

After this weekend's box-office receipts are tallied, "The Change-Up" will wish it could trade places with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes. " A prequel to the 1968 cult classic that shows how simians took over Earth, "Apes" is expected to swing to the top of the box office with a pretty good start of about $35 million, according to those who have seen pre-release audience surveys. "The Change-Up," an R-rated comedy about two men who accidentally switch bodies, is expected to bring in a modest $13 million to $15 million.