Village Roadshow

Warner Bros. has extended a deal with its longtime partner Village Roadshow Pictures, which has secured debt financing of more than $1.1 billion to invest in upcoming movies like "The Great Gatsby," "Lego," and "Mad Max: Fury Road. " The agreement is a critical one for the Burbank studio, as Village Roadshow is one of two companies that put up half the budgets for most of Warner Bros.' productions. Village, which has worked with Warner since 1997, will continue to do so through the end of 2017 under the new deal.

After the coffee. Before hoping this year was just an an April Fools' joke. The Skinny: If I'm ever kidnapped, please don't hire Ryan Hardy to rescue me. That guy could lose an elephant in a petting zoo. Yes, Fox's serial killer drama "The Following" is still frustrating me. Tuesday's headlines include a look at how Village Roadshow is conquering China, the FCC may try to relax its indecency rules and NBC's Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon try...

After the coffee. Before hoping this year was just an an April Fools' joke. The Skinny: If I'm ever kidnapped, please don't hire Ryan Hardy to rescue me. That guy could lose an elephant in a petting zoo. Yes, Fox's serial killer drama "The Following" is still frustrating me. Tuesday's headlines include a look at how Village Roadshow is conquering China, the FCC may try to relax its indecency rules and NBC's Jay Leno and Jimmy Fallon try...

Village Roadshow Pictures Asia released its first Chinese-language film with no certainty the modestly budgeted movie would succeed with audiences in the world's most populous country. But "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," a comedic take on a well-known 16th century Chinese fantasy novel, had a February opening-week gross of $93.5 million - the biggest ever in China. It already has made $200.5 million, and it could go on to gross more at China's box office than any other Chinese-made film in history.

This post has been corrected. See below for details. Village Roadshow Entertainment, the production and finance company behind such film franchises as "Sherlock Holmes"and "Happy Feet," has raised $380 million in new capital. The money will allow the production outfit to expand the number of movies it makes with longtime studio partner Warner Bros.as well as grow a new China-based venture. The equity, which comes from investment firm Trinity Opportunities Limited and was arranged with Hong Kong's Shikumen Capital Management, will give Village Roadshow the ability to access more of a $1-billion debt facility that it set up last year.

What's $120 million between friends? Village Roadshow Pictures, which has owed that much to Warner Bros. for nearly a year on four films released in 2008, has repaid the studio after restructuring its $1.4-billion credit line. Amid last year's financial collapse, the Australian film financing company unexpectedly lost access to funds it had committed to use for a 50% stake in "Get Smart," "Gran Torino," "Nights in Rodanthe" and "Yes Man." It has been co-financing Warner movies for over a decade.

Warner Bros. is poised to extend its partnership with one of its two main co-financiers, while the fate of the studio's ongoing relationship with its other key investor remains uncertain. Village Roadshow Entertainment, which put up half the money for such franchises as "Sherlock Holmes," "Happy Feet" and "The Matrix," has raised $380 million in new equity. The funds put the Australian company on stronger financial footing and will allow its Hollywood unit, Village Roadshow Pictures, to begin talks to renew its longtime deal with Warner.

Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures are expanding their longtime business relationship with an agreement to co-finance and distribute at least 20 movies over the next five years. Under the deal, Village Roadshow will produce the films and Warner Bros. will market and release them worldwide, except in Australia and New Zealand. Village Roadshow's parent, the publicly traded Village Roadshow Ltd.

As they relaxed in the dimly lighted lounge, awaiting the sold-out screening of "Invictus," Stephen Galloway and his wife, Tina, were perusing the menu between sips of champagne. A waiter had just brought a chilled $49 bottle of Schramsberg sparkling wine and was ready for their order. Tina was contemplating the $14 plate of fried calamari with ginger and lemon, while Stephen had a hankering for the $19 New York strip steak sandwich. The Galloways are hardly high rollers -- he's a property manager and she's a social worker.

After the coffee. Before auditioning for "Two and a Half Men. " The Skinny: Isn't the week after Thanksgiving the most depressing of the year? You had this great short week and now this week will feel like two. That's weak! Tuesday's headlines include a look at why "The Hobbit" will look different from any movie you've seen before; Warner Bros. renews with Village Roadshow; and "Two and a Half Men" co-star Angus Jones would like a new gig. Daily Dose: Lifetime's "Liz and Dick" movie starring Lindsay Lohan drew 3.5 million viewers in its Sunday premiere.

Warner Bros. has extended a deal with its longtime partner Village Roadshow Pictures, which has secured debt financing of more than $1.1 billion to invest in upcoming movies like "The Great Gatsby," "Lego," and "Mad Max: Fury Road. " The agreement is a critical one for the Burbank studio, as Village Roadshow is one of two companies that put up half the budgets for most of Warner Bros.' productions. Village, which has worked with Warner since 1997, will continue to do so through the end of 2017 under the new deal.

Warner Bros. is poised to extend its partnership with one of its two main co-financiers, while the fate of the studio's ongoing relationship with its other key investor remains uncertain. Village Roadshow Entertainment, which put up half the money for such franchises as "Sherlock Holmes," "Happy Feet" and "The Matrix," has raised $380 million in new equity. The funds put the Australian company on stronger financial footing and will allow its Hollywood unit, Village Roadshow Pictures, to begin talks to renew its longtime deal with Warner.

This post has been corrected. See below for details. Village Roadshow Entertainment, the production and finance company behind such film franchises as "Sherlock Holmes"and "Happy Feet," has raised $380 million in new capital. The money will allow the production outfit to expand the number of movies it makes with longtime studio partner Warner Bros.as well as grow a new China-based venture. The equity, which comes from investment firm Trinity Opportunities Limited and was arranged with Hong Kong's Shikumen Capital Management, will give Village Roadshow the ability to access more of a $1-billion debt facility that it set up last year.

Even an A-list star like Johnny Depp was no match for"The Avengers" at the box office this past weekend, as the superhero adventure dominated ticket sales yet again and flew past $1 billion worldwide. After its $207.4-million debut broke the record for the biggest opening - not adjusting for inflation - "The Avengers" raked in an additional $103.2 million in its second weekend of domestic release, according to an estimate from distributor Walt Disney Pictures. The film featuring Marvel comic book characters such as the Hulk, Iron Man and Thor sucked the life out"Dark Shadows," leaving Depp's vampire comedy looking pallid with a lackluster $28.8-million start.

At the height of the Iranian hostage crisis, artist-turned CIA technical officer Tony Mendez pulled off a stunning ploy when he helped six American diplomats in the Canadian embassy in Tehran escape by disguising them as members of a Hollywood film crew. Thirty-two years later, Mendez's daring plan has been turned into a movie called "Argo" that will begin filming next week on the streets of Los Angeles. The movie, starring and directed by Ben Affleck and produced by George Clooney, is one of several high-profile studio feature films shooting in L.A. this summer and fall, including "The Gangster Squad," a star-packed crime drama starring Sean Penn, Josh Brolin and Emma Stone in a story about the Los Angeles Police Department's efforts to keep the mafia out of L.A. in the 1940s and 1950s.

Movie Projector: An article in the Business section on Friday on weekend box-office expectations said that Village Roadshow was a partner in the financing of the movie "Fool's Gold." The movie was financed solely by Warner Bros.

When Bruce Berman was head of production at Warner Bros., little did he know that some of the very projects he bought back then--including today's release "Analyze This"--would become movies he would help get financed in his new job. The economic environment of Hollywood has shifted since Berman was booted out after six years as Warner's movie chief in March 1996 and 18 months later was named chairman of Village Roadshow Pictures.

Amid a drought for new outside money in the movie business, Warner Bros.' longtime co-financing partner Village Roadshow Pictures Group has restructured its $900-million facility that was set to expire in September, extending it to 2015 and increasing it modestly to $1 billion. The increase in available production funds is good news for Village Roadshow, although it still falls far short of the amount in its earlier financing facility. In the financial meltdown of 2008, Village Roadshow lost access to some of the funds in its then-$1.

Estimated sales in the U.S. and Canada: Movie (studio) 3-day gross (millions) Percentage change from last weekend Total (millions) Days in release 1 Avatar (Fox/Dune/Ingenious) $30 -14% $594.4 45 2 Edge of Darkness (Warner Bros./GK Films) $17.1 NA $17.1 3 3 When in Rome (Disney)