The encyclopedia · Strategy & Leadership · Financial decision · 2018–2025
Huayi Brothers' ¥3.5B film theme park lost money every year and was sold off
华谊兄弟电影世界 opened in Suzhou in July 2018 on about ¥3.5 billion of investment, lost money every year, and was fully sold to MBK-backed 海合安 in September 2025.
华谊兄弟 (Huayi Brothers) · 海合安文旅 (Haihe'an, MBK Partners) · 2025-09
What happened
华谊兄弟电影世界 opened in July 2018 at Yangcheng Lake in Suzhou, Huayi Brothers' largest physical-entertainment bet, built on reported investment of about ¥3.5 billion with five film-themed zones and 34 rides.
The park's operating company lost money every year: about ¥134 million in 2018, ¥162 million in 2019 and ¥93 million in 2020, and by 2024 its assets no longer covered its debts.
Huayi itself had turned loss-making from 2018, and in 2021 sold a 14.29% stake in the park's operator for cash. On 21 September 2025 the park was fully acquired by 海合安文旅, the platform of Korean buyout fund MBK Partners, and renamed 海合安苏州阳澄半岛乐园.
Why it happened
- A film studio's theme park asked visitors to pay for IP it could not keep producing hits for, and attendance never covered the fixed cost of a ¥3.5 billion build.
- The parent's cash crunch from 2018 on meant the park could not be funded through many loss-making years, so first a partial stake and then the whole asset were sold.
- A theme park is a heavy, slow asset, and Huayi needed money now: the park was handed to a restructuring investor once it was insolvent.
The lesson
华谊兄弟电影世界 cost ¥3.5 billion and lost money every year, because a film-IP park needs a steady flow of hits and a parent rich enough to fund years of losses — Huayi had neither.
Aftermath
The park was fully acquired by MBK Partners' 海合安 in September 2025 and reopened as 海合安苏州阳澄半岛乐园; Huayi kept no ownership.
Sources
- 界面新闻：2018年7月开园、耗资35亿、对标迪士尼
- 源媒汇（腾讯）：35亿投资、2012年拿地、2018年7月运营、连年亏损2018/2019/2020（-1.34/-1.62/-0.93亿）、2024年淘宝拍卖、2025年9月海合安全资收购
- 观察者网（via 搜狐）：2025年9月21日MBK旗下海合安全资重组、华谊累计亏损82亿、市值蒸发超95%
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