China's online video platform iQiyi signs film licensing deal with Lionsgate

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles based Lionsgate and China's iQiyi announced Tuesday a long-term deal under which the Chinese firm will have exclusive rights to stream select Lionsgate titles on its platform in China.

iQiyi is one of China's largest online video platform. The agreement will make Lionsgate films available to more than 500 million users, a joint statement said.

The two companies did not mention how much their deal is worth.

iQiyi's latest agreement with Lionsgate started in fall 2015 and iQiyi served as Lionsgate's promotional partner earlier this year on the film "Now You See Me 2", which the statement called the highest-grossing Lionsgate film ever released in China.

The deal announced on Tuesday includes upcoming titles such as "Robin Hood", starring Jamie Foxx, the Lionsgate/CBS Film "Patriots Day", the counter-terrorism thriller "The Glass Castle", Lionsgate/CBS Films' "American Assassin" and "Wonder", starring Julia Roberts.

"We're delighted to expand our relationship with iQiyi, a world-class platform at the cutting edge of delivering premium quality films to online Chinese audience," said Lionsgate Executive Vice President of International Sales Wendy Reeds in a statement.

"We have collaborated with iQiyi on the promotion and distribution of some of our biggest releases in China, and our new agreement represents a great opportunity to bring a slate of blockbuster films and a deep portfolio of library titles to one of the largest and fastest-growing markets in the world."

"Lionsgate has emerged as a major creative force in the global marketplace, and we're proud to continue adding their incredible pipeline of star-driven movies to our platform," said Yang Xianghua, senior vice president of iQiyi. "This agreement with one of Hollywood's major studios significantly expands the selection of premium quality movies we will bring to our audiences."