Los Angeles, CA/Beijing – April 16, 2020 – Legendary Entertainment has appointed Sirena Liu CEO of Legendary East, the Company’s China based division focused on the marketing and promotion of Legendary’s global franchise film and television projects in Mainland China as well as the licensing and merchandising of movie and television related products. The announcement was made today by Joshua Grode, CEO of Legendary, to whom Liu will report.
Liu joins Legendary from Twentieth Century Fox. Based in Beijing, she will lead the operations for Legendary East including overseeing China based marketing of all filmed entertainment projects plus harnessing the distribution opportunities alongside Legendary owner, Wanda, and energizing its official co-production capabilities. She will work closely with Mary Parent, Legendary’s Vice Chairman of Worldwide Production, to manage the strategic release of content in the region.
“Sirena’s proven track record and profitability with China’s box office speaks for itself. We are excited to tap into her world-class experience and perspective as we continue to build Legendary East’s presence in China and around the world,” said Grode.
“Legendary is a top Hollywood studio full of energy and innovation with a focus of providing premium-quality content, and China remains the most exciting international film market, thus the combination of Legendary and China makes Legendary East the perfect place for me. I am excited to be part of the amazing Legendary team in China, building on Legendary’s solid history of successful title releases,” said Liu.
At Twentieth Century Fox Liu spearheaded the studio’s China strategy and directed activities across all media in China. Liu oversaw some of the most successful theatrical releases for Twentieth Century Fox in China, including THE MARTIAN, X-MEN APOCALYPSE, ICE AGE 5, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES and ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL. Her teams were also responsible for the successful importation of eight R-rated films, an achievement rare among Hollywood studios, including LOGAN and ALIEN as well as Fox Searchlight titles THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE OF EBBING, MISSOURI, and SHAPE OF WATER.
Prior to Fox, Liu founded FilMworks China Entertainment Marketing, a leading entertainment marketing company which was later acquired by WPP.
Last year, Legendary successfully released POKÉMON: DETECTIVE PIKACHU in China with more than $97 million in box office grosses.
About Legendary Entertainment
Legendary Entertainment is a leading media company with film (Legendary Pictures), television and digital (Legendary Television and Digital Media) and comics (Legendary Comics) divisions dedicated to owning, producing and delivering content to worldwide audiences. Legendary has built a library of marquee media properties and has established itself as a trusted brand which consistently delivers high-quality, commercial entertainment including some of the world’s most popular intellectual property. In aggregate, Legendary Pictures-associated productions have realized grosses of more than $17 billion worldwide at the box office. To learn more visit: www.legendary.com
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