MUMBAI: Chinese entertainment company Chengtian Entertainment, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed Orange Sky Golden Harvest Entertainment has bought a 3.3 per cent share of Inception producers Legendary Pictures of Los Angeles.

Chengtian and Legendary will produce and distribute films in China and around the world and also produce and distribute games. The purchase of Legendary shares for HK$194 million ($25 million) comes at a time when Hollywood‘s box-office growth has been minimised by China‘s, where ticket sales jumped an astonishing 80 per cent in the first half of this year.

Having a way to say a film was made with a Chinese partner could help Legendary get its products into the booming market around a Chinese government-imposed import cap that limits to 20 the number of foreign films allowed to share in their box office receipts here each year.

Founded in 2005, Chengtian invested in John Woo‘s pan-Asian co-production and box office hit Red Cliff (2008) and also made the commercially underwhelming 2009 sequel Storm Warriors II directed by Hong Kong-based fraternal duo Danny and Oxide Pang.