The film "No Other Choice" was selected as the first project after the Nasdaq listing of the investor in "Parasite."
Nasdaq-listed K Wave Media (K Wave Media, NASDAQ: KWM, hereinafter KWM) said on the 23rd that it will invest in the film "No Other Choice" (director Park Chan-wook, provided/distributed by CJ ENM, produced by Moho Film/CJ ENM Studios). This investment, the first project directly led by KWM headquarters since its listing, is expected to mark the starting point for the company's content investment capabilities to be fully activated for targeting the global market.
"No Other Choice" premiered recently at the Venice International Film Festival, receiving nine minutes of standing ovation and perfect scores from foreign media, emerging as a global film to watch. KWM said this investment in such proven excellent content provides an opportunity to further strengthen its direct investment capabilities.
The key point of this investment is that KWM headquarters itself took the lead as the investor. Until now, KWM's content investments were mainly handled by its venture capital subsidiary Solaire Partners. With the parent company directly performing the role that Solaire Partners— which has experience investing in numerous box-office hits such as the film "Parasite"—previously handled, the headquarters' investment function has been activated for the first time since the listing.
This change is even more significant considering KWM's business structure. KWM is a comprehensive entertainment company formed by the merger of a content investment company, production studios and a merchandise specialist, and it has a vertically integrated business structure that covers the entire industry value chain from investment to production and distribution. This direct investment is interpreted as a strategic move to accelerate global market entry by securing original IP, expanding content and diversifying revenue based on these integrated capabilities.
A KWM official said, "This investment is the first project in which the headquarters has directly invested since the listing, and it signifies the full-scale implementation of KWM's growth strategy," adding, "We will continue to proactively invest in excellent IP to expand our presence in the global content market and increase corporate value and shareholder value together."
"No Other Choice" tells the story of Mansu (Lee Byung-hun), an office worker whose life had been so satisfying that he felt "everything was accomplished," who is suddenly fired and prepares his own war toward reemployment to protect his wife, two children and the house he struggled to obtain. As Park Chan-wook's new work, it features a large cast of top actors including Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min and Yeom Hye-ran, drawing attention as the most anticipated film this fall. It opens on the 24th.
[Photo] Provided by CJ ENM.
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