Controversies

Huayi Brothers receives warning letter after profit forecast turns from profit to loss

Huayi Brothers originally expected 2021 net profit of RMB22.5209 million to RMB33.7139 million, later revising it to a loss of about RMB246 million to RMB250 million. The Zhejiang branch of the China Securities Regulatory Commission found the information disclosure inaccurate and issued warning letters to the company and responsible persons. Progress: regulatory measure. Entity involved: Huayi Brothers Media Corporation.

Huayi Brothers responds to controversy over The Eight Hundred distribution

Company response

Huayi Brothers issued a statement responding to online debate over The Eight Hundred's distribution strategy. It denied abandoning 4,200 small cinemas and denied requiring cinemas to pay first for preview screenings, saying ticket-office settlement followed normal procedures and it did not collect money directly from cinemas.

‘Cell Phone 2’ yin-yang contract scandal sends Huayi Brothers shares limit-down

At the end of May 2018, Cui Yongyuan, unhappy that Huayi Brothers’ film “Cell Phone 2” had started production, exposed suspected actor “yin-yang contracts” on Weibo. On June 3, the State Taxation Administration tasked tax authorities in Jiangsu and other places to investigate. On June 4, Huayi Brothers’ shares hit the limit-down, with about RMB2.27 billion of market value evaporating in a single day, and the film and television sector’s market value shrank by more than RMB10 billion in one day. In October, the State Taxation Administration reported that Fan Bingbing and her companies were ordered to pay back taxes, late fees and fines totaling about RMB884 million. Huayi Brothers’ net profit in the third quarter of 2018 fell by about 70% year on year, Feng Xiaogang’s Dongyang Meila bet agreement came under pressure, and the film and television industry subsequently carried out tax standardization and rectification.