The Innovation Group’s annual Future 100 report is a snapshot of emerging trends, tracking innovation across major consumer sectors. How did our forecasts fare last year? Below, we look at our top trend predictions in culture and travel.
Chimerican entertainment
A year ago, in our last Future 100 report, we highlighted the growing relationship between China and the US film industry, as Hollywood looked east for both investors and customers. The relationship has continued to deepen throughout the year:
–In January, China’s Dalian Wanda Group bought US film studio Legendary Entertainment in a $3.5 billion deal, the first time a Chinese company had owned a major Hollywood studio.
–In November, Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin announced large financial incentives to attract US productions to the company’s China-based studios. “More Chinese elements mean more Chinese profits,” he told the New York Times.
–The film industry on both sides of the Pacific is keenly watching The Great Wall, a co-production starring Matt Damon and out in China this December, for clues on the future of the relationship, writes the Wall Street Journal.
–This month, The Guardian listed 10 key parties that stand to gain from the deepening US-China film industry relationship, from Marvel to Scarlett Johansson.
–However, in a development not foreseen a year ago, recent sparring between China and President-elect Donald Trump could put a big damper on the whole project, reports Variety.
