From "Wanda Cinema" to "Ruyi Films": The Divergent Fates of a Listed Company’s Two Name Changes

The A-shares will no longer have “Wanda Film.”

On March 28, the announcement was made that Wanda Film (002739) plans to change its company name and stock abbreviation to “Ruyi Film.” In an instant, the capital market felt not only a simple change of identification but also the quiet exit of a symbolic era.

From “Wanda Film” to “Ruyi Film” (the new name will be finalized subject to the approval of the market supervision and management department), what has changed is not only the stock abbreviation but also the commercial narrative of an era. Wang Jianlin attempted to transform the cinema chain with the “scene - traffic - monetization” logic of commercial real estate, building scale barriers through the synergy of shopping centers and cinemas; however, high-leverage expansion and cross-border mergers drained Wanda Group’s liquidity, and Wang Jianlin ultimately lost control of Wanda Film.

Now, after the change of control, Wanda Film focuses on the “super entertainment space” strategy at its core, continuously enhancing the competitive advantage of its main business while concentrating on the collaborative ecosystem of the film industry chain and quality IP operations, through innovative business models such as diversified operations, scene integration, and cross-industry linkage, as well as strategic investments in multiple new consumer brands, reconstructing offline entertainment experiences, and actively promoting the company’s business transformation from single box office revenue to a diversified consumption ecosystem.

From its performance, it can be seen that it will incur losses in 2024 and is expected to turn a profit in 2025. The road ahead is long, and how long and far the “super entertainment space” strategy can run remains to be seen.

The Dream of Movie Aspirations for Real Estate Giants Shattered: The Capital Change Behind Wanda Film’s Name Change

Why did Wanda Film change its name? According to the information disclosed in the announcement, simply put, “The actual controller has changed, and the symbol should follow.”

Specifically, as early as April 15, 2024, the control of the listed company was completed, with the actual controller changing from Wang Jianlin to Ke Liming. Shanghai Ruyi Investment Management Co., Ltd. and Shanghai Ruyi Film Production Co., Ltd. collectively hold 100% equity in Beijing Ruyi Investment Co., Ltd., the controlling shareholder of the listed company.

Thus, “to better align with the company’s strategic development direction,” the listed company plans to change its name to “Ruyi Film Entertainment Co., Ltd.” and its stock abbreviation to “Ruyi Film.”

The listed company emphasized, “After this name change, Wanda Cinema, as one of the important cinema brands under the company, will continue to provide users with high-quality viewing and offline entertainment services.”

When talking about Wanda Film, the starting point of the story can be traced back to 2004, when the first Wanda Cinema was established. At that time, Wang Jianlin, the founder of Wanda Group, entered the cinema line of business as a real estate giant, a decision that was seen as “pursuing an unworthy profession.” However, Wang Jianlin keenly captured the pulse of China’s consumption upgrade— as shopping centers blossomed across the country, the aggregation effect of cinemas as a flow engine became increasingly prominent.

On January 22, 2015, Wanda Cinema Line (Wanda Cinemas Holdings Co., Ltd.) was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. According to data from Eastmoney, Wanda Cinema’s stock closed up 43.98% on its first day of trading, and subsequently, the stock hit the daily limit for 11 consecutive trading days, easily surpassing a total market value of 49.1 billion yuan, becoming the “first stock of China’s cinema chain.” By the end of 2015, Wanda Cinema Line’s total market capitalization had exceeded 149.7 billion yuan.

Wanda Film’s annual performance. New Beijing News Beike Finance reporter Yan Xia created the image.

On May 19, 2017, “Wanda Cinema Holdings Co., Ltd.” was renamed “Wanda Film Co., Ltd.,” and the stock abbreviation was changed from “Wanda Cinema Line” to “Wanda Film.” The renaming at that time was a declaration of business expansion— the company claimed to have formed diversified business segments including film screening, film advertising media, film integrated marketing, film derivative product sales, and online live streaming platforms, with non-box office revenue accounting for more than one-third of operating income, and the “film lifestyle ecosystem” they strove to build had basically taken shape.

This renaming came with an adjustment of the organizational structure: Wanda Film planned to establish five major business platforms— cinema terminal platform, media marketing platform, film IP platform, online business platform, and interactive film and game platform— to strengthen the company’s core competitive advantages in the film industry.

From “cinema chain” to “film,” the difference of two words signifies the landing of the ambition of the whole industry chain and the leap from channel provider to ecosystem leader. However, this narrative did not last. In 2019 and 2020, Wanda Film faced two consecutive years of massive losses, with goodwill impairment and the impact of the pandemic following in quick succession, causing the “ecosystem” concept to quickly fade. The ambition at the time of renaming now seems more like a typical footnote of a real estate capital crossing into the cultural industry—scale can be piled up, but genes are hard to change.

In 2021, Wanda Film managed to turn a profit with difficulty. That year, the total market share of the company’s cinemas (including light assets) was 15.3%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to 2019. Throughout the year, except for February and October, which were affected by scheduling spillover effects, the market share in other months was no less than 15.5%.

By 2022, the company incurred massive losses again; more alarmingly, entering 2023, Wanda Group’s liquidity crisis escalated. According to media reports, in April 2023, Wang Jianlin candidly stated at an executive meeting: “Wanda Commercial Management in Zhuhai is facing difficulties in going public, and the group is under severe financial strain.” Various signs indicate that repeatedly reducing Wanda Film’s equity to raise funds is no longer sufficient to meet Wanda Group’s needs.

On December 12, 2023, Wanda Film’s indirect controlling shareholder, Beijing Wanda Cultural Industry Group Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Wanda Cultural Group”), along with its wholly-owned subsidiary Beijing Hangrun Enterprise Management Development Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Beijing Hangrun”), and the company’s actual controller Wang Jianlin signed the “Equity Transfer Agreement for Beijing Wanda Investment Co., Ltd.” to transfer a total of 51% equity in Beijing Wanda Investment Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Wanda Investment”) to Ruyi Investment for a total transfer price of 2.155 billion yuan.

In April 2024, the equity transfer was completed, and Wanda Film changed hands.

The Two “Reports” After Wanda Film Changed Hands: Losses in 2024, Expected Profit in 2025

After Ke Liming took over, Wanda Film officially entered the “Ruyi Era.”

On January 29, 2024, Chen Xi became the chairman of Wanda Film. Her resume shows that she graduated from the Central Academy of Drama with a bachelor’s degree in performance and holds an EMBA from Tsinghua University’s Wudaokou School of Finance. In 2012, she founded Yingyitong Media; from 2015 to January 2024, she served as the president of Shanghai Ruyi Film Production Co., Ltd. and the executive director of China Ruyi Holdings Co., Ltd.

Wanda Film’s annual business plans. New Beijing News Beike Finance reporter Yan Xia created the image.

From the annual business plans disclosed in financial reports, one can glimpse the differences between the “Wanda Era” and the “Ruyi Era.” After Wanda Film changed hands, the business focus gradually extended tentatively towards “channel + content synergy.” Among them, the term IP was repeatedly mentioned in the 2024 and 2025 business plans, and the 2025 business plan explicitly stated the intention to “increase investment in quality content.”

Financial reports indicate that Wanda Film’s performance in 2024 is unsatisfactory, with a net profit attributable to the parent company exceeding a loss of 900 million yuan. At that time, the company stated that in 2025, it would focus on content, actively innovate new models of film consumption. On the cinema side, the company will continue to develop quality directly-operated cinemas and further increase market share; on the other hand, the company will actively expand IP derivative cooperation, deeply explore the value of cinema lobbies, create a super entertainment space, and continuously improve the profitability of cinemas. On the content side, the company will adhere to meticulous creation in the field of content production, launching more high-quality film and television works. The films invested and produced by the company, such as “A Cloud Like You,” “Wild Forbidden Land,” “The Flower of Thought,” “Cold War 1994,” “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio: Lanruo Temple,” “Never Open That Door,” “Life of Waves,” and “Unexpected Adventures,” are expected to be released within the year. The company will also continue to integrate resources across the entire industry chain to strengthen film promotion and distribution, continuously improve film investment returns.

The reporter noted that in the 2024 financial report, the “super entertainment space” strategy was mentioned for the first time. Wanda Film stated that in 2025, the company will implement the “super entertainment space” strategy, focusing on the film main business and the layout of the entire industry chain, increasing efforts to expand cinemas, deepening the commercial value of IP, increasing strategic investment layouts, focusing on quality content, strengthening collaboration among various business segments, and continuously enhancing core competitiveness and operational performance.

The latest announcement shows that Wanda Film expects a net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company of 480 million to 550 million yuan in 2025. That year, films invested and produced by the company, such as “Detective Chinatown 1900,” “Nanjing Photo Studio,” “Boonie Bears: Reboot the Future,” “Lychee of Chang’an,” and “Life of Waves,” among others, will be released, achieving good reputation and box office earnings.

New Beijing News Beike Finance reporter Yan Xia

Editor Yang Juanjuan

Proofreader Liu Jun