The H Collective

The company was launched during the 2017 Shanghai International Film Festival with the goal of financing and/or producing four films a year in its first four years.[1] In the following September, the company hired as CEO Nic Crawley, who was the president of international marketing and distribution for Paramount Pictures.[3] The company subsequently hired Jenna Sanz-Ageroas as EVP Business Affairs and Operations and Ivy Sun as CFO.[4] The company is financially backed by Chinese brothers Kenneth Huang and Kent Huang as well as other Chinese and American backers.[2]

The H Collective acquired in April 2018 the rights to the XXX film series from Revolution Studios with plans to finance and produce a fourth installment.[5] Later in April, the company partnered with Sony Pictures to market and distribute H Collective's films.[6] In the same month, Sherryl Clark was hired as H Collective's President of Production. Sanz-Agero was promoted to Chief Operating Officer, and Sun was promoted to Chief Strategy Officer. Del Mayberry replaced Sun as the CFO.[7] In the following May, H Collective partnered with the online video platform company iQiyi to co-produce three films.[8]

In May 2019, The H Collective secured investment funding from the Japanese electronic commerce and Internet company Rakuten.[9] By the following August, The H Collective partnered with Rakuten to establish two new entities: the joint venture film production entity Rakuten H Collective Studio and the distribution company Rakuten Distribution.[10] The first film to be produced under the partnership is The Beast, based on a Black List script by Aaron W. Sala,[11] which was acquired in March 2018 by The H Collective in a mid-six figure deal.[12] Morena Baccarin was cast in the starring role, and Espen Sandberg was hired to direct the film. Filming was planned to start in New Zealand in late March 2020,[11] but due to concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic there, production was temporarily halted.[13]

• Official website