DreamWorks to build US$3 billion entertainment zone in Shanghai

US-based film studios DreamWorks Animation has announced plans to build a $US3.2 billion ($A3 billion) "entertainment zone" in Shanghai, aiming to bolster its presence in the booming Chinese attractions and entertainment market.

Oriental DreamWorks, the studio's newly-formed China joint venture with China Media Capital, Shanghai Media Group and Shanghai Alliance Investment, plans to open the Dream Centre, one of the largest international investment projects in China, by 2016.

To be built on a T-shaped block on Shanghai's Xuhui Riverside, the "entertainment zone" will feature designs from international architects and incorporate theatres, cinemas, creative enterprises, attractions, restaurants and commercial facilities.

The Dream Centre will be built close to the Media Port of the West Riverbank, with the aim of a new Shanghai a world-class cultural destination that is envisioned to be comparable to New York's Broadway and London's West End.

Dreamworks, the creator of movie franchises Shrek and Kung Fu Panda, denies that the project is in competition with Disney, which is due to open Shanghai Disneyland in 2015.

China Media Capital Chairman Li Ruigang was quoted by the official Xinhua news agency as stating "it's different from any other large cultural project in China, including Disneyland."

Oriental Dreamworks will make the third Kung Fu Panda movie - the third instalment in the hugely popular series - in China as a co-production for release in 2016. It also plans to release up to three major films a year, with its first feature-length animated film scheduled for global release in 2017.

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