Alibaba goes Hollywood with 'Mission: Impossible' stake

Chinese online retail giant Alibaba made its first move into Hollywood on Wednesday, announcing that its film arm would invest in the next "Mission: Impossible" film.

China's answer to Amazon did not reveal details of the deal it had reached with Paramount.

But it did say the accord made it the official promoter of the film in China, including online ticket sales and merchandising.

"Mission: Impossible -- Rogue Nation" -- the latest installment in the blockbuster spy series starring Tom Cruise -- hits theaters on July 31 in much of the world.

Alibaba Pictures CEO Zhang Qiang said the agreement marked the "first step toward internationalization."

"Alibaba Pictures looks forward to collaborating with more international movie studios where we can consolidate resources, technologies and talents to establish a world-class integrated entertainment platform for the film industry," Zhang said.

The announcement came nine days after Alibaba said it was preparing a video and TV streaming service similar to Netflix.
Source: AFP