China’s ‘Netflix’ iQiyi to open theme park with VR primarily based on its exhibits

BEIJING — Chinese language videostreaming platform iQiyi introduced Thursday it plans later this yr to open its first full-fledged theme park in China primarily based on characters from its personal exhibits.

The forthcoming “iQiyi Land” is about to open within the metropolis of Yangzhou in Jiangsu province, simply over two hours from Shanghai by high-speed practice. The corporate stated the theme park will embrace seven kinds of sights — together with immersive theater, interactive movie units and experiences that use digital actuality — largely primarily based on characters from iQiyi’s movies and tv dramas.

It is the newest firm to wager that native shoppers will spend extra on experiences, regardless of tepid retail gross sales.

Legoland is opening its first China resort in Shanghai this summer season, whereas Warner Bros. Discovery final month introduced it’s opening a “Harry Potter Studio Tour” in 2027 in the identical metropolis. Chinese language toy firm Pop Mart opened a themed “Pop Land” in Beijing in late 2023, which has turn into the most well-liked attraction within the metropolis’s enterprise district, based on rankings from Dianping.

IQiyi’s deliberate theme park builds on the corporate’s latest success with VR-specific sights.

The corporate has developed expertise that mixes VR headsets with transferring platforms — giving guests the impression that they’re strolling, using on boats or sitting in a flying carriage. Which means a theme park-like expertise might be compressed into an area as small as a sq. simply 57 toes lengthy.

Since iQiyi’s first devoted VR expertise opened in Shanghai two years in the past, the corporate has labored with enterprise companions to open greater than 40 places in no less than 20 Chinese language cities. One VR expertise primarily based on iQiyi’s “Unusual Tales of the Tang Dynasty: To the West” gained greater than 100,000 guests in its first yr of opening, based on the corporate.

VR, gaming and synthetic intelligence have enabled the emergence of “distributed” theme parks which can be extra compact, interactive and in a position to iterate content material extra shortly, Cling Zhang, senior vice chairman at iQiyi, stated in a Chinese language assertion translated by CNBC.

He stated a few of the VR-based experiences will first be launched in iQiyi Land earlier than they’re launched in different venues.

IQiyi shares closed practically 3% greater in U.S. buying and selling Thursday and are up 14% for the yr to this point.

Mainland China’s theme park income is forecast to exceed 480 billion yuan ($67 billion) this yr, with greater than 500 million guests, based on information shared by the Worldwide Affiliation of Amusement Parks and Points of interest. That will be up exponentially from 30.39 billion yuan recorded throughout 86 main theme parks in mainland China in 2023, simply after Covid-19 pandemic controls ended, the info confirmed.

Parks are more and more utilizing a mixture of digital actuality to interact friends, whereas utilizing AI instruments to handle crowds, the affiliation stated. It added that parks are additionally combining international mental property franchises with home narratives in China.

The affiliation introduced Wednesday that the top of Disney Parks Worldwide would communicate at its Asia expo this summer season in Shanghai.

Disney, whose Disneyland in Shanghai opened in 2016, reported a 28% year-on-year enhance in worldwide parks and experiences working earnings within the quarter ended Dec. 28, in distinction with a 5% decline within the U.S.

Comcast, whose Common Studios Beijing opened in 2021, stated greater income at its worldwide theme parks offset decrease visitor attendance at its U.S. parks within the fourth quarter.

Tourism has been a uncommon vivid spot in China’s in any other case lackluster client market. The buyer value index, an indicator of home demand, rose by simply 0.2% final yr whereas the tourism part elevated by 3.5%.

China’s plan to spice up consumption this yr known as particularly for growing the expertise financial system. IQiyi has beforehand labored with a neighborhood tourism board to provide a tv drama set in a distant a part of China, drawing guests.

Nonetheless, competitors in content material stays fierce. IQiyi reported an 8% drop in 2024 income to 29.23 billion yuan, reversing a ten% enhance the prior yr.

Theme park initiatives also can face delays.

A Legoland in western China’s Sichuan province was initially scheduled to open by 2023. When CNBC contacted operator Merlin Entertainments concerning the venture, the corporate solely emphasised the summer season opening of Legoland in Shanghai this summer season.

Disclosure: Comcast is the proprietor of NBCUniversal, mum or dad firm of CNBC.

Clarification: This story was up to date to mirror the right title of the iQiyi drama, “Unusual Tales of the Tang Dynasty: To the West.” A earlier model was primarily based on a supplied translation, which was inaccurate.