- Core content — spans across film, television and online content production, distribution and sponsorship activities. As a producer, mm2 provides services across the entire content value chain, allowing us to derive revenue from all stages of the filmmaking process, from inception to exhibition.
- Post- and digital content production — mainly housed under Vividthree Holdings, an award-winning studio specialising in visual effects (VFX), computer-generated imagery (CGI) and location-based, immersive entertainment production capabilities.
- Cinema operations — mm2 is the only player managing and operating cinemas in both Malaysia and Singapore. The group operates the brands mmCineplexes and Cathay Cineplexes in Malaysia and Singapore respectively.
- Concerts and events — UnUsUaL is the group’s event production and concert promotion arm. UnUsUaL produces and promotes large-scale events and concerts for renowned artists in Singapore and internationally.
2. What is mm2’s competitive edge compared to peers?
mm2’s competitive advantage has always been our international outlook as well as our knowledge and experience across the whole production value chain, particularly in the content ideation and distribution stages where monetisation takes place.
The group, headed by executive chairman Melvin Ang, champions content and media for Asia, viewing the entire Asian region as our customer base. mm2’s network of content producers (from Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and China) aims to create content that is not only successful in local markets but also appeals to audiences across Asia.
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An example is the success of Taiwanese film, More Than Blue (2018), which became the highest-grossing Taiwanese film of 2018 in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore with respective box office earnings of NT239.6 million, HKD23.8 million, MYR6.3 million and $2.0 million. It was also the highest-grossing Taiwanese-made film of all time in China with RMB953.9 million ($204.6 million) box office earnings. The film has since spun off a successful drama series called More Than Blue: The Series (2021) which was picked up by Netflix.
3. How does the group remain competitive amidst the large pool of content creators on various other channels?
We believe that entertainment content has always been an enabler of technology, from the time of coloured TV to YouTube and other overthe-top (OTT) streaming platforms. mm2’s content output is highly scalable as we are known to work well with creative talents and are respectful of their work and passion.
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Our presence in our Chinese-speaking markets is a valuable attribute these creative talents appreciate, hence making us the preferred studio to work with. To expand our reach, work is underway for our venture into non- Chinese speaking markets. There have been many collaboration opportunities for cross-culture or cross- language content even before the pandemic.
The group, via our subsidiaries, is also exploring opportunities involving blockchain technology, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as well as the concept of metaverse.
4. Could you elaborate on the future direction for the group’s business segments?
mm2 will continue to grow its presence in North Asia’s key markets for content creation — mainly China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, where we have seen the strongest growth in the past five years, as well as Thailand and Korea.
The rise of OTT platforms has been a key driver of the group’s core content business. We have seen increased demand for our content since the start of the pandemic and we believe that this will continue. mm2 will continue to be an active player in movie and TV series production, in both Chinese speaking and non-Chinese speaking markets.
We believe that cinemas will remain as key entertainment destinations, as society embraces the “new normal” in the post-pandemic era. With some redesigning of space, cinemas can also provide other forms of entertainment such as e-sports and music events.
As safe distancing restrictions ease, we believe that there will be pent-up demand for concerts and meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) events.
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The group will continue to embrace technology to develop highgrowth business models across our business units and value chains. We intend to extend the capabilities of Vividthree in virtual reality, which is a huge component for the metaverse, into gaming, concerts and MICE events.
5. How does the group maintain its pipeline of talents in the entertainment industry?
mm2 is always looking to develop new creative talents in the region and is supportive of government initiatives in talent development by way of event sponsorships, coaching and business pitching.
The mm2 Movie Makers Awards is an annual short film competition, held in Singapore and Hong Kong, where top filmmakers are offered opportunities to develop feature films with mm2 Entertainment. It is also part of the group’s “Grow Local, Go Regional” production strategy to groom up-and-coming directors.
mm2’s track record for exporting local films and grooming directors include several prestigious film awards and nominations, notably 2020’s Golden Horse Award for Number One (2020).
Hong Kong director Jun Li — one of the winners of the 2017 mm2 Movie Makers Awards in Hong Kong — received multiple awards and nominations for his film, Drifting (2021). The film also received 12 nominations at the 2021 Golden Horse Awards — the most nominated film of the awards.
We are also on the lookout for content ideas that can be brought to other platforms such as web cartoons that have the potential to become full-length features.
6. What are some notable developments that shareholders can look out for or expect in the near to medium term?
The changing forms of entertainment content gave rise to in-home consumption and sparked the growth of many OTT players such as YouTube, TikTok and those in the gaming industry.
In the near and medium term, as society and governments adjust to post-pandemic life, we believe that the pent-up demand for out-of-home experience will rise. This is evident in the recovering box office numbers of Hollywood films and soldout concert events.
In line with respective government guidelines, mm2 plans to move forward with the distribution plans of our films at cinemas and concerts. We also plan to roll out new content initiatives, each with its own digitalisation roadmap, in the new markets that we have been incubating.
7. Does the group have active plans in place to expand your geographical reach or business segments?
mm2 has announced various collaborations with studios and filmmakers in Hollywood, Thailand and South Korea.
We have also announced new ventures in media tech, utilising blockchain technology, NFTs and cryptocurrency, which could lead to new business models for our existing content creation and distribution capabilities. We are looking forward to expanding further in this direction.
8. What do you think are some key drivers or trends in this industry?
We believe that good content has always been key in this industry. Other drivers also include 5G connectivity, OTT media consumption and the emerging concept of the metaverse.
9. Sustainability and ESG have increasingly been a key focus. How is the group committed to sustainability?
mm2 recognises the importance and value of aligning our business strategies and objectives with having an established and consistent sustainability management framework. Our key focus has been to integrate sustainability in our businesses through a sustainable supply chain.
The group has also identified energy consumption, human resource diversity and equal opportunities, as well as product marketing and labelling as metrics and targets for our group’s key ESG factors.
This year, mm2 and AsiaOne spearheaded the GreenHome series and the Sus Ads Video Challenge, which are programmes targeted at Singaporean youths.
10. Why should investors take a closer look at mm2?
Since our inception in 2008, mm2 has been transformed from a local production house into an entertainment company with diversified businesses across different geographical markets. Even with the challenges brought on by Covid-19, the underlying fundamentals of our business remain resilient, and we are poised for recovery once restrictions ease.
To scale up our content slate, we keep close attention on the market and its upcoming trends. Our creative talents and intellectual property library (both from past movies and ongoing exercise of identifying and acquiring stories), serve as the backdrop for our productions, remakes and adaptations.
With increased competition among numerous OTT platforms, the need for good content has never been greater, especially in China. mm2, being a Singapore-headquartered entity, is strategically located and has forged good relationships with our multi-territory presence. Therefore, we believe that we are able to develop strong pipelines in all the markets we operate in.
e have always been quick to innovate and adapt to the latest technologies. This will allow us to expand offerings such as giving fans more interaction and ownership to their favourite content. We believe that our creative talents will benefit as well by receiving more market recognition.
Candace Li is a research analyst with the Singapore Exchange
Cover photo of Melvin Ang,executive chairman of mm2: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
