Co-hosted by Yale Club of Beijing, HBS Club of Beijing and Yale Center Beijing

Event Time

Sunday, August 17, 2025

Registration 

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm

Seminar and Q&A 

2:30 pm - 5:00 pm

• Welcome Remarks
• Keynote Speech: A Quantitative Analysis of the Chinese Movie Box Office (Mason Xu)
• Panel Discussion: Behind the Numbers:  Insights from a Movie Producer on the Chinese Movie Box Office

Note: The agenda is subject to modification.

Location

Yale Center Beijing 
36th Floor Tower B of IFC Building 8 Jianguomenwai Avenue Chaoyang District, Beijing (Yong'anli Subway Station, Exit C) 

Registration and Fees

Registration
Please click “HERE” to register. Please send an email to yalecenterbeijing@yale.edu if there are any problems. If you encounter any payment issues, please attach a screenshot that identifies the issue. 

Ticket: RMB 60 for Yale and Harvard alumni and students; RMB 80 for regular admission.

*The registration fee is non-refundable. Unless due to a force majeure reason, Yale Center Beijing will not refund any part of the registration fee if a participant fails to attend the event.

Walk-ins will not be accepted.

The language of the event will be Chinese.

Note: Seats are available on a first-come-first-served basis.

The Event

Is the movie box office truly as unpredictable and opaque as it is often perceived to be? What are the key factors that ultimately shape a film's box office performance? On August 17, Mason Xu, Producer of The Legend of Hei and Managing Partner at Heyi Capital, Alan Chen MBA ’06, Managing Partner of Bishan Capital, and Phillip Xiao, Executive Director at Primavera Capital, will gather at Yale Center Beijing to share insights from a producer's perspective and delve into the inside story of China's movie box office.

Speakers

Mason Xu
Managing Partner, Heyi Capital
Producer, The Legend of Hei

Mason Xu is Managing Partner at Heyi Capital, and Producer of the acclaimed animated film The Legend of Hei. Previously, Xu served as Chief Financial Officer and Group Vice President at Bona Film Group, and as Co-founder and CFO of China Digital TV Holding Co., Ltd. He is also a council member of the Beijing Film Association and an external mentor at the School of Drama and Film & Television, Communication University of China. He holds dual bachelor's degrees from Tsinghua University, and an MBA from Harvard Business School. He currently serves as President of the Harvard Club of Beijing.

Alan Chen MBA ’06
Managing Partner, Bishan Capital

Alan Chen is Managing Partner of Bishan Capital, a venture capital firm focused on media and technology sectors in China. Prior to founding Bishan, he was a partner at HDQH Fund, a leading investment firm in China’s media and entertainment industry. He brings over 20 years of business experiences across a range of companies, including McKinsey & Company, Shanda Capital, Nestlé, Mars, and the startup Xueda Education (NYSE XUE). He holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of International Business and Economics, an MBA from the Yale School of Management, and an EMBA from the PBC School of Finance at Tsinghua University.

The Moderator

Philip Xiao
Executive Director, Primavera Capital

Philip Xiao is Executive Director at Primavera Capital, where he focuses on private equity investments in consumer retail, technology, and digital media & entertainment. Previously, he worked in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, the Investment Banking Division at China International Capital Corporation, and in Corporate Development & Strategy Division at Warner Bros. in Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Finance from the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University, and earned his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2019. He currently serves as Vice President of the Harvard Business School Club of Beijing.