Legendary Entertainment, the US media company behind box office hits such as The Hangover and Inception, has set up a joint venture with Huayi Brothers, China’s leading non-state film group, to produce films and other content for a global audience.

Legendary East, the Hong Kong-based new venture, intends to produce one to two films a year for global audiences from 2013, Legendary and Huayi said. The deal marks Legendary’s formal entry into the Chinese market, where many larger rivals are already very active, with Fox and Warner Brothers having already done co-productions for the Chinese market.

Legendary has built a partnership with Warner Bros in the US, with the two companies co-producing some of the biggest box-office hits of recent times, such as The Dark Knight and, most recently, The Hangover Part II, which broke box office records for an adult comedy in its opening weekend.