A fast-growing Iranian entertainment company which is linked to the government says it is eyeing stronger revenues after the easing of coronavirus restrictions in the upcoming years.
President of the Owj Media Mohammad Hassani said on Sunday that the company’s revenues had reached 900 billion rials (over $3.3 million) in the calendar year to late March despite closures imposed on cinemas in Iran because of the pandemic.
Hassani said Owj’s award winning drama movie the Damascus Time, a film about the terrorist-led war in Syria, had generated $100,000 in box office revenue in South Korea and another $70,000 in Thailand.
He said that the company aims to reach 10 trillion rials (over $37 million) in revenues from both the box office and the local streaming services in the next three years.
The Owj Arts and Media Organization was founded in 2011 with an initial funding provided by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
The media service company has produced or sponsored the making of over 23,000 entertainment and artistic projects over the past 10 years, including popular TV series, movies and animations.
Owj’s declared mission is to focus on media works that can elucidate the objectives of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, especially for the country’s youth.
Hassani said in his Saturday press briefing held to mark the Owj’s 10 establishment anniversary that the company would never seek to set up its own streaming platform on the internet.
He said Owj would rather dedicate a bulk of its budget to production, adding that the company’s policy was to minimize costs related to equipment and staff.