Closer Media
Closer Media is a New York-based film production and financing company founded in 2021 by Zhang XinZhang XinZhang Xin is a Chinese real estate entrepreneur and film financier. She co-founded SOHO China with her husband Pan Shiyi in 1995 and served as its chief executive until September 2022, remaining an executive director. She founded the New York property company Closer Properties in 2008 and the film production and financing company Closer Media in 2021, and is one of the producers of the documentary Musk.Open the full entry, a co-founder of SOHO China, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. It has financed or produced films including Ezra, The Monk and the Gun and The History of Sound, as well as Alex GibneyAlex GibneyAlex Gibney is an American documentary director and producer who founded Jigsaw Productions in 1982. He won the Academy Award for Documentary Feature for Taxi to the Dark Side and was nominated for Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room. His documentary Musk was selected for the 2026 Venice Film Festival and opened in U.S. theaters in October 2026.Open the full entry’s documentary Musk, and invested in the streaming service MUBI in December 2024.
Contents6 sections
Key facts
2021Founding
Closer Media was founded in 2021 by Zhang Xin, a co-founder of SOHO China, as a film production and financing company with offices in New York and Los Angeles.[1]
The company was co-founded by Zhang Xin and the producer William Horberg.[2]
December 2024Investment in MUBI
In December 2024 Closer Media announced an undisclosed investment in the London-based streamer MUBI, and Zhang Xin joined MUBI’s board of directors.[2]
Its earlier projects included Ezra, directed by Tony Goldwyn, and The Monk and the Gun from Pawo Choyning Dorji.[3]
May 2025Two Co-financed Films at Cannes
At Cannes in 2025, Oliver Hermanus’s The History of Sound, co-financed by Closer Media, played in competition, and Raoul Peck’s documentary Orwell: 2+2=5 was a Cannes Premiere selection.[4]
Its president is Jonathan King, and it aims for three to five films a year. Zhang Xin said: “We want to make more films.”[4]
August 2025Theatrical Deal for Musk
In August 2025 Bleecker StreetBleecker StreetBleecker Street is an American independent film distributor founded in 2014 by Andrew Karpen, a former co-CEO of Focus Features. Its releases include Trumbo, Captain Fantastic, Eye in the Sky and Logan Lucky. After Karpen’s death in 2025 Kent Sanderson became chief executive; in October 2026 the company was acquired by Outerlight Entertainment while it was releasing Alex Gibney’s documentary Musk in U.S. theaters.Open the full entry was announced as the U.S. theatrical distributor of Musk, Alex Gibney’s documentary, ahead of its release on HBO and HBO Max. Closer Media produced it with Jigsaw ProductionsJigsaw ProductionsJigsaw Productions is an American documentary production company founded in 1982 by the director Alex Gibney and based in New York. Its work includes Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side and Going Clear. Content Media took a 50% stake in 2012, and Wendy Schmidt acquired a majority stake in 2025; the company co-produced the documentary Musk.Open the full entry, Anonymous Content and Double Agent; Zhang Xin and Joey Marra are producers and William Horberg an executive producer.[5]
September–October 2026: Musk Premiere and U.S. Release
Musk was selected for the Venice Open, out-of-competition section of the 2026 Venice Film Festival, with a running time of 232 minutes.[6]
The film opened in four U.S. theaters on October 9, widened to 472 from October 16 and fell to 63 in its third week; it had grossed $696,344 domestically through October 30.[7]
Sources
- Xin Zhang (opens in a new window)
- Closer Media Invests in Mubi (opens in a new window)
- Chinese Billionaire Zhang Xin Invests in Mubi, Joins Board to Support Global Streaming and Film Ventures (opens in a new window)
- Producer-financier Closer Media hits Cannes for global auteur search (opens in a new window)
- Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ Documentary Gets Theatrical Release From Bleecker Street (opens in a new window)
- Biennale Cinema 2026 | Musk (opens in a new window)
- Musk (2026) - Box Office and Financial Information (opens in a new window)