AMC Theatres Offering All You Can Eat Popcorn During Cinema Week

Rebecca Davis editorThe tear-jerking, patriotic pandemic film “Chinese Doctors” locked down a $53.5 million China opening weekend, according to Maoyan, setting itself up to become the most commercially successful political tribute film so far this year.Such films have been helped along by a line-up cleared of competitors.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Nocturna,” an Argentinian-made fantasy film that played last month in the Shanghai International Film Festival’s midnight fantasy section, has been picked up by Chinese company Naropean.Naropean, which shares executives with HGC Entertainment, one of the more prominent Chinese IP groups, has taken rights for China, Asia and Oceania, as well as remake rights.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese regulators have formally blocked the proposed merger of Huya and Douyu, two of the country’s largest live streaming operators. The planned merger had been orchestrated by social media and gaming giant Tencent and had been valued at approximately $5.3 billion.The announcement was made by the State Administration for Market Regulation in an online statement on Saturday morning, after relevant stock markets had closed.

Rebecca Davis editorThe U.S. film industry is heaving a sigh of relief that “Black Widow” is poised to become the highest grossing domestic debut of the post-pandemic era, marking America’s return to moviegoing in force.The Scarlett Johansson-starrer is projected to earn around $80 million in its North American opening weekend, beating out “F9” last month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNa Jiazuo, one of the few Chinese directors to make it to the Cannes Film Festival this year, says he learned from the best in the business. His “Streetwise” (aka “Gaey Wa’r”) unspools in Un Certain Regard and is eligible for the Camera d’Or, reflecting Na’s status as a rookie feature director.The picture is a gritty, largely nocturnal, portrait of a group of young adults in an unfashionable town as they come to terms with life’s uneasy lot.

Endeavor China, which just named a new group CEO, Thursday announced the acquisition of Shanghai-based Mailman Group, a digital agency for sports brands and rights holders.

Tencent has announced that it is using facial recognition on mobile phones software to stop children from playing games late at night.According to The Register, Tencent sent out a press release stating that players will need to use facial recognition software that stops children playing between 10pm and 8am.

Rebecca Davis editorEndeavor’s China offshoot announced Thursday that it has acquired the Shanghai-headquartered digital marketing agency Mailman Group and its Seven League subsidiary. Prior reports estimate the deal to be valued at $60 million.The move comes as Endeavor seeks to expand its footprint in the sports marketing space in China and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

Ashton Kutcher has a strong opinion about China's influence via social media. The 43-year-old actor recently appeared on the American Optimist YouTube channel and spoke about protecting children from various crimes on the internet.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFortissimo Films, the Amsterdam- and Beijing-based film rights sales company, is launching a talent agency that will represent international talent in the growing Chinese film industry.As the Chinese film industry expands and matures, Chinese directors and producers are keen to work with overseas talents.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s two new propaganda films topped the box office over their first weekend in theaters, but it appears that the politically correct content may not prove popular enough to drive sales at blockbuster levels.Most of the biggest local blockbusters set to hit China over the rest of the year are propaganda titles.

Housemarque CEO Ilari Kuittinen has revealed that multiple parties were interested in acquiring the developer prior to Sony.Speaking with Yle.Fi, Kuittinen discussed the acquisition that saw Sony attain exclusive publishing rights for the developer.Kuittinen detailed how several big businesses from “China, Sweden and the United states” were interested in the developer.It’s likely that the businesses Kuittinen is referring to are Tencent, Embracer Group and Microsoft, as all three represent the

Nick Cannon's rumoured girlfriend Alyssa Scott welcomed a baby boy last month and recently confirmed the news in her Instagram post. Alyssa shared the first glimpse of her son and also revealed his name as Zen.

Rebecca Davis editorTwenty-four years ago, on the evening that the U.K.

Rebecca Davis editorGuangzhou, the capital of China’s top movie-going province Guangdong, announced Friday that cinemas there can now reopen after nearly a month of closures due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.Theaters were shuttered in a number of districts in the city of more than 15 million on June 7 after an outbreak that authorities worried could be tied to new, more transmissible coronavirus variants.Cinemas were closed for 25 days before local authorities declared that the outbreak has now

John Cena is revealing the tactics he used to keep the identity of his “F9” character under wraps.