Apple Taps Zhang Meng for Chinese New Year Film ‘The Comeback’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPatriotic blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin II” earned just short of $400 million over the Chinese New Year holidays at a mainland China box office that weighed in at some $950 million.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed “Lake Changjin II” earning $152 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, comfortably ahead of comedy “Too Cool to Kill” which took $111 million over the same three days. In third place over the weekend was drama “Nice View” with $45.4 million and animation “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” with $38.8.

Refresh for latest…: While Spider-Man: No Way Home continued to lead the international box office for studio films this weekend, weaving its way to a worldwide cume of $1.77B through Sunday, the biggest overseas action was out of (and limited to) China.

Jenna Bush Hager and Carson Daly were among Savannah Guthrie's pals who were quick to comment as she shared a picture with her new co-anchor.MORE: Savannah Guthrie shares throwback baby bump photo during touching on-air tributeThe Today Show host was joined by Lindsey Vonn to host NBC special presentation of the 2022 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony, and the pair shared a super sweet selfie.

Jennifer Lopez may have happily reconciled with Ben Affleck following her split from Alex Rodriguez, but she does still have some ties with her ex almost a year on.RELATED: Inside Jennifer Lopez's former New York penthouseThe Marry Me actress reportedly still shares a £32.5million (£25million) Miami mansion with her former fiancé, which they bought together in 2020.WATCH: Jennifer Lopez shares a peek inside her beautiful kitchen in the HamptonsIt is not clear what the pair have planned for the property long-term, and whether one of them intends to live there or if they wish to keep it as an investment. Both Jennifer and Alex own several other properties across Miami, Manhattan and Los Angeles, and also share a modest $1.4million (£1million) ranch-style cottage in Encino, that they bought in 2019.According to TopTenRealEstateDeals.com, their Miami property is situated on an estate of almost an acre, it has ten bedrooms, 12 bathrooms, a lift, a library, wine room, beautiful kitchen, family room, a guest house, and a 100-foot wooden dock.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” passed the $200 million landmark at the China box office at midday local time on Thursday, the film’s third day of release. Data from Alibaba’s Beacon data tracking service showed the film lying comfortably on top of the mainland Chinese box office chart with RMB166 million (26.1 million) earned on the third morning of the Lunar New Year holidays.

Qimai. Grindr has also been banned from Android app stores run by Chinese phone makers like Tencent and Huawei, reports Bloomberg.Representatives from Grindr confirmed to Bloomberg and The New York Post that the company removed its app from the Apple store in China of its own accord, citing difficulties with complying with the country’s Personal Information Protection Law.New regulations went into effect at the end of 2021 that limit personal information stored in apps and require data transferred between China and other regions to be approved by the Chinese government, prompting some companies to remove their apps from Apple and Android stores in China. Several foreign Internet services, including Yahoo, Microsoft Corp.’s LinkedIn, and Epic Games Inc.’s Fortnite, pulled out of the Chinese market last year because of difficulty complying with burdensome regulations aimed at restricting or censoring certain types of content.Grindr’s removal from online app stores comes just days after the Chinese government announced a month-long campaign aimed at policing online content to “create a civilized, healthy, festive and peaceful atmosphere for online public opinion” as the nation prepares to host the Winter Olympics.Among the government’s goals during that time period are to crack down on online violence, pornography, the spread of rumors about the Olympics or the government, and take steps to curb “the spread of bad Internet culture,” which means rooting out online behavior that the government dislikes or finds distasteful. While the announcement didn’t specifically mention dating apps or homosexuality, LGBTQ people in China have found themselves targeted by the government in the past.

The Lunar New Year is here and the stars are celebrating it in style.

The Battle At Lake Changjin II (aka Water Gate Bridge) led the Chinese New Year box office on day one today, coming in at an estimated RMB 657.6M ($103.4M). While that’s certainly an enviable single-market one-day score — and is the second-biggest CNY opening day ever — it’s about 35% below the record-breaking debut day of last year’s CNY release Detective Chinatown 3. What’s more, across all movies today, the total was down 12% to RMB 1.49B from RMB 1.69B last year, per Maoyan estimates.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” lived up to its blockbuster billing with a more than $75 million box office haul by lunchtime on Tuesday, its opening day in mainland Chinese theaters.The film, aka “Watergate Bridge” had grossed RMB487 million ($76.5 million) by 1.30 pm, according to online ticketing agency Maoyan and Alibaba’s Beacon data service. At this pace a $100 million opening day is possible.State media has forecast that the film may propel the Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival) week to over $1 billion and that the 149-minute film could eventually become the highest-grossing film of all time in China.To do that, it would have to surpass “The Battle at Lake Changjin” which was released on Oct.

After being forced to sit out the annually lucrative Chinese New Year period as the Covid crisis was just beginning in 2020, Chinese box office blasted to an all-time high during the comparable 2021 session. This week, the Year of the Tiger will be ushered in beginning February 1 with eight movies poised to potentially set new records. Projections are in the RMB 7B-8B+ range ($1.1B-$1.26B). Last year in the world’s biggest box office market, the week-long holiday reached RMB 7.8B ($1.2B at historical rates).

Billions across the globe will be celebrating Chinese New Year this week - but do you know your Chinese zodiac sign?

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s cinema box office trod water in the weekend ahead of the Chinese New Year holidays and an imminent surge of new release titles. These mean that the next few days could add up to the biggest week in Chinese movie history.Over the latest weekend, though, the nationwide aggregate was a paltry $21.4 million, the lowest weekend this year, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. “Fireflies in the Sun,” a Wanda Pictures-backed thriller, said to be a remake of “John Q,” climbed back to first place with a $4.1 million take.

Chinese New Year will take place on Tuesday, February 1. This day will start the traditional festivities that last for about two weeks, where family meals, gifts, gatherings and, above all, many fireworks take over.

Overwatch Lunar New Year 2022 event is now live, and with it a selection of new cosmetics, weekly challenges, and event brawls are on offer.To mark the Chinese New Year (February 1) and the start of the Year of the Tiger, Overwatch is back with another Lunar New Year event, available to play now until February 15. Strangely, the event is only adding two new legendary skins, Seolbim Mercy and Nezha Tracer.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorEdward R. Murrow and Fred W.

PENTAGON have made their much-anticipated comeback with ‘Feelin’ Like’.The members of PENTAGON look suave in the cinematic new visual, which is set in a lavish art gallery filled with curious ornaments and sculptures. “You got me feelin’ like,” they sing, before launching into a series of intricate dance moves as the track shifts into its funky chorus.‘Feelin’ Like’ is the title track of their 12th mini-album ‘IN:VITE U’, which was released at the same time.

50-year record. This year’s number is the lowest since 2011, when 265 titles qualified. The last time the number of eligible films was below 300 was 2013, when there were 289.

Molly-Mae Hague breaks silence over 'tone deaf' comments backlashThe truth about Kim Cattrall's shock Sex and the City returnThe 'sensitive subject' Faye Winter will 'never' speak about“They tend to really go for it more these days, they usually make a point of having a drink at lunchtime and living it up more when in Miami or on holidays,” our source explains. “It's really obvious how much more loved up they are these days – and one key thing is they no longer really argue over the kids!! Raising four kids is no joke, and especially with them all so close in age – and having to navigate that path in public too.