Bollywood Air Force Epic ‘Fighter’ Tops Global Box Office With $25 Million Weekend Haul

Alex Ritman Saban Films has acquired North American rights to the British thriller “Kill,” starring Paul Higgins (“Slow Horses,” “Line of Duty”), Brian Vernel (“Star Wars: Episode VII – the Force Awakens,” “Dunkirk”), Daniel Portman (“Game of Thrones, The Angel’s Share”), Calum Ross (“Wednesday”), Anita Vettesse (“Outlander,” “Guilt”), James Harkness (“Darkest Hour,” “Phantom Thread”) and Joanne Thomson (“The Victim”). The film, which explores the history of violence, the power of family and the dangers of revenge, marks the feature directorial debut of Rodger Griffiths, who devised the story and co-wrote the screenplay with Rob Drummond. “Kill” follows a hunting trip that turns deadly when three brothers plot to murder their violent, abusive father.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor AGC Studios and Meridian Pictures has sold U.S. and Canada as well as Asia pay TV rights for the Brad Anderson-directed thriller “The Silent Hour,” starring “Suicide Squad’s” Joel Kinnaman, “1917’s” Mark Strong, “New Amsterdam’s” Sandra Mae Frank and “8 Mile’s” Mekhi Phifer, to the newly revitalized Paramount label Republic Pictures. In the film, Kinnaman plays a Boston police detective who suffers an on-the-job accident that leaves him hearing impaired.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Filmmakers Alex Gibney, Johan Grimonprez and Laura Huertas Millan, along with industry figures Jessica Harrop from Sandbox and Marie Nelson from Hot Docs will be among the speakers at CPH:CONFERENCE, the discussion program at documentary festival CPH:DOX. The program, which is curated in partnership with the training initiative Documentary Campus, has the theme “rebuilding narratives.” The conference will kick off on March 18 with a collaboration with the DISCO Network – made up of Ambulante, AFLAMUNA, DocsMX, Doc Society, DocSP, Docubox, In-Docs and India Docs – who will present and workshop “Our Declaration of Independence.” This session, led by Jad Abi-Khalil (AFLAMUNA) and Beadie Finzi (Doc Society), is a result of an initiative aiming to “articulate the importance of independent documentaries to culture, society and democracy, and to advocate for the resources and platforms they deserve.” In the mornings of March 19-21, there will be thought-provoking conversations with filmmakers featured in this year’s CPH:DOX program.

Naman Ramachandran The late Pema Tseden‘s “Snow Leopard” (China) won the top prize, the Golden Cyclo, at the Vesoul International Film Festival of Asian Cinema on Tuesday. The film, which previously won awards at the Tokyo and Hainan festivals, also won Vesoul’s National Institute of Oriental Languages ​​and Civilizations (INALCO) jury prize and actor Tseten Tashi scored a jury special mention. Pema Tseden (aka Wanmacaidan) died in May last year, age 53.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Subversive American author Bret Easton Ellis is set to make his directorial debut with “Relapse,” an elevated horror film he wrote starring “Stranger Things” breakout Joseph Quinn. Paris-based SND has boarded the project as producer, alongside Adrian Guerra’s Nostromo (“Penny Dreadful”) and Simon Wallon’s Kiss & Kill (“Bonnie”). SND will handle worldwide sales on “Relapse,” as well as French distribution, and will tease the title at the EFM with an exclusive sizzle reel.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Four Chinese films dominated the global box office charts over the weekend, with combined takings of $350 million earned over just two days. And, as North America watched the Super Bowl instead, the weekend’s top Hollywood title, “Argylle” earned just $15.9 million worldwide. Chinese titles eschewed their usual Friday release pattern and opened on Saturday, the first official day of the Lunar New Year holiday period in China and much of Asia. Female-directed comedy drama “YOLO,” earned $113 million (RMB802 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was narrowly ahead of car-racing comedy “Pegasus 2,” which earned RMB758 million or $107 million and was the bigger title on Saturday.

Valerie Wu Intern After nearly six years, the end of Fox’s “X-Men” movies and an acquisition by Disney, Deadpool is finally back — and he’s arrived in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The first trailer for “Deadpool and Wolverine” was shown at the 2024 Super Bowl on Sunday. Not only is Ryan Reynolds‘ Merc With a Mouth back, he’s also bringing Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine — who fans last saw die in 2017’s sendoff movie “Logan.” The trailer shows the Time Variance Authority, the multiverse managers last seen in “Loki” Season 2, kidnap Deadpool while he’s celebrating his birthday and bring him into the MCU.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony Pictures has acquired international distribution rights to “YOLO,” a mainland Chinese comedy film that releases in China on Saturday, the first day of the Lunar New Year holiday. The film is written, directed by and stars Jia Ling, China’s top-grossing female filmmaker. She portrays Le Ying, an unemployed woman in her thirties who still lives with her parents until one day, she meets a boxing coach (portrayed by Lei Jiayin), who just may change her life.

Steven J. Horowitz Senior Music Writer Zara Larsson has been through a lot since releasing her debut album “1” in 2014, which is why she’s relishing her newfound creative space. “This era is the fun, free, lover era,” she explains of “Venus,” her fourth album that released today.

Refresh for latest…:We’re still in a holdover pattern for Hollywood at the global and international box office, though milestones continue to be reached on an offshore and worldwide basis for existing releases. Meanwhile, Anyone But You saw an uptick overseas and drops were good for others (including newly-minted Oscar nominees). One new local entry, India’s Fighter, flew to the top of the global weekend chart. 

A handful of indies bow or expand this weekend as Oscar hopefuls from Poor Things to The Holdovers and American Fiction crowd theaters after nominations earlier this week. Anatomy Of A Fall is getting a big bump. Oppenheimer is back on Imax.

EXCLUSIVE: Pinar Toprak, the Emmy-nominated composer, conductor and performer who has lent her talents to everything from the Brie Larson-led Captain Marvel to Epic Games’ hit video game Fortnite, has joined Artist International Group for representation in conjunction with her long-time agents, Kraft-Engel Management.

Greater Manchester Police's organised crime task force has cracked a ring of violent criminals that were importing drugs into the country by hiding them in sweet packets and bottles of soft drinks. After arresting the Bolton-based drug traffickers, they also found rifles and other weapons.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The union representing Hollywood musicians begins bargaining on Monday with demands for streaming residuals and protections from artificial intelligence. The American Federation of Musicians kicked off the talks with a rain-soaked rally at the Sherman Oaks Galleria, home of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which bargains on behalf of the major studios. The musicians’ top issues are the same ones that forced Hollywood writers and actors to go on strike last year, paralyzing the industry for six months.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian actor Rebel Wilson has been named as the emcee of the 2024 edition of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) awards. Wilson will take to the stage on Saturday, Feb. 10. Two days earlier, on Feb.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level. 

Anyone who is planning on jetting off on holiday to Egypt anytime soon has been urged to take note of some important travel advice issued by the Foreign Office.

Naman Ramachandran Despite a resurgent 2023 for Bollywood both at home and overseas, the industry’s international box office performance is likely to be weaker in 2024, a leading U.K. distributor has said. London-based Pranab Kapadia, a seasoned Bollywood media executive with stints at studios Eros and Zee, now runs U.K.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros. Discovery, the Board of Control for Cricket in India and Pitch International have signed a package of rights that will see them broadcast live international cricket hosted in India on its linear and digital platforms, TNT Sports and Discovery+, for the next five years.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent A group of 20 prominent screen trade organizations have united to ask governments around the world to enact regulations ensuring that global streaming giants like Netflix and Disney+ invest more resources in local content. The joint plea — hailing from production bodies in Europe, Canada, Australasia and Latin America — comes as streaming services have scaled down on acquiring and commissioning local content across many markets within the last year in order to ramp up profitability.