China Actor Zheng Shuang Probed for Tax Fraud After Alleged $24.6 Million Payday for Single Show

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese streaming firm iQIYI published first quarter results that were better than its previous guidance and a lengthy letter to shareholders asserting that it has the best content model and technology in the sector.In a regulatory filing, the company said that revenues in the January to March first quarter of its 2021 financial year had grown 4% to RMB8.0 billion ($1.2 billion) and that net losses had been more than halved, falling from RMB2.9 billion in the

Rebecca Davis editorA recent Chinese state media report has added to rumors that two major Marvel superhero films, “The Eternals” and “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” may not be approved for release in China.In a report on the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase Four films, the CCTV6 China Movie Channel aired a list of the U.S. release dates for eight of the ten scheduled titles, but conspicuously left out “The Eternals” and “Shang-Chi.” After “Black Widow,” which hits the U.S.

Gemma Chan is speaking out about the ongoing anti-Asian racism happening in the United Kingdom, as well as all over the world.

Rebecca Davis editorZhang Yimou’s spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” strode into first place this weekend at the China box office with a $24.3 million score, bringing its cumulative total up to $118 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.It more than tripled the gross of “My Love,” the melodramatic rom-com that had outpaced it last week for first place, in what was the opening weekend for both films.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese authorities have issued warnings of a new crackdown on entertainment industry financial practices and astronomical star salaries in wake of another high-profile celebrity tax scandal.

Jessica Kiang When the urgent desire to make something beautiful overrides the desire to tell a particular story — and when you are Zhang Yimou, rebounding from a run-in with the Chinese authorities over your last picture, “One Second” — you might end up with a film like “Cliff Walkers.” A gorgeously snowbound period spy movie insulated beneath layers of contorted plotting just as its cast is swaddled in snow-speckled winter furs and fedoras, the film is a muddle of a plot wrapped around a

Zhang Yimou's spy thriller Cliff Walkers was the best reviewed new release to open over China's lucrative May Day holiday weekend, but it was far from the biggest earner. Youth romance My Love, from Beijing Enlight Pictures, overcame withering reviews to dominate the start of the long holiday frame, earning $65.1 million from Friday to Sunday.

Wanda Film, part of the Dalian Wanda group, has appointed financial advisers in Australia and may be preparing to sell the Hoyts cinema chain, according to local reports.According to the Australian Financial Review newspaper, investment bank Credit Suisse has been appointed by Wanda to find bidders for Hoyts.

Rebecca Davis editorZhang Yimou’s snowy period spy thriller “Cliff Walkers” debuted in China this Labor Day holiday weekend with $37.7 million. But it was outrun by local rom-com “My Love,” which took a comfortable box office victory.That tale of young love starring Taiwan’s Greg Hsu and Zhang Ruonan of the popular TV show “Cry Me A Sad River” opened Friday to earn $65.1 million over three days, according to data from Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefZhang Yimou’s “Cliff Walkers” is kicking off a multi-territory release this weekend, with day and date outings in North America, New Zealand, and Singapore coordinating with the espionage thriller’s official launch in mainland Chinese theaters on Friday.That makes it one of the first major Chinese pictures to take advantage of the improving theatrical conditions in the U.S.

SoEndeavor is a public company. Now what? The owner of WME, IMG and UFC raised more than half a billion dollars in an IPO this week, two years after it first embarked on a path to the public markets.

Ten years after his last documentary, “I Wish I Knew” (screened in Un Certain Regard, Cannes 2011), acclaimed Chinese auteur Jia Zhang-Ke (“Ash Is Purest White,” “A Touch of Sin“) returns to non-fiction with “Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue,” the final panel in his trilogy about the arts in China. It follows Venice winners “Dong” (2006) and “Useless” (2007).

He’s no longer singing the blues. After three months of being trapped on a Chinese boy band competition show, Russian language interpreter Vladislav Ivanov has finally been set free. “Thank y’all for your support,” said Ivanov, 27, on social media platform Weibo Saturday.

Director Zhang Yimou returns to theaters this weekend with Cliff Walkers, an espionage thriller set in 1930s China. It’s a change of tone for the director of Shadow, House Of Flying Daggers and Hero, who also helmed Matt Damon-starrer The Great Wall in 2016.