China Box Office: ‘Endless Journey’ Opens on Top as Crime Genre Dominates Weekend Chart

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “I don’t find the definition of Chinese filmmakers by generation to be a useful tool,” said Marco Mueller, introducing dark satire “The Movie Emperor” as the opening film of the first edition of his Festival of Young Cinema (Asia-Europe) in Macau on Friday. “Much more interesting is the concept of exchange between new and old and between East and West.” “The new forces of Chinese cinema are present and participating.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese director Huo Meng, Taiwanese actor Lee Hong-chi and Macau-based Maxim Bessmertny are among a dozen emerging East Asian talent who will present feature film projects and works in progress at the Festival of Young Cinema (Asia-Europe). The inaugural edition of the festival, running Jan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong saw “A Guilty Conscience” become the highest-grossing film of all time at its local box office. But the wider cinema market in Hong Kong remained stuck far below pre-pandemic levels. Data from Hong Kong Box Office Limited, a joint venture between Motion Picture Industry Association (MPIA) and the Hong Kong Theatres Association, showed annual cinema revenue of HK$1.43 billion ($184 million) in 2023. That was a 25% improvement on 2022, when the industry was battered by on-off closures due to government COVID-control measures, and managed only HK$1.14 billion ($146 million).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese-produced movies took all of the top ten chart places at the China box office as theatrical revenues in 2023 rebounded strongly. Gross revenues reached an annual total of RMB54.9 billion or $7.73 billion. That was an 83% improvement on the previous year, according to data from China Film Administration, but still 14.5% adrift of 2019, the last pre-COVID year, when grosses hit RMB64.3 billion.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia’s video industry is set to grow by an annual 2.6% over the next five years to reach $165 billion by 2028, says a new study from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. That follows 5.5% growth in 2023. The firm’s “Asia Pacific Video & Broadband Industry 2024” report spans a widely-defined cluster of free TV, pay-TV, SVOD, premium AVOD and user-generated content and social video in 14 Asia-Pacific countries and territories.

Brent Lang Executive Editor “Wonka,” a musical fantasy that has been the biggest hit of the holiday season, topped the box office on New Year’s Eve, closing 2023 on a sweet note. The film, which stars Timothée Chalamet as a more youthful Willy Wonka, grossed $22.7 million for the weekend and a projected $29.5 million for the four-day holiday. That brings the domestic gross to $140.2 million, a strong result for the $125 million production.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” opened to $80 million at the international box office, which isn’t all that super considering those ticket sales are on par with eventual big-budget superhero disappointments like “The Flash,” “The Marvels” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The comic book sequel, starring Jason Momoa as the king of Atlantis and directed by James Wan, has generated $120 million globally to start, including a weak $40 million in North America. The Warner Bros.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Liam Neeson-starring “Honest Thief” has secured a multi-platform streaming release in mainland China. It launches on SVOD platforms on Christmas Day (Dec.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Just when players and investors had begun to believe that China was finished with major new regulations to the games industry, regulators have announced proposals for more curbs. The draft regulations, proposed by the National Press and Publication Administration appear to focus on in-game spending. The proposals revealed on Friday hit the shares of Chinese gaming giants Tencent and NetEase and dented those of other companies with operations n the Chinese market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief It seems Hollywood’s “sequel-itis” has reached China’s box office too. Despite the country’s dramatic overnight removal of COVID restrictions in December 2022 and film imports quickly restarting with the triumphant debut of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Hollywood’s new normal in the Middle Kingdom bears little resemblance to its pre-pandemic status. During the three-year disruption of 2020-22, caused by the pandemic and soured U.S.-China diplomatic relations, few Hollywood films — and no Marvel titles — made their way onto Chinese screens. But if Hollywood studios read the $240 million-grossing “Avatar 2” feeding frenzy as a sign that pent-up Chinese demand for their sequels and superheroes slate might continue throughout 2023, they were sorely disappointed. In the world’s second-largest box office territory, with a cume to date of $7.3 billion, the market share for all imported films in China has crashed, standing at less than 15% at the beginning of December. Hollywood films’ share is just 12%, consultancy Artisan Gateway calculates. This month, “Napoleon” and “Wonka” have continued the trend of dismal flops, with $5 million and $3 million opening weekends, respectively. The slump is particularly disappointing given that the Chinese authorities that carefully control the film industry have this year made several moves designed to put Hollywood releasing back on the rails.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fact-based action drama “12.12: The Day” won a fourth weekend at the South Korea box office and became the second highest grossing film of the year. The political thriller incurred a steep week-on-week drop in takings, managing only $5.89 million in its fourth weekend, compared with $11.4 million in its third. But it still hogged a 72% market share, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). After releasing on Nov.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie has cleared multiple stages of approvals and will release in mainland Chinese theaters on Dec. 31. The announcement, foreshadowed by Variety earlier this month, was made at 1.13pm (or 13.13) on Friday in China, a reference to Swift’s birth date and lucky number.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Iconic, multi-Oscar-winning film “La La Land” is headed back to mainland Chinese cinemas in sessions that dance off on Dec. 22. The worldwide release is overseen by Lionsgate release, while the China re-release is to be piloted by local distributor JL Film.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian streamer Stan has acquired rights to both seasons, totaling 20 episodes, of the Malaysian adaptation of Scandinavian crime series “The Bridge.” The agreement, brokered by Lyle Bettson-Barker, SVP Australia and New Zealand from Banijay Rights, represents the first time that Stan has acquired a Malaysian drama series. The Asian version of “The Bridge” was initially commissioned by Viu and HBO Asia in 2018, after Double Vision, part of the Vision New Media group, introduced Viu to the format. It broadcast to across 23 territories in the combined footprints of Viu and HBO Asia and was also shown on Viu in South Africa.The title has garnered more than 20 regional awards and nominations across its two seasons, making it the most awarded drama in Malaysian history. Season one faithfully follows the original show, and sees a dead body found on the border between Malaysia and Singapore, necessitating an investigator from each country to work together to solve the crime.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two Hollywood films “Wonka” and “Migration” opened in Chinese cinemas over the latest weekend. But neither did enough business to appear among the box office top five. Instead, the weekend crown went to “The Invisible Guest,” a Chinese remake of the 2016 Spanish mystery thriller about a woman who must work with a police officer to clear her name after her lover is found dead in a locked room. It earned a modest $12.6 million (RMB89.6 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s Linmon Media celebrated its tenth anniversary this week by unveiling 16 new shows for its 2024 production and release slate. The roster included seven Chinese period drama series, five contemporary shows and two more being made in Thailand. “We are not just a producer, we are a studio,” Zhou Yuan, co-founder and EVP of Linmon, told Variety on the sidelines of the company’s predominantly English-language presentation at the Asia Television Forum & Market in Singapore.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Indie distributor Bitters End is to give a theatrical release in Japan to Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer.” The film is controversial in Japan where the two atomic bombs were detonated in 1945, killing hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens. The film was released in most territories in July by Universal and went on to gross $950 million worldwide. But Toho-Towa, which handles most universal titles in Japan, did not go ahead with the release.Variety understands that giant ad agency and rights broker Dentsu was involved in finding an alternative outlet in Japan. “Bitters End, will release Christopher Nolan’s ‘Oppenheimer’ in Japan in 2024.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wang Jianlin, the Chinese billionaire who previously sought to buy a controlling position in Hollywood, is preparing to complete his imminent exit from the film industry. The troubled conglomerate is facing debt repayment pressure.Wanda Film, which remains China’s largest cinema operator, Wednesday said in a regulatory filing to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange that Wang and his Wanda Investment vehicle expect to sell their remaining stake 51% in the company to China Ruyi Holdings. Ruyi, which operates across film, TV and online games, counts games, social media and streaming giant Tencent among its largest shareholders.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Universal Music Greater China has signed a strategic partnership with Mandarin-language music superstar Jay Chou and his record label JVR Music. The agreement secures global marketing and distribution rights for Chou’s extensive music catalogue and for future projects. It also supports rising talent from his label, including artists Patrick Brasca and Young (aka Cao Yang) through JVR. Nicknamed the ‘King of Mandopop’ Chou has a two decade career that spans 15 studio albums, eight world tours and 378 concerts in Asia, America, Europe, and Australia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the vertical-scrolling iteration of digital comics that emerged some twenty years ago in Korea, along with the smartphone, are now a global medium. But they are only at the beginning of their global journey, says Charlie Park, CEO of Kakao Entertainment-owned Tapas. Park was speaking Tuesday at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore in a session moderated by industry consultant Jimmy Kim. Park explained that the webtoon segment was for several years a niche fan-driven activity with few opportunities for monetization.