China Box Office: ‘Free Guy’ Grabs $23 Million Weekend Win

Rebecca Davis editorAs the days stretch on without any word of a China release for “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” there are increasingly slim odds that residents of the world’s largest film market will get to see Marvel’s first Asian superhero on the big screen.Those odds have grown slimmer still after jingoistic social media users unearthed content featuring “Shang-Chi” star Simu Liu that they say “insults China.” In the country’s current political climate, the accusations could

Rap artist Nicki Minaj slammed America’s cancel culture after she spoke out about her vaccine hesitancy and compared it to China's restrictions on residents and visitors from criticizing the country's leaders.

Perth and Kinross ’s Chinese community is gearing up for one of the biggest events in its calendar.

Rebecca Davis editorA selection of Russian films will screen in-person during the Beijing International Film Festival (BJIFF) through a collaboration with the new Russian Film Festival, part of an effort by both governments to promote Russian cinema in China and cultural exchange.The Chinese festival is set to run from Sept. 17 to Sept.

The hosts of “The View” clashed on Wednesday morning over whether U.S. General Mark A.

Rebecca Davis editorA Chinese court ruled late Tuesday against the plaintiff in one of China’s most prominent #MeToo cases on the grounds that there was “insufficient” evidence to support her claims.The ruling is a clear setback to China’s still-fledgling #MeToo movement, despite new developments recently that seemed to indicate it was picking up steam.In 2018, Zhou Xiaoxuan, 28, accused prominent CCTV anchor Zhu Jun of groping and kissing her against her will four years prior while she was

a new study from London-based data firm Gower Street Analytics.The study said as of Aug. 31, the worldwide box office has already matched 2020’s haul of $12.8 billion.

Rebecca Davis editorWhen Taiwanese actor Janine Chang was writing her masters’ thesis in industrial economics in 2010, she likely never imagined that two Chinese characters in it would become a diplomatic flashpoint and threaten to derail her lucrative acting career more than a decade later.This week, however, it has done just that.

Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, says a decision to release Venom: Let There Be Carnage two weeks early shows the film studio “demonstrating our confidence that people will be going to the movies, if the Delta Variant seems to be receding a bit.” He says that was the clear takeaway from Disney’s strong Labor Day weekend release of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

Rebecca Davis editor“Free Guy” retained its lead of the China box office for the third weekend in a row, and has now surpassed “Tenet” in local sales.It brought in $12.4 million on a rare weekend with three non-Chinese language titles in the top five, according to Maoyan figures.China’s box office has been dismal all summer and the slump continued this week with, once again, only five films that made over $1 million.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings handily crossed the $250M mark globally this weekend, seeing a very good 34% drop at the international box office and maintaining No. 1s in such key markets as Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Korea, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain and the UK.

Vivienne Chow Nicholas Tse, star of the recent hit film “Raging Fire,” says he has applied to renounce his Canadian citizenship and will embrace the People’s Republic of China instead. The move comes as Chinese authorities mount crackdowns on the entertainment industry and on dual citizenship.The singer-actor-celebrity chef made the announcement during an interview on Sunday on CCTV, China’s state broadcaster.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Free Guy” held on strongly to grab a second weekend at the top of the mainland China box office. It beat an unusual theatrical release for “The Tomorrow War,” which has gone straight to streaming in other territories.“Free Guy” earned $18.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy, Artisan Gateway.

That 3-day total is second only to the $80 million opening for “Black Widow” on the list of highest post-shutdown domestic opening weekend totals and just tops the $70 million opening for “F9” earlier this summer. The 4-day total is also nearly triple the previous record for the highest Labor Day opening weekend record of $30.5 million set by “Halloween” in 2007.

Netflix asked him to change the location of his new film Hustle from China to Majorca.Sandler, who signed a new deal with Netflix at the start of 2020 to make four more original films, explained that the streaming giant changed his original concept for the new film about a basketball recruiter who travels overseas.“It was written originally that I find a player in China and somehow, Netflix is not in China,” Sandler said on The Dan Patrick Show.“So they were like, ‘Would you guys please make it