China Box Office: ‘The Boy and the Heron’ Flies Past ‘Godzilla x Kong’ in $35 Million Midweek Holiday Debut

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Epic war-time survival tale “The Guns of Muschu” has already assembled a weighty cast ahead of a production start in the first quarter of 2025. The film is an adaptation of the non-fiction book “The Guns of Muschu,” written by Don Dennis, with an adapted screenplay by Tom Broadhurst and Jack Brislee (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”). The narrative brings to life a pivotal chapter of Australian war history with gritty authenticity, recounting the high body count Operation Copper, a mission during WWII when Australian and New Zealand troops were sent into the jungles of Papua New Guinea. The objective of the mission was to investigate the Japanese defenses on Muschu Island, capture a Japanese officer for interrogation and discover the location of two naval guns on the island that were protecting a harbor.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fantasy action movie “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” retook the top spot at the mainland China box office from Studio Ghibli animation title “The Boy and the Heron” during the latest weekend. “Godzilla x Kong” recorded earnings of $7.3 million (RMB51.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, a 32% week-on-week drop, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. But it returned to the top spot on the box office charts in its fourth weekend of release and overtook “The Boy and the Heron” in the process.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief While multiple Korean TV series have connected with global audiences, Japan’s production committees, terrestrial broadcasters and talent agencies have kept their TV industry tightly focused on a local market. Anime and variety have long remained the Japanese TV industry’s best-known exports, while the premium end of the spectrum has largely escaped Japanese producers.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Online comic book platforms Marvel Unlimited and VIZ Manga are to begin cross-promotions that are aimed at expanding fandom in the genre. The move follows the 2022-23 collaboration between Marvel Comics and Viz Media that extended stories from the Marvel comics universe into the Japanese manga format, in a handful of titles. Subscribers to the VIZ Manga digital service can now access titles featuring fan-favorite characters including “Deadpool: Samurai,” “Wolverine: Snikt!,” “Spider-Man: Fake Red” and “Marvel’s Secret Reverse.” Later in the year other Marvel-manga crossover titles will be added including “Spider-Man: Octo-Girl” and “X-Men: The Manga: Remastered.” To launch their cross-platform cooperation, VIZ Manga and Marvel Unlimited will offer each other’s U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney has confirmed that Korean webtoon-to-screen adaptation “Low Life” is poised to begin production. When valuable treasure is discovered off the coast of Korea, the country’s biggest degenerates come crawling out of the woodwork in the hope of striking it big. Word spreads after a fisherman got lucky and kept a piece of the booty for himself.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Crime drama “The Goldfinger” was the numerical winner at the Hong Kong Film Awards, where it won six prizes on Sunday. But it missed out on the best film prize, which went to box office record breaker “A Guilty Conscience.” “The Goldfinger,” a retro financial thriller starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Andy Lau Tak-wah, earned a slew of technical award (cinematography, art direction, costume and make up, sound design and visual effects) as well as the lead actor prize for Leung. Two films took three prizes each: “In Broad Daylight,” an investigation into abuse at a care home, and “Mad Fate,” Soi Cheang’s grungy examination of superstition in the city.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animated fantasy “The Boy and the Heron” held on to top spot at the mainland China box office to record a second weekend win. The film, which opened triumphantly on April 3, in time for a family-oriented long weekend, fell steeply in its second, non-holiday, frame. It earned $12.8 million (RMB90.6 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Kung Fu Panda 4” took top spot at the South Korean box office becoming the film that finally pushed aside local champion “Exhuma,” which had dominated for seven consecutive weeks. But it was an understated victory, rather than a triumphant one, and the exhibition industry’s $5.6 million nationwide haul was among the lowest scoring weekends this year. “Kung Fu Panda 4” earned $2.81 million between Friday and Sunday with a 50.1% market share. Over its full five day run since a Wednesday opening, it enjoyed a $5.96 million total. “Exhuma” slipped to second place in its eight weekend of release.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief TF Entertainment, the company behind Chinese pop sensations TFBoys and Teens in Times (aka TNT), has struck a strategic alliance with Universal Music Greater China. The deal includes global digital distribution for TF Entertainment’s roster of talent and the targeting of markets outside Mainland China. The objective is to leverage parent group Universal Music Group’s global distribution capabilities and marketing network to elevate Chinese pop’s global prominence. TF Entertainment was founded in 2009 and developed a trainee system to cultivate idol groups within Chinese pop.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s video streamers, much like their counterparts in the west, have passed their peak growth phase and have been forced to refocus their efforts on achieving profitability. In the case of IQiyi, which is a subsidiary of tech giant Baidu but has its own stock market listing on the NASDAQ, that transition has meant reduced content spending and a more rigorous approach to quality and investment in winning shows. “To the Wonder,” which debuted on Sunday in competition at Canneseries, is a product of that less-is-more approach.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animation film “The Boy and the Heron” earned a chart-topping $34.9 million between Friday and Sunday at the mainland China box office. Over its full five-day opening run, it took an even more spectacular $73 million. China was the last major territory to play the Studio Ghibli-produced fantasy in cinemas – it released in its native Japan in July and is imminently headed to streaming in many other territories – but that did not stop Chinese audiences from lapping it up. While most films release in China on a Friday, “The Boy and the Heron” was given a Wednesday outing in order to capture momentum from the Thursday-to-Saturday Qingming public holiday. Consultancy firm Artisan reports that it earned RMB248 million ($34.9 million) over the conventional Friday-to-Sunday weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Without significant new challengers, spooky Korean drama “Exhuma” held on at the top of the South Korea box office chart for the seventh consecutive weekend. Its cumulative passed the symbolic $80 million mark. The lack of strong new release titles also meant that aggregate weekend box office in Korea slipped to a lowly $5.59 million. The Choi Min-sik-starring “Exhuma” dropped roughly 50% week-on-week to record $1.59 million between Friday and Sunday, and a 28% market share, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Worldwide box office is headed for a marginal decline of 3% in 2024, a setback that follows three years of recovery from a pandemic era low in 2020. Gower Street Analytics, a distribution and exhibition industry consultancy, forecasts that worldwide box office this year will aggregate at $32.3 billion, down by more than $1 billion from the $33.9 billion earned in 2023. “A $32.3 billion global box office in 2024 would represent an approximate 5% decrease year-on-year (a 3% decrease at current exchange rates) from 2023. The 2024 revised estimate is 18% lower than an average of the last three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019),” Gower Street said. The forecast comes on the eve of CinemaCon, the annual National Association of Theater Owners convention, being held in Las Vegas April 8-11. While Gower Street’s forecast is for a marginal decline, it actually represents a more than $1 billion improvement on its previous $31.5 million forecast for 2024.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo and Taiwan-based LGBT streaming platform GagaOOLala will this month release “At 25.00 in Akasaka,” a live-action drama series in the popular Boys Love (BL) genre. Based on a popular manga by Natsuno Hiroko, the underlying comic has sold over 1.2 million copies. The series explores the romance between a renowned actor and an aspiring talent, cast as leads in a BL drama that wins the hearts of audiences worldwide.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Legendary Entertainment’s “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” had the best opening in China of any Hollywood film this year. It scored $44.6 million (RMB317 million) in mainland Chinese cinemas between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. That was a nearly 70% share of the country’s weekend box office. Nationwide, cinemas enjoyed $64.1 million of business, a significant leap from the $39.5 million they earned in the previous weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hankyu Hanshin, parent company of all-female musical theater company Takarazuka Revue, has apologized to the family of an actor who died in September last year. The 25-year-old woman died after being harassed by theatre officials and older members of the company, it was alleged. She was found at or near her condominium in Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan, a case which the local police are treating as probable death by suicide. “The two sides have reached a broad agreement on various issues, including compensation,” the Kyodo news agency reported from a press conference held in Osaka on Thursday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran Chinese director Zhang Yimou will be presented with a lifetime achievement award at the upcoming edition of the Festival of Far East Film in Italy’s Udine (April 24 – May 2). The lineup will include three films by Zhang: his 2023 political thriller “Under the Light” in its competition section; as well as “To Live” and “Raise the Red Lantern” in its restored classics section. The festival’s total lineup includes 74 films in total – 47 in competition and 28 out of competition) from 11 countries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief In these culturally sensitive times, having an American director and showrunner on a quintessentially Japanese series is sure to raise the issue of cultural appropriation. But the Dave Boyle-directed “House of Ninjas,” which Netflix launched in February, stands out not only as a hit, but as a seemingly happy blend of East and West. An original story about the last living ninja family in modern times, the show ranked as the streamer’s top non-English show in 16 countries and regions, as well as reached the top ten list in 92 countries.In an interview with Variety, Boyle (“The Man From Reno,” “Big Dreams, Little Tokyo”) said that surprising career left-turns brought him to the series and helped him keep the show authentically Japanese.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Sweet Planet,” a one of the highest-profile China-Europe co-productions of recent years, will air on China Global Television Network from Friday. The six-part culinary documentary is a co-production between millennial-focused global channel operator Insight TV, Netherlands-based production company JOIIN, and CGTN. It explore the culinary and cultural impact of sugar in cooking and food rituals around the world.