China Eyes 100,000 Movie Screens and Closer Ties to Cannes: Six Takeaways From Country’s Five-Year Film Plan

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAction-adventure film, “Schemes in Antiques” grabbed the top spot at the mainland China box office with a solid $25.6 million debut.It deposed crime comedy “Be Somebody” which had topped the chart for the past three weekends and earned $13.3 million in its fourth weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

After having been cleared by authorities in late November for an eventual China release, the market has now given Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s highly-anticipated The Matrix Resurrections an official date — on January 14, 2022.

Oh! My Gran is set to hit Chinese theatres this Friday (December 3), becoming the first Korean film to be screened in the nation in six years since 2015’s Assassination, starring Jun Ji-hyun (Legend Of The Blue Sea, Jirisan) and Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game, The Housemaid).Oh! My Gran, which first premiered in 2020, stars actress Na Moon-hee as the film’s lead character of Moon-hee, an elderly woman who believes she is a princess in an animated series, but is actually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

Rebecca Davis editorAfter a six-year hiatus, Korean cinema is set to return to the Chinese big screen in wide release at last.This Friday, Dec. 3, Chinese cinemas will run the 2020 comedy “Oh! My Gran (Oh! Moon-Hee),” official posters said Wednesday.

Rebecca Davis editorYet another week has passed without any news of a release date for Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which debuted stateside Oct.

“The Battle at Lake Changjin,” has made a whopping $892 million in the communist country since it was released there on Sept.

Already the top film of 2021 globally, Chinese war epic The Battle At Lake Changjin is taking over the title of highest grossing movie ever in China, edging the previous leader, 2017’s Wolf Warrior 2. Through Wednesday evening local time, Lake Changjin had reached an estimated RMB 5.693B ($890M) after 56 days in release.

Naman Ramachandran Malaysian authorities have declined to approve the Chinese war movie “The Battle at Lake Changjin” for theatrical release after outrage emerged online that the film promotes Communism, which is banned in the country.The film’s local distributor Mega Film Distribution said in a statement that it is considering submitting the title again for reconsideration by the Malaysian Film Censorship Board (LPF), and expressed its regrets that the film which has grossed $890 million so

Every Lakers-Celtics game draws attention, but Friday night’s matchup in TD Garden was under an even bigger spotlight than usual.

Rebecca Davis editorJust after China’s long National Day holiday on Oct. 10, Chinese social media was plastered in red-and-gold memes and posts celebrating the annual box office to date hitting the $6.26 billion (RMB40 billion) mark.

Outlining its 14th “Five-Year Plan” for the development of Chinese films, the China Film Administration has said it plans to increase the number of movie screens in the country to 100,000 by 2025. Good news, and along with that, the regulator will be promoting 10 domestic blockbusters each year. This is not far off from an earlier, pre-pandemic, five-year goal, but came to light this past week as China held the 6th plenary session of the 19th Communist Party of the China Central Committee.

Halle Berry has the support of her man on her big night!

The stars of The Power of the Dog are stepping out for the movie’s latest screening!

AFI Fest 2021 showcases 115 films, from features and shorts to documentaries, including some titles with queer stories.

Rebecca Davis editor“Spider-Man: No Way Home” indicated Monday with a new Chinese poster that it could soon hit Chinese screens — which would make it the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four film to pass censorship and screening approvals so far. The film, set to debut only in theaters, hasn’t yet set a formal China release date.