China’s Bona Film Group Returning to Stock Market, Finalizing IPO in Shenzhen

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefShares of China’s Bona Film Group soared by 44% on Thursday, their first day of trading following an initial public offering on the Shenzhen stock market.The company had offered its shares for sale at RMB5.03 apiece. They quickly climbed to RMB7.24, before hitting the market’s ceiling on daily price movements. At this price, the company is valued at RMB9.96 billion or $1.47 billion.

China’s Bona Film Group, producer of such hits as The Battle At Lake Changjin, made its debut on the Shenzhen stock exchange on Thursday, with shares closing the day at RMB 7.24 ($1.07). This was a 44% increase from the initial public offering price of RMB 5.03 ($0.74) per share and put the market capitalization at just under RMB 10B ($1.47B), according to the South China Morning Post. The company raised RMB 1.38B ($203M) from the deal.

EXCLUSIVE: Mammoth Pictures has acquired film and TV rights to the bestselling novella Diary of a Murderer from award-winning Korean author Young-ha Kim. The company’s Creative Director Kourosh Ahari (The Night, Parallel) is set to direct an English-language feature adaptation, marking the first production under the deal, from a script by Henry Chaisson (Searchlight’s Antlers, Apple TV+’s Servant).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSpace comedy Moon Man held on to the top spot at the mainland China box office for a third weekend. It has now accumulated $363 million.Released on July 29, “Moon Man” earned RMB217 million ($32.4 million) between Friday and Sunday earning some 45% of the nationwide weekend total, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The film’s invulnerability underlines once again how the Chinese exhibition and distribution sector has become focused on major hits and top-heavy.There could scarcely be more powerful demonstration of that than the photographs carried over the weekend by Mainland Chinese of Hong Kong star Louis Koo apparently in tears over the disappointing box office stars for “Warriors of Future,” the sci-fi fantasy that he starred in, financed and produced.

Introducing, Dr. Michelle Yeoh.

Michelle Yeoh is now a doctor!

a book and his case inspired the 1989 drama film “True Believer.” But his life — what happened before and after he became famous for his imprisonment — was far from a Hollywood fairy tale.In the documentary “Free Chol Soo Lee,” first-time doc directors Julie Ha and Eugene Yi use archival materials in an attempt to present their tragic hero in all three dimensions. Despite their efforts, Soo Lee feels just out of reach, but the story of his life remains as important as it is horrifying.The film opens by explaining the crime and how Soo Lee became a prime suspect. Journalistic giant K.W.

Decision To Leave has been selected to represent South Korea in the Best International Feature Film category for the upcoming Oscars.Deadline reported that the Korean Film Council announced its pick yesterday (August 11), sharing it took into consideration “workmanship and directing ability, the possibility of box office success in the North American market, and the promotion ability of overseas distributors”. As a result, the council agreed that Decision To Leave was “the most appropriate choice, and we expect the work to be well-received”.Starring South Korean actor Park Hae-il (The King’s Letters) and Chinese star Tang Wei (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Decision To Leave is a slow-burn mystery romance about a police detective who gets dispatched to a scene of a man’s death.

Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) has announced the 29 projects selected for this year’s Asian Project Market (APM), a core strand of the festival’s industry activities, including new works from Thailand’s Aditya Assarat, China’s Wang Qi, Vietnam’s Le Bao and Myanmar’s Maung Sun, whose producer Ma Aeint is currently in prison in Yangon.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Asian Project Market, the film financing event attached to the Busan festival’s Asian Contents & Film Market, will return this year as an in-person event. To increase the focus on regional projects it has selected 29 titles and excluded those from outside Asia.The APM will be held at the Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) and run Oct.

Naman Ramachandran The Indian government has approved an audiovisual co-production treaty with Australia, designed to promote joint production of films between the two countries.While details are currently scarce, producer contributions from the two countries can vary from 20% to 80% of the final total cost of the jointly produced work.“Australia has emerged as a preferred destination for shooting of Indian films. India is fast emerging as a major content hub for filmmakers looking for new projects.

K.J. Yossman Bryan Cranston, Blair Underwood and Jennifer Morrison will lead the jury for this year’s Hollyshorts Film Festival.They will be joined by Stephanie Lang, Joanna Quinn, David Dastmalchian, Adaku Ononogbo and Jeremy Swift.Set to open Aug. 11 at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and virtually through the BITPIX platform, the festival will screen a number of short films including Steve McQueen’s prostate cancer documentary “Embarrassed,” starring Idris Elba, Ben Proudfoot’s “Mink!” about the first woman of color elected to the U.S.

Tencent is reportedly looking to raise its stake in Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry publisher Ubisoft.According to a new report from Reuters, Tencent apparently expressed interest in the French publisher and is looking to raise the five per cent stake it placed in 2018.Two sources claimed that Tencent is aiming to “become the single largest shareholder” of Ubisoft with another stake purchase. At this time it’s unclear how much the company is planning on owning of the company.Additional sources said that Tencent does plan on purchasing the extrastake from the Guillemot family – the current CEO of Ubisoft – which own 15 per cent of the firm.

Clayton Davis Hollywood producer Janet Yang has been named the new president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences by the organization’s Board of Governors. Yang, who is of Chinese descent, is the first Asian person ever to hold the position and the fourth woman behind Fay Kanin (1979-1983), Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2013-2017) and Bette Davis (Davis resigned after two months in 1941).Yang is beginning her first term as president and her second term as a Governor-at-Large.

A lost chain of British steakhouses, known for serving signature prawn cocktails, steaks and Black Forest gateau was "a proper treat back in the day" for families across Greater Manchester.

EXCLUSIVE: Matthew McConaughey is set to star in Dallas Sting, the fact-based story of how a group of Dallas high school girls headed to China in 1984 as the ultimate underdog and beat some of the best women’s teams from China, Australia and Italy. The film was developed by Skydance and Berlanti Schechter Productions. Apple, which has an overall deal with Skydance, has first bite at the film and I expect a deal to happen before production begins this fall in New Orleans.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Satan’s Slaves: Communion,” from genre-film meister Jojo Anwar is poised to be the first film from Indonesia to release in the large screen Imax format.Anwar himself took to Instagram to make the announcement and tout the film’s release on Saturday.“Confirmed. Bigger.