China Tightens Censorship After 'Monster Hunter' Scandal, Delays Release of Hit Anime ‘Demon Slayer’ (Exclusive)

Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, famous for hislove of the spotlight, hasn't been seen in public in over two months following Beijing's aggressive crackdown on his Alibaba business empire. The celebrated entrepreneur was slated to appear as a star judge on the season finale of Africa's Business Heroes, a reality TV show created by his own philanthropic organization.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese director Guan Hu is riding high right now: Despite languishing in government censorship purgatory for over a year, his patriotic war epic “The Eight Hundred” has risen to become the highest grossing film in the world in 2020, with sales of $461 million. His next confirmed move? More jingoistic propaganda.

Refresh for latest…: There was a bit more varied action at the international box office this weekend, including the continued rollout of Warner Bros/DC’s Wonder Woman 1984, a sizable start for China’s Shock Wave 2, the debut of Disney/Pixar’s Soul, The Croods: A New Age nearing $100M global, and a brand new milestone for Japan’s Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train which, according to estimates, has overtaken Spirited Away to become the highest-grossing film ever in the market.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentStrand Releasing has acquired all North American rights to Anthony Chen’s “Wet Season,” which represents Singapore in the Oscar race for best international feature film.The movie world premiered in the Platform section at the Toronto International Film Festival, and is being represented in international markets by Memento Films International.Penned and directed by Chen, “Wet Season” revolves around a Chinese language teacher whose marriage and school

With a newly elected Democratic president, this is the season of speculation, where names are being floated as potential ambassador picks. And this time around, The Walt Disney Co.’s executive chairman Bob Iger is getting attention as a prospect for one of the highest profile foreign posts, China.

Janet W.

do this.”Whereupon Hunter, who doesn’t speak English because he’s not from our world, gives her a blank look. “Huh?” he says.Artemis stops, realizes her schtick isn’t playing to this audience, and shrugs.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSpecialty distributor Shout! Studios has secured all North American rights to ecology-themed Chinese animated feature “The Legend Of Hei.” In a partnership with France’s Play Big, it will give the film a release in the U.S. and Canada.“The Legend Of Hei” is a heart-warming fantasy about a cat spirit who goes on a journey of self-discovery after its forest home is destroyed by humans.

Refresh for latest...: The international box office continues to provide welcome surprises during the pandemic era. Where movie theaters are open and people feel safe, they turn up for new or enduringly exciting product that’s on offer.

As if 2020 weren't already chaotic enough, it’s coming to a close with revelations of a federal tax investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son and severed ties between a House Intelligence Committee and a Chinese spy. The clouds over Hunter Biden -- whose business dealings in China were scrutinized by two GOP committee chairs in the Senate -- and Rep.

Monster Hunter, which caused the film to be pulled from Chinese cinemas, will be cut from all versions of the movie.This is according to the film’s director Paul W.S. Anderson, who also apologised for the “unintentional offense”, in a statement to Deadline.

In a world starved for blockbuster films, as most get pushed to streaming services or delayed until 2021, “Monster Hunter” looked like it could help drive business to theaters, especially in China. However, one line from the film that echoes a racist chant that kids used to say decades ago is forcing cinemas in the Middle Kingdom to pull the film.

Rebecca Davis editorAlthough “Monster Hunter” apologized for and censored a line of dialogue that sparked anger in China from its global version, Chinese film websites and apps have taken the unusual step of deleting the title or its user ratings — indicating that the movie’s odds of returning to the Chinese big screen likely remain slim.Chinese cinemas began to voluntarily pull scheduled viewings within just a day of the video game adaptation’s Dec.

“Monster Hunter”, the new creature feature based on the popular video game, is reportedly being pulled from theatres in China due to a scene that numerous Chinese viewers have deemed to be racist.

Monster Hunter director Paul W.S. Anderson has weighed in on the controversy surrounding the film, which was pulled from Chinese cinemas during its opening weekend amid backlash over a line of dialogue that has been perceived as racist by local audiences.

Rebecca Davis editorPatriotic Chinese viewers flexed their muscles this weekend to topple Paul W.S. Anderson’s “Monster Hunter,” which grossed just $4.8 million before it was pulled from cinemas due to complaints that interpreted a line of dialogue to be racist and “insulting to China.” In a slow week, however, that was enough to net it a fifth place open, even though cinemas had entirely pulled the title from their line-ups by early Saturday.

It was a drama-filled weekend at the Chinese multiplex. Tencent's big-budget video game adaptation Monster Hunter was yanked from cinemas one day into its release over a scene local audiences decried as derogatory.