Chinese Films Take First, Third and Fifth Places at Global Box Office on Holiday Weekend

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese movie conglomerate Hengdian Films has inked a contract to fit Imax with Laser premium large format screen systems at 20 of its cinema locations. The order is the Imax’s largest recorded during the past four years. Hengdian Films is a pre-existing Imax client and the new deal will expand its Imax screen count to 27 when completed.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The inaugural edition of the Cinema at Sea – Okinawa Pan-Pacific International Film Festival will be held next month (Nov. 23-29) on the Japanese island of Okinawa.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sony Pictures has acquired the English-language remake rights to Chinese comedy drama, “Hi, Mom,” which until recently overtaken by “Barbie” had been the world’s highest grossing film directed by a solo female. The original picture, directed by Jia Ling and released in early 2021, sees a young woman whose mother has been fatally injured in a car accident, travel back to the early 1980s where she becomes best friend to the younger version of her mother. That enables her to work on giving her mother a better life than first time around.

Naman Ramachandran Trafalgar Releasing’s concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” was on song at the U.K. and Ireland box office, debuting at No. 1 with £5.7 million ($6.9 million), according to numbers from Comscore.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two titles which debuted at Cannes this year were named as the major prize-winners at the seventh edition of the Pingyao International Film Festival in China. Wei Shujun’s black comedy-thriller “Only the River Flows” won the festival’s Fei Mu prize for best Chinese film.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A dearth of new release films allowed Zhang Yimou’s “Under the Light” to retain a comfortable lead at the China box office over the weekend, in its third week of release. The contemporary crime drama film earned $13.5 million (RMB97.2 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. Since releasing on Sept. 28, it has accumulated gross revenues of $163 million (RMB1.17 billion).

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” is towering over the global box office with estimates of $126 million to $130 million in its first weekend of release. It’s a seismic start for any concert film, but this is particularly impressive because it was announced just six weeks ago and unspooled on the big screen with minimal marketing dollars. “The Eras Tour” which is produced by Swift and distributed by AMC Theatres, collected a projected $31 million to $33 million from 94 international markets.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Iqbal H. Choudhury’s “The Wrestler” and Mori Tatsutya’s “September 1923” were announced joint winners of the New Currents competition at the Busan International Film Festival. “The Wrester” “was like a single round match, magically depicting an exciting narrative,” the jury said.

EXCLUSIVE: Heading into the Swift snowfall this weekend at the box office, here’s what we can tell you about the AMC-distributed film. As has already been reported, a $100M+ projection per distribution sources is in store and another $50M+ overseas (for $150M WW debut); but part of the stats indicating this come from box office analytics firm EntTelligence which is observing sellouts for Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour significantly outstripping Barbie and percent-wise that of Spider-Man: No Way Home compared to each movie’s first evenings.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Chinese film director Zhang Yimou is to receive a lifetime achievement award at the Tokyo International Film Festival later this month. The award will be presented to him during the festival’s opening ceremony on Oct. 23. Later, Zhang will take part in a special talk session at the TIFF Loungeco-hosted by the Japan Foundation. Additionally, his “Full River Red,” which was a box office sensation in China at the beginning of the year, will play as a gala selection during the Tokyo festival. Zhang, consider to be among China’s “fifth generation” of filmmakers, has had an extraordinary career that he has sustained for over three decades.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Zhang Yimou-directed contemporary drama film “Under the Light” retained its top spot at the mainland China box office for a second weekend, but with numbers that dropped steeply, as macro-economic weakening led to a Golden Week of across the board disappointment. Financial media Monday reported that consumers travelled less and spent less on leisure than had been forecast, likely reflecting general economic belt tightening, high unemployment and property sector worries. Before the holidays, cinema ticketing firm Maoyan had forecast that the first three days would throw up box office of RMB1.5 billion (208 million) and that “Under the Light” alone would reach RMB2 billion ($278 million) by the end of the eight-day holiday season (Sept. 29-Oct.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Big-budget, Korean-language fantasy-crime-action series “Moving” emerged as the big winner on Sunday at the Asia Contents Awards & Global OTT Awards, claiming six prizes, including the ‘best creative’ prize. The Disney+ original, which debuted in August, also received the best visual effects award and the best writer award, which was presented at the Busan Cinema Centre’s main stage to webtoon artist turned filmmaker Kang Full. Actor Ryu Seung Ryong, who portrayed a father with a superpower attempting to save his family, was awarded the best lead actor prize, while the show’s Lee Jung Ha was named best newcomer and Go Youn Jung was named best actress. The 20-episode series has received critical acclaim for its narrative structure, dynamic action sequences and breathtaking storytelling.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Seoul-based sales company Finecut has struck key Asian deals for the vigilante action movie “Brave Citizen.” In Korea, the film is presented by Content Wavve, one of the country’s leading OTT platforms and is headed for a Korean theatrical release on Oct. 25.Finecut has sealed deals with Kadokawa Plus for Japan, with Moviecloud for Taiwan and with Lumix Medi for Vietnam.

(a 1992 and 2008 honoree) is combining forces with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs to increase female voices in foreign relations through their new Institute of Global Politics.In her new role, Secretary Hillary Clinton will also teach a class called, “In the Situation Room”, which she teaches alongside Dean Keren Yahri-Milo, an award-winning scholar, with a focus on recognizing and responding to global patterns across the economy and democracy.“We want to address the issues, from climate change to war, that are directly affecting women and girls–which we saw during COVID and we're still struggling with the after-effects", Secretary Clinton told Glamour."If you're talking about global economic growth and dealing with inequity, women have to be at the table. We want to but on a global stage.

(a 1992 and 2008 honoree) is combining forces with Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs to increase female voices in foreign relations through their new Institute of Global Politics.In her new role, Secretary Hillary Clinton will also teach a class called, “In the Situation Room”, which she teaches alongside Dean Keren Yahri-Milo, an award-winning scholar, with a focus on recognizing and responding to global patterns across the economy and democracy.“We want to address the issues, from climate change to war, that are directly affecting women and girls–which we saw during COVID and we're still struggling with the after-effects", Secretary Clinton told Glamour."If you're talking about global economic growth and dealing with inequity, women have to be at the table. We want to but on a global stage.

Naman Ramachandran Disney sci-fi epic “The Creator” and Lionsgate U.K.’s horror franchise entry “Saw X” debuted atop the U.K. and Ireland box office — and the race was almost too close to call. “Saw X” won the three-day total with £1.92 million ($2.31 million), while “The Creator” was just behind with £1.89 million ($2.27 million).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Trinity CineAsia has picked up U.K. and Ireland rights to Chinese hit film “The Ex-Files 4: Marriage Plan.” The film ranked third worldwide at the box office over the latest weekend. Trinity CineAsia will give it an official release from Oct.

Refresh for latest…: Here we are with a sort of hybrid weekend at the international box office: there were fresh entries from the Hollywood studios, as well as major new titles timed to holiday play in local markets, and a holdover that’s continuing to rack up records.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Equal numbers of Chinese and Japanese titles adorn the main competition section of the Toyo International Film Festival, which was announced on Wednesday – three each. Among the Chinese films is “Snow Leopard,” the last feature by the late Pema Tseden, and “Dwelling by the West Lake,” directed by Gu Xiaogang, the surprisingly inexperienced joint recipient of this year’s Kurosawa Award. The full competition with 15 titles, set to play between Oct. 23 and Nov.

Naman Ramachandran Disney’s Agatha Christie adaptation “A Haunting in Venice” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second successive weekend with £1.4 million ($1.8 million), per numbers from Comscore. The film, directed by Kenneth Branagh, where he plays detective Hercule Poirot, now has a total of £4.9 million after two weekends in release.