‘Cinema Toast’ Is An Odd, Absurd Pandemic-Era Diversion [Review]

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s largest company, the social media, games and entertainment giant Tencent achieved net profits of RMB47.7 billion ($7.39 billion) in the first three months of the year. That was an increase of 65% on the comparable period last year when coronavirus was at its peak in China.

Rebecca Davis editorSony’s “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” is set to scamper across China starting June 11, a week before it scurries to screens in the U.S. on June 18.The film was initially schedule to release in February 2020, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Universal’s F9 put the pedal to the metal in its Korea bow with $3.4M (3.9M won) on day one today. That’s the best opening day ever for the Fast & Furious franchise in the market, as well as the top opening of all films in Korea since the pandemic began — even coming in ahead of last summer’s smash Peninsula which had a 2.9M won debut.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBaidu was once one of the big three entertainment tech firms in China and remains the majority owner of streamer iQIYI.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMona Fastvold’s “The World to Come,” starring Katherine Waterston and Vanessa Kirby, will open the hybrid summer component – running June 2-6 – of the International Film Festival Rotterdam’s 50th edition. Hirota Yusuke’s animated feature “Poupelle of Chimney Town” will close the event.“The World to Come” is a romantic drama about the forbidden love between two women, played by Waterston and Kirby, in 1850s Upstate New York.

Armie Hammer is reportedly dating a woman in the Cayman Islands. The "Call Me By Your Name" actor has been linked to a local dental hygienist since earlier this year, People magazine reports.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV EditorNielsen’s TV yardstick has been found wanting.A review of recent Nielsen efforts to map out TV audience activity determined the company likely undercounted TV audiences in February of this year, a development that is expected to intensify a growing rift between the measurement giant and the TV networks who depend on it to set discussions with advertisers that help undergird billions of dollars in advertising.The Media Rating Council, an industry organization that

Road movies prime their audience to expect the unexpected – part of the point of the genre is for the protagonist’s expectations to be thwarted and for their journey to take a few extra twists and turns along the way. “Bipolar” takes this tendency to an extreme, with a protagonist so open to chasing new whims that it’s impossible to predict what might be happening in ten minutes, let alone by the end of the film.

Gemma Chan is speaking out about the ongoing anti-Asian racism happening in the United Kingdom, as well as all over the world.

Armie Hammer is out and about. The 34-year-old actor was recently spotted in the Cayman Islands -- his first time being seen publicly since being accused of rape last month.

Armie Hammer has been laying low in the Cayman Islands ever since a woman named Effie accused him in March 2021 of a violent rape that occurred in 2017. The actor has now been photographed for the first time since Effie’s Mar.

Wanda Film, part of the Dalian Wanda group, has appointed financial advisers in Australia and may be preparing to sell the Hoyts cinema chain, according to local reports.According to the Australian Financial Review newspaper, investment bank Credit Suisse has been appointed by Wanda to find bidders for Hoyts.

Donald Trump, there’s a rich history of celebrities trying out new careers in politics.The list could soon grow.In California, former Olympian Caitlyn Jenner is running for governor. In Texas, Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey is generating buzz as a potential candidate for governor.

Pierce Brosnan is a respected international thief who teams up with a group of modern-day Robin Hoods led by Nick Cannon’s Ringo in “The Misfits”.

Celtic job though Eddie Howe is the clear front-runner. He's also been touted as a possible replacement for Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, while rumours of a return to Napoli have been rife since Benitez left his job in China.

Man In Love, a Taiwanese remake of the 2014 Korean romantic drama has been winning hearts locally, grossing $11.3M through Sunday, and remaining No. 1 for three weeks in a row, despite holdover competition from Godzilla Vs Kong and Mortal Kombat. The debut feature from Yin Chen-Hao is coming out of its fourth frame and is currently the top local title of the pandemic era as well as moving up on the all-time chart for Taiwanese films at home.