‘Croods: A New Age’ Tops December Weekend Sans Wide Releases; DWA Sequel Beats ‘Mulan’ In China

China is looking to new, modern methods in its campaign of patriotic education, according to reports.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentSavaged by COVID-19, global box office plunged between 57% and 76% in major markets outside the U.S., with the U.K. and Ireland leading the rout, crashing 76% against 2019, according to a Comscore study, published Wednesday.Also hit hard were China (-70%), South Korea (-71%), and Italy and Spain (both down 72%).

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.

Slash has said he’s optimistic that 2021 will see new releases from both Guns N’ Roses and his band with Myles Kennedy.The guitarist said he’s recently been working with bassist Duff McKagan on material expected to form the first new Guns N’ Roses album since 2008’s notoriously delayed ‘Chinese Democracy’.A follow-up to 2018’s ‘Living The Dream’, which would be the guitarist’s fifth solo album and fourth billed as ‘Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators’, could also be on the cards,

Rebecca Davis editorChinese authorities have detained independent filmmaker and journalist Du Bin, who has recently worked on material critical of communism and the Chinese regime, according to his family, friends and human rights organizations.Du, 48, was detained by police in Beijing last Wednesday, says his sister Du Jirong, according to the New York Times.

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

The New York Film Critics Circle has unveiled its annual awards, honouring the late Chadwick Boseman with the Best Supporting Actor award for his performance in the Spike Lee-directed “Da 5 Bloods”.

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese streaming platform iQIYI is returning to the U.S. financial markets for a twin-pronged capital injection.

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.

Disco Elysium’s website has been replaced by a single screen which reads ‘SOON’ and the logo of the stars and antlers.In Disco Elysium’s world, the symbol represents the game’s Communist party. Because of that, PC Gamer are predicting this is the lead up to a prequel announcement.The publication also suggested the news could be regarding a translation of the novel The Sacred and Terrible Air, by Robert Kurvitz, the game’s head writer.

China on Tuesday lashed out at the U.S. over new sanctions against Chinese officials and the sale of more military equipment to Taiwan.

Also on this day: Roman statesman and scholar Marcus Tullius Cicero is slain at the order of the Second Triumvirate. Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S.

Refresh for latest…: Sunday’s international box office reporting looks vastly different to what was expected coming into the weekend. A Friday gross that portended a high-teens launch for Monster Hunter in China was quickly thwarted when local authorities pulled the feature game adaptation from the country’s cinemas.

National correspondents Jericka Duncan and Adriana Diaz have been named new anchors of CBS Weekend News.

Rebecca Davis editorDirector Frant Gwo has announced that the sequel to his sci-fi hit “The Wandering Earth,” China’s third highest grossing film of all time, will release over the 2023 Lunar New Year holiday, consistently the country’s biggest movie-going week of each year.“The Wandering Earth” became a surprise hit after its 2019 Lunar New Year debut, beating competitors including Ning Hao’s “Crazy Alien” and Han Han’s “Pegasus” to top that year’s holiday box office.

Universal's The Croods: A New Age was the decisive winner of a competitive three-way race at China's box office over the weekend, topping both holdover local hit Caught in Time and the latest release from venerated Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou. Croods 2 opened in China to a healthy $19.2 million, which was $5 million more than its five-day holiday start in North America.