‘Demon Slayer’ Overtaking ‘Tenet’ As No. 2 Movie Overseas In 2020; ‘The Croods: A New Age’ Now No. 2 China Import This Year – International Box Office

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.

Hayao Miyazaki's nearly two-decade reign atop Japan's all-time box office rankings has come to an end. Runaway anime blockbuster Demon Slayer The Movie: Mugen Train became Japan's biggest box-office hit of all time over the weekend, pushing Miyazaki's beloved classic Spirited Away (2001) into second place.

Mark Schilling Japan Correspondent“Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train,” the animated film that has become the Japanese entertainment world tsunami of 2020, pushed its cumulative earnings to $313.7 million (JPY32.5 billion) over the Dec. 26-27 weekend.

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.

President Trump doubled down on his demand Friday for increased coronavirus-related stimulus checks to working-class Americans. Trump again tweeted his demand for $2,000 checks rather than the $600 proposed in the mammoth spending bill approved by Congress earlier this week.

The superhero sequel “Wonder Woman 1984” has earned an estimated $38.5 million in ticket sales from international theaters, Warner Bros. said Sunday.

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

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaDiana Prince may be able to best Cheetah, but she’s no match for a global pandemic.“Wonder Woman 1984” opened to a less than heroic $18.8 million in China over the weekend and a disappointing $38.5 million overseas.

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.

The racial insensitivity scandal that derailed the China release of action film Monster Hunter is starting to impact other high-profile movies in the country. Sources in Beijing tell The Hollywood Reporter that the China Film Administration has tightened its censorship process in the wake of the controversy, calling back several previously approved imported films for a second, more thorough review.

Devotion from arriving on its store front.The game was famously taken down after a Chinese meme was found in the game that compared the country’s paramount leader to Winnie The Pooh.

Warner Bros/DC’s Wonder Woman 1984 begins offshore rollout today in such markets as Indonesia, Portugal and the UK — though on a very limited basis in the latter where London cinemas have been re-shuterred as the capital moves into a Tier 3 Covid lockdown.

Refresh for more analysis, chart, etc. Even in a normal, healthy economy, the major studios are typically skittish about opening big movies before Christmas with many busy with holiday activities, so it comes as no surprise during a pandemic where just north of 40% of all 5,500 domestic movie theaters are open that there wouldn’t be any new wide openings this weekend.