‘Dolittle,’ ‘Bloodshot’ & ‘1917’ Expected To Be First “New” Hollywood Films In China Since January Shutdown

Hollywood is guilty of censoring its films to placate China and avoid losing access to the country’s hugely lucrative box office market, a report has claimed.

Rebecca Davis editorNonprofit PEN America on Wednesday issued a moral clarion call to Hollywood to step up its efforts to resist Chinese censorship and increase transparency, singling out the MPA for appearing to defend free speech at home only when financially convenient.The New York-headquartered free speech advocacy group detailed the mechanisms by which China influences decision-making in Hollywood and offered recommendations for how to mitigate pernicious complicity with the world’s most

Dominic Patten, Ted Johnson A day that Attorney General William Barr, Sen.

Universal'sDolittletopped China's box office for a second week as the country's cinemas continued their tentative reopening following the novel coronavirus shutdown.

Rebecca Davis editorLocal content is proving more of a draw than Hollywood films as China’s cinemas get back on their feet.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefIconic auteur director, Wong Kar-wai has finally confirmed “Blossoms Shanghai” will be his first dive into dramatic TV series production.An adaptation of Jin Yucheng’s multi-award-winning Shanghai-set novel, “Blossoms,” the series also marks a return for Wong to his birthplace.

Rebecca Davis editorA portion of Chinese cinemas have been ordered to program an intermission for films that exceed two hours as a coronavirus prevention measure, Chinese reports said Friday. The requirement will affect a number of upcoming Hollywood films that run over 120 minutes, including a re-run of Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” set to hit screens on Sunday, as well as “Ford V Ferrari,” which will Aug.

Manori Ravindran International EditorVenice Golden Lion contender “Miss Marx,” starring Romola Garai as the spirited daughter of philosopher Karl Marx, has secured its first tranche of international deals ahead of the September fest. (Watch the film’s exclusive trailer above.)Written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli (“Nico, 1988,” “Cosmonaut”), with Celluloid Dreams serving as international sales agent, the film has been picked up by DDDreams in China and B-Team in Spain.

Bruce Haring pmc-editorial-managerPresident Trump has thrown the New York Yankees a curve ball, saying he’s decided not to throw out a first pitch at a game next month.Trump left the door open on possibly doing it later in the season.“Because of my strong focus on the China Virus, including scheduled meetings on Vaccines, our economy and much else, I won’t be able to be in New York to throw out the opening pitch for the @Yankees on August 15th.

Rebecca Davis editorRobert Downey Jr.’s family film “Dolittle” and Sony’s thriller “Bloodshot” led China’s first opening weekend at the box office since the coronavirus outbreak, a sign that new titles sell better than re-runs of beloved classics. Five out of the top 10 films this weekend were Hollywood titles.China began reopening theaters in regions deemed at low risk for COVID-19 on Monday.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorOn their first Friday back to operations, Chinese cinemas did roughly $2.92M worth of box office business — more than tripling Thursday’s figures and making a sizable jump from Monday when theaters opened to about $501K in low-risk areas across the country.

Rebecca Davis editorA trio of Hollywood titles previously approved for China announced Thursday that they are set to hit the big screen now that cinemas are kicking back into gear.“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” in 3D and 4K restorations, will screen in China starting Aug. 14 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterIMAX China has issued a profit warning to the Hong Kong stock exchange with the company having taken a beating from the COVID-19 shutdown this year.The large-format exhibitor said it was forecasting a net loss of $34M-36M for the six months to Jun 30, 2020, in contrast with a net profit of $24M for the same period in 2019.The contributing factors will be no surprise to anyone – the operator was forced to shutdown all of its 700 IMAX theaters in China from

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAs Chinese cinemas began the reopening process today, box office crossed $472K by 8PM local. Maoyan’s real-time ticketing platform reports that play is led by new entry A First Farewell at around $184K.

Action pic Bloodshot and adventure epic Dolittle will open in China on July 24, becoming the first Hollywood movies to play there since theaters closed in late January amid the coronavirus pandemic. Oscar winner 1917 will open in the world's second-largest moviegoing market a week later.

Rebecca Davis editor“The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Dolittle” and “Bloodshot” are the first confirmed foreign films to hit Chinese cinemas next week as a portion of venues in low-risk regions reopen starting Monday.China’s cinemas have been closed for longer than any other country’s, having stayed dark — despite a brief attempt to reopen in March — since the lunar new year holiday in late January.“Happyness” will be the first of the Hollywood titles to screen, starting from day one of reopenings