‘Dune’ Producer Legendary Sells Minority Stake to Apollo for $760 Million

Wilson Chapman editorThe Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced its plans for the third annual Global Movie Day on Saturday.Global Movie Day, which was established in 2020 and is celebrated every second Saturday of February, was created as a way for film fans around the world to celebrate their love of film by engaging with Academy members and filmmakers on social media, using the hashtag #GlobalMovieDay.This year, celebrities and filmmakers who will participate in Global Movie Day include Zazie Beetz, Halle Berry, Jason Blum, Kris Bowers, Patricia Cardoso, Cher, Jon M. Chu, Ariana DeBose, Ali Fazal, Danny Glover, Eiza González, Tom Hanks, Aldis Hodge, Scarlett Johansson, Marc Maron, Marlee Matlin, Matthew McConaughey, Michelle Rodriguez, J.K.

Naman Ramachandran Protagonist Pictures has closed multiple deals for several key territories on Sundance selection and Berlin Film Festival competition title “Call Jane.”Territories sold include DCM for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Umbrella Entertainment for Australia and New Zealand, Mis.label for Scandinavia, Eagle for Italy, Shaw for Singapore and Empire for South Africa.Directed by Phyllis Nagy, the Oscar nominated writer of “Carol,” the film stars Elizabeth Banks, Sigourney Weaver, Kate Mara and Chris Messina. The film follows Joy (Banks), a traditional 1960s housewife who unexpectedly falls pregnant and finds the Janes, an underground abortion movement led by Virginia (Weaver).

LONDON -- Novels by Damon Galgut and Colm Toibin are among eight books contending for Britain’s Rathbones Folio Prize for literature.Galgut’s Booker Prize-winning South African story “The Promise” and Toibin’s novel about Thomas Mann, “The Magician,” were on the shortlist announced Wednesday for the multi-genre 30,000 pound ($41,000) prize.They are up against four other works of fiction: Natasha Brown’s debut novel “Assembly;” Claire Keegan’s “Small Things Like These;” Gwendoline Riley’s “My Phantoms;” and Sunjeev Sahota’s “China Room.”Contenders also include Selima Hill’s poetry collection “Men Who Feed Pigeons” and “Albert and the Whale,” Philip Hoare’s nonfiction book about the artist Albrecht Dürer.The winner, chosen by a jury of three other writers, will be announced on March 23.Founded in 2013 to rival the prestigious Booker Prize, the Folio is open to fiction, nonfiction and poetry from anywhere in the world published in Britain.

“Turning Red” (which premieres exclusively on Disney+ March 11) is the story of Mei (Rosalie Chiang), a precocious 13-year-old Chinese girl growing up in Toronto, Canada. If being a tween wasn’t awkward enough, she finds herself transforming, when in a state of extreme emotional distress, into a giant red panda.

EXCLUSIVE: Freeform has picked up to pilot AZNBBGRL, an hourlong drama from Natalie Chaidez (The Flight Attendant), Dinh Thai (Wu-Tang: An American Saga), producer Melvin Mar (Fresh Off the Boat) and 20th Television.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPatriotic blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin II” earned just short of $400 million over the Chinese New Year holidays at a mainland China box office that weighed in at some $950 million.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed “Lake Changjin II” earning $152 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, comfortably ahead of comedy “Too Cool to Kill” which took $111 million over the same three days. In third place over the weekend was drama “Nice View” with $45.4 million and animation “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” with $38.8.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” passed the $200 million landmark at the China box office at midday local time on Thursday, the film’s third day of release. Data from Alibaba’s Beacon data tracking service showed the film lying comfortably on top of the mainland Chinese box office chart with RMB166 million (26.1 million) earned on the third morning of the Lunar New Year holidays.

Malina Saval Associate Editor, FeaturesWhether you’re a bigshot Hollywood helmer or hankering to pretend you’re one, the brand new Director Suite at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills (300 Doheny Dr.) will set you up in high-flying style. The 10th floor luxury accommodations, modeled after the famed hotel’s residences, are awash in shafts of soft California sunlight, with three step-out balconies providing sweeping views of the rolling Hollywood hills and downtown Los Angeles in the distance.

Naman Ramachandran Producer and financier Anton (“Greenland,” “The Night House”) has hired Leslie Chen as senior VP, international distribution and sales and has elevated consultant Louis Balsan to executive VP, international distribution and acquisitions. They will be part of Anton’s German office and will report into Paris-based Cécile Gaget, president of international production and distribution.

The Battle At Lake Changjin II (aka Water Gate Bridge) led the Chinese New Year box office on day one today, coming in at an estimated RMB 657.6M ($103.4M). While that’s certainly an enviable single-market one-day score — and is the second-biggest CNY opening day ever — it’s about 35% below the record-breaking debut day of last year’s CNY release Detective Chinatown 3. What’s more, across all movies today, the total was down 12% to RMB 1.49B from RMB 1.69B last year, per Maoyan estimates.

Dr Lily revealed on This Morning that her impression of Princess Diana was that she was a “real angel” who loved Chinese medicine. Dr Lily appeared on the show for Chinese New Year to discuss the benefits of herbal medicine and how it can provide alternative support to western medicine. Rochelle Humes and Alison Hammond, who has stepped in for Phillip Schofield since he tested positive for Covid-19, took a moment to ask about Dr Lily’s former royal client.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMunich-based world sales company Global Screen has closed further deals in major territories for the family entertainment adventure “School of Magical Animals,” the most successful German film at the local box office last year. Global Screen will also be selling the sequel, it announced Tuesday.Deals have been closed for China (A-Quest Culture Media), Japan (Fine Films), Latin America (Discovery), Hungary (ADS), Serbia and Croatia (Investacommerce), and Portugal (NOS).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” lived up to its blockbuster billing with a more than $75 million box office haul by lunchtime on Tuesday, its opening day in mainland Chinese theaters.The film, aka “Watergate Bridge” had grossed RMB487 million ($76.5 million) by 1.30 pm, according to online ticketing agency Maoyan and Alibaba’s Beacon data service. At this pace a $100 million opening day is possible.State media has forecast that the film may propel the Chinese New Year (aka Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival) week to over $1 billion and that the 149-minute film could eventually become the highest-grossing film of all time in China.To do that, it would have to surpass “The Battle at Lake Changjin” which was released on Oct.

Legendary Entertainment, the production company behind film franchises like Dune and Enola Holmes, has sold a minority stake to the private equity firm Apollo for $760 million.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaLegendary Entertainment has sold a $760 million equity stake to Apollo, the companies announced on MondayThe pact gives the investment giant a minority ownership position in the studio behind “Dune” and “Godzilla vs. Kong.” In July, Variety broke the news that Legendary was exploring a possible sale and merger and had abandoned an earlier plan to merge with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).Wanda, which bought Legendary in 2016 for $3.5 billion, will continue to have a stake in the company.