Endeavor China Appoints Sum Huang As CEO

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefImax’s massive China operations are forecasting a rebound into profit after previously losing money due to the COVID-19 outbreak.The separately-listed Imax China company is forecasting net profits of $19-20 million for the six months to June 2021.

Rebecca Davis editorJackie Chan has long been one of Hong Kong’s celebrities who most frequently and prominently engages in propaganda efforts for the mainland’s ruling Communist Party, but he recently took his public devotion to the Chinese regime to a new level.Chan declared his admiration for the Party at a symposium organized by the China Film Association last week to “study and implement the spirit” of a keynote speech delivered by Chinese President Xi Jinping.“Abroad they often say,

Rebecca Davis editorChinese authorities in a number of counties nationwide plan to bar residents who have not been vaccinated from entering indoor entertainment venues, like cinemas, as part of its attempt to significantly ramp up its vaccination campaign.Policies restricting the movement and entry of unvaccinated people will been rolled out in various places around the country throughout the month of July. Chinese cinemas have been operating at 75% capacity since re-opening nationwide in July

Read more: At home with the Welsh entrepreneur who flopped on The Apprentice but now runs a £16m business and drives a Ferrari From being mobbed in the supermarket by fans to learning Welsh while living in China, Iain has revealed how he ended up as a celeb on the other side of the world. Born in Southampton and raised in Cardiff, the now 43-year-old is currently a bilingual presenter on a prime time Chinese television show.

The visceral reaction was almost instant. In 2008, Jon M.

Rebecca Davis editorThe tear-jerking, patriotic pandemic film “Chinese Doctors” locked down a $53.5 million China opening weekend, according to Maoyan, setting itself up to become the most commercially successful political tribute film so far this year.Such films have been helped along by a line-up cleared of competitors.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Nocturna,” an Argentinian-made fantasy film that played last month in the Shanghai International Film Festival’s midnight fantasy section, has been picked up by Chinese company Naropean.Naropean, which shares executives with HGC Entertainment, one of the more prominent Chinese IP groups, has taken rights for China, Asia and Oceania, as well as remake rights.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese regulators have formally blocked the proposed merger of Huya and Douyu, two of the country’s largest live streaming operators. The planned merger had been orchestrated by social media and gaming giant Tencent and had been valued at approximately $5.3 billion.The announcement was made by the State Administration for Market Regulation in an online statement on Saturday morning, after relevant stock markets had closed.

Rebecca Davis editorThe U.S. film industry is heaving a sigh of relief that “Black Widow” is poised to become the highest grossing domestic debut of the post-pandemic era, marking America’s return to moviegoing in force.The Scarlett Johansson-starrer is projected to earn around $80 million in its North American opening weekend, beating out “F9” last month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNa Jiazuo, one of the few Chinese directors to make it to the Cannes Film Festival this year, says he learned from the best in the business. His “Streetwise” (aka “Gaey Wa’r”) unspools in Un Certain Regard and is eligible for the Camera d’Or, reflecting Na’s status as a rookie feature director.The picture is a gritty, largely nocturnal, portrait of a group of young adults in an unfashionable town as they come to terms with life’s uneasy lot.

Endeavor China, which just named a new group CEO, Thursday announced the acquisition of Shanghai-based Mailman Group, a digital agency for sports brands and rights holders.

Rebecca Davis editorEndeavor’s China offshoot announced Thursday that it has acquired the Shanghai-headquartered digital marketing agency Mailman Group and its Seven League subsidiary. Prior reports estimate the deal to be valued at $60 million.The move comes as Endeavor seeks to expand its footprint in the sports marketing space in China and the broader Asia-Pacific region.

Ashton Kutcher has a strong opinion about China's influence via social media. The 43-year-old actor recently appeared on the American Optimist YouTube channel and spoke about protecting children from various crimes on the internet.

Sony Pictures Classics has taken US, South East Asia, China, India, Eastern Europe and Turkey rights to Florian Zeller’s The Father follow-up, The Son starring Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, and Vanessa Kirby. Zeller is directing from the screenplay he co-adapted from his stage play with Christopher Hampton.

Rebecca Davis editorTwenty-four years ago, on the evening that the U.K.

Rebecca Davis editorGuangzhou, the capital of China’s top movie-going province Guangdong, announced Friday that cinemas there can now reopen after nearly a month of closures due to a rise in COVID-19 cases.Theaters were shuttered in a number of districts in the city of more than 15 million on June 7 after an outbreak that authorities worried could be tied to new, more transmissible coronavirus variants.Cinemas were closed for 25 days before local authorities declared that the outbreak has now

Rebecca Davis editorEndeavor’s China subsidiary has appointed Sum Huang as its chief executive, the company said Tuesday.Huang was most recently the co-founder and partner of Shanghai-headquartered content provider XG Entertainment, which raised capital from Alibaba CICC and YF Capital during his tenure.  He helped the company build its content development and production business, produced live concerts, and established a branded content team that formed a TikTok-based multi-channel media

John Cena is revealing the tactics he used to keep the identity of his “F9” character under wraps.