Endeavor’s $785M Sale Of Stake In Content Unit To Korea’s CJ ENM Officially Closes

Day6 member Wonpil has made his solo debut with the full-length album ‘Pilmography’.The South Korean musician released the 10-track ‘Pilmography’ at 6pm KST today (February 7), alongside a music video for title track ‘Voiceless’. In a pre-recorded press event celebrating the release, Wonpil spoke about how he hoped the album would  “comfort and heal people, especially among times of trouble”, per Korea Herald.“The title of my album ‘Pilmography’ is a [combined] term of my name and the term filmography, and I gave a little tweak by adding the letter ‘P’ from my name,” he said, adding that the record will be like the filmography of his life so far.However, plans for Wonpil to promote the album have been postponed as the singer was recently in close contact with a COVID-19 positive case.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAfter a flurry that lasted only for the duration of the recent Lunar New Year holidays, theatrical box office in South Korea slumped again over the latest weekend. Nationwide, Korean cinemas earned just $3.22 million between Friday and Sunday. That was the lowest scoring weekend so far in 2022 and followed a disappointing holiday period.The Lunar New Year holidays – if measured from the previous Saturday until Wednesday (Jan 29- Feb.

All Of Us Are Dead has helped South Korea set a new record on Netflix in the US.Based on the webtoon Now At Our School by Joo Dong-geun, the series follows a group of high school students who find themselves trapped on campus as a zombie apocalypse spreads like wildfire.After previously topping the charts on Netflix in over 25 countries by January 31, All Of Us Are Dead has now reached the summit of the daily Top 10 list on US Netflix (February 4). As the second non-English-language series to reach that position, the K-drama has helped set a new record for South Korea.Thanks to the success of Squid Game and All Of Us Are Dead, Korea is now the first country to place multiple series not in the English language at the top of the streaming service’s charts, according to Deadline.

Manori Ravindran International Editor88Rising co-founder Jaeson Ma and Anonymous Content executive producer Eric Tu are joining forces to launch EST Studios, an independent finance, production and sales outfit geared towards the Asian marketplace.Launching just ahead of the European Film Market — which officially kicks off Feb. 10 — the company specializes in premium film and episodic content.Ma (pictured, left) will serve as the company chairman and co-CEO, with Tu (right) serving as co-founder and co-CEO.

Annika Pham Stockholm-based production house Hobab whose buzzy Cannes Directors’ Fortnight “Clara Sola” was snapped by New-York-based Oscilloscope Laboratories, is ramping up its ambitions, with female-led projects.“Our vision is to combine arthouse sensitivity with mainstream appeal, and to help talents – both Nordic and international – grow with care,” said Nima Yousefi, producer and joint owner with Peter Krupenin.Pedigree European shingles Finland’s Tuffi Films, Denmark’s Toolbox and Italy’s Intramovies have boarded as co-producers Hobab’s next Swedish feature drama “Sisters,” from first-time fiction helmer Mika Gustafson.Ruben Öslund’s former alumna at Göteborg’s Valand Academy, Gustafson had her international break with the short film “Mephobia,” followed by the doc-biopic “Silvana,” about rapper and feminist icon Silvana Imam. Due to start lensing in June, “Sisters” is penned by Gustafson with actor-screenwriter Alexander Öhrstrand, seen in “The Bridge” and “The Hunt for a Killer.”The coming of age story follows siblings Laura (16), Mira (12) and Steffi (7), fending for themselves in a Swedish working-class suburban housing estate, as their mother vanishes for lengthy periods.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Pirates: The Last Royal Treasure” ran off with nearly half the weekend bullion at the South Korea box office. On its heels was political drama-thriller “Kingmaker,” as local titles finally overthrew the long-running “Spider-Man: No Way Home” ahead of a public holiday.Most South Koreans will enjoy two consecutive public holidays on Monday (“Seotdal Geumeum” or New Year’s Eve) and Tuesday (Lunar New Year), meaning that the Friday to Sunday weekend was the first part of a five-day holiday season. The three-day nationwide box office total was $5.58 million.

STAYC are set to drop new music next month, confirmed High Up Entertainment.Earlier today (January 28), the girl group’s agency High Up Entertainment announced that the six-piece K-pop would be returning with new music, with the current release date set for sometime in February.“With the release of their new album approaching, STAYC are currently picking up the pace of their final preparations for their comeback,” wrote High Up Entertainment, as translated by Soompi. “We will announce the precise schedule [for their comeback] at a later date.”The label also teased STAYC’s forthcoming release, nothing that the group “will be returning with upgraded music”.

Love is in the air, thanks to Single’s Inferno!

Day6 singer and keyboardist Wonpil is set to release his first-ever solo album in February.At midnight KST on January 24, the South Korean musician announced that he would be making his solo debut with his first-ever album, titled ‘Pilmography’. Alongside the announcement came an intriguing teaser film for the upcoming release, which is due out on February 7 at 6pm KST.In the new visual, a marble rolls across the floor, bumping lightly against the hand of a sleeping Wonpil.

BTS taking home three awards, the most of any K-pop group and second only to trot singer Lim Young-woong.The septet had taken home World Best Artist Award, the U+Idol Best Artist Awardand one of the 13 Bonsang (main prize) awards. Other K-pop acts like IU, NCT 127 and ENHYPEN had also taken home numerous awards.IU had won Best Song for her March 2021 single ‘Lilac’ from her fifth studio album of the same time, along with a Bonsang award.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Spider-Man: No Way Home” was gifted a sixth successive victory at the South Korean box office in a weekend with no releases of commercially significant films.“Spider-Man” played out to a lowball $1.23 million haul between Friday and Sunday. That was only 18% down on its previous weekend score and lifted its running total since release on Dec. 15, 2021, to $60.3 million.

EXCLUSIVE: In a competitive situation, Will Yun Lee and Mark and Christine Holder’s Seoul Street has acquired rights to Silver Phoenix author Cindy Pon’s bestselling sci-fi novels Want and sequel Ruse for development as an international television series.

A specialty market dotted by holdovers as Oscar nods approach and gripped by Sundance fever debuts a compelling handful of new openers from Korean director Hong Sang-soo’s Introduction to Bhutan’s first ever entrant on the Academy Awards International feature shortlist, to a Ukrainian coming of age story and a Queen Latifa-starrring family film Tiger Rising based on the bestselling Kate DiCamillo book.

KARD member BM has released his new solo track, titled ‘Lie (Lost in Euphoria)’.The Korean-American star dropped the new single on January 21, alongside an official visualiser. ‘LIE (Lost In Euphoria)’ is notably BM’s first release under altm Group, which first announced back in October 2021 on Instagram that it had signed the K-pop idol.“I found you, now I’m lost in euphoria / Lost but I love it, don’t look for me / I’ll go to a place where there is no pain / Even if I get lost, it’s okay with you, yeah,” he sings in the chorus of the trap-tinged song, in Korean and English.The new track was co-written and co-composed by BM himself, while South Korean rapper and producer GEMINI co-produced alongside frequent BM collaborator GHOSTCHILD.