Endeavor Swings to Q1 Profit on Endeavor Content Sale, Big Gains for Events and Representation

BTS are heading to the White House on Tuesday during AANHPI Heritage Month.

Peter Debruge Chief Film CriticWhile Americans’ attention is consumed with the issue of abortion, halfway across the world, director Kore-eda Hirokazu (“Shoplifters”) focuses on the alternative for mothers who carry their pregnancies to term, but can’t raise the children on their own. A warm and unexpectedly nonjudgmental look at the Korean gray market for adoption, “Broker” was inspired by the idea of “baby hatches” — essentially, a donation station for unwanted infants — and follows the director’s natural curiosity through to its most humanistic conclusion, as audiences unexpectedly come to empathize with practically everyone involved in the buying and selling of a little bundle of joy.What is Kore-eda, who is Japanese, doing making a film in South Korea, you might ask? It’s not his first time working abroad.

Seungri, who was once part of the boyband Big Bang, will serve the entirety of his 18-month jail sentence after a South Korean court upheld the sentence.Today (May 26), the South Korean Supreme Court rejected the 32-year-old singer’s appeal for a lighter sentence, over nine separate charges he received over his involvement in the Burning Sun scandal, according to SBS Star.The singer was originally sentenced to three years behind bars in August 2021, after a lower court found him guilty of all nine charges, which ranged from misappropriating funds to procuring prostitution for investors. At the time, he had also been ordered to pay ₩1.15billion (roughly £700,000) in restitution.However, Seungri’s sentence was halved earlier this year in January when the High Military Court of the Ministry Of Defense in Seoul held the final appeal trial.

Lovelyz member Mijoo is reportedly set to release solo music later this year.According to reports from several South Korean media outlets, Mijoo is reportedly in the process of selecting songs for her solo debut. Industry insiders consulted by JTBC added that the songs considered for the singer’s solo debut are reportedly summer-themed and composed by different producers.Antenna, Mijoo’s management agency, has since confirmed the news.

GOT7 member Mark Tuan has teased his debut solo album, saying that he’s done working on the upcoming record.In a recent interview with Singles Magazine, the Taiwanese-American K-pop idol revealed that he had recently completed an “album-like project”, just prior to his arrival in South Korea to join GOT7 for the boyband’s comeback.“I’ve worked on a lot more songs than the singles that have been released,” said Tuan, as translated by Soompi. “Before I came to Korea, I hastily finished working on an album-like project then threw a listening party for my friends and staff members and the response was good.”The Taiwanese-American singer added that he had prepared “quite a lot” of songs, and that everybody at his listening party had different favourites.

South Korea may have made big inroads on American TV recently with “Squid Game” and “Pachinko,” and the country’s intriguing film and television industry also has a stronger-than-usual presence at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae’s political thriller “Hunt” premiered as a midnight screening early in the festival; Davy Chou’s “Return to Seoul” landed a pre-Cannes deal with Sony Pictures Classics and is one of the hits of the Un Certain Regard sidebar; and Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda is in the main competition with “Broker,” his first film shot in South Korea in the Korean language.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCinema box office this year in North America is poised to overtake theatrical revenues in China, the country that has been the world’s largest movie market for the past two years.Before the latest weekend, gross revenues in the year to date stood at $2.38 billion for the North American compared with $2.43 billion for China, according to data from ComScore.U.K.-based research firm Gower Street Analytics forecast that the North American figure would overtake China’s revenues over the weekend or early this week. That reflects business growth in North America and the current reversal in China, where anti-COVID measures are causing renewed cinema closures.Gower Street says that some 85% of global cinemas are now open for business, compared with pre-pandemic levels.

iKON member B.I has opened up about his 2019 drug scandal for the first time.In a recent interview with Billboard, the South Korean singer publicly spoke about his previous drug scandal for the first time. Allegations of B.I’s drug use first emerged in 2019, which resulted in the singer’s departure from iKON and YG Entertainment.B.I’s case was active until its final hearing last September, during which the Seoul Central District court sentenced the K-pop idol to a four-year probation for his alleged purchase of marijuana and LSD in 2016.“Many people expected a lot from me in 2016.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefLocally-produced action franchise movie “The Roundup” blasted its way into the record books and elevated Korean box office to levels not seen for more than two years.The film enjoyed record levels of pre-sales, significant teaser activity the previous weekend and opened officially on Wednesday.Over the weekend proper it rounded up $21.1 million from 2,500 screens nationwide, according to KOBIS, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).Its five-day cumulative (including the previews) is an astonishing $29.1 million, which makes it the second biggest film of the year, behind only “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” and by far the highest grossing Korean film of the year to date. Those figures were earned from 2.5 million spectators between Friday and Sunday, and 3.5 million in five days.

P1Harmony and American singer-songwriter Pink Sweat$ are set to collaborate on the upcoming single, ‘Gotta Get Back’.Yesterday (May 16), the boyband announced the upcoming digital single on Twitter, and also released the song’s pastel-coloured cover art. According to Korea JoongAng Daily, Pink Sweat$ composed the forthcoming collaboration, while P1Harmony members Intak and Jongseob helped pen lyrics for the track.

SEVENTEEN have announced the North American leg of their forthcoming ‘Be The Sun’ world tour.Today (May 17), the 13-member boyband took to Twitter to reveal their upcoming world tour. Titled ‘Be The Sun’, the tour is set to kick off in Seoul this June, before heading to North America, where SEVENTEEN will play in 12 different cities across the US and Canada.From August to September, SEVENTEEN will perform in US cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago and Houston.

Manori Ravindran International EditorIn one of the first major deals of the Cannes market, Sony Pictures Classics has swooped on Un Certain Regard title “All The People I’ll Never Be.” The distributor has picked up rights in North America, Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.The film, which is written and directed by Davy Chou (“Diamond Island”), will be re-titled as “Return to Seoul.” It premieres in the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.The pic centers on 25-year-old Freddie, who impulsively returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. The headstrong young woman starts looking for her biological parents in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions.

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired the North American rights and other territories to “All The People I’ll Never Be,” a film from writer and director Davy Chou that is playing in the Un Certain Regard section on Sunday at the Cannes Film Festival. SPC is also planning on re-titling the movie in English, “Return to Seoul,” which is the translation of its actual title in French. In addition to North America, the distributor also acquired rights to the film in Latin America, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.“All The People I’ll Never Be” is the story of a 25-year-old woman who, on an impulse, returns to South Korea for the first time where she was born before being adopted and raised in France.

Ahead of its world premiere in Un Certain Regard section of Cannes, the Davy Chou directed and written feature All the People I’ll Never Be has been picked up by Sony Pictures Classics.

Wheein recently took part in ELLE’s popular ‘Song Association’ series, where she sang hit songs from Big Bang, SEVENTEEN and WINNER, among others.During the segment, the MAMAMOO singer performed a number of tracks off her most-recent mini-album ‘WHEE’, including ‘Make Me Happy’ and ‘Pink Cloud’, along with a number of other songs from her own discography as a soloist and a member of MAMAMOO.Wheein also covered a handful of hits from Big Bang’s Taeyang and G-Dragon (‘I Need A Girl’), WINNER (‘Really Really’), Sik-K (‘Water’, featuring Jay Park, Woodie Gochild, pH-1 and Haon), SEVENTEEN (‘Very Nice’) and more.Sandwiched between the rounds of ‘Song Association’, Wheein shared that her 2017 collaboration with South Korean vocalist Jung Key had been the “most complex song [I had to sing] in my life”.“Jung Key wrote the song, and I was featured as a guest vocalist,” the MAMAMOO singer recalled, before going on to perform a snippet of the song’s chorus. “‘Anymore’ is a song with a very high pitch and requires advanced skills, [so] it was a bit challenging to record.”Speaking on ‘WHEE’ after it dropped in January this year, Wheein revealed that the mini-album drew inspiration from parts of her lifestyle and personality.

Holland has spoken out following a recent incident where he was physically assaulted.On May 6, the 26-year-old singer shared that he had been physically attacked by an unknown assailant during a night out in Seoul, where he was approached and struck on the face twice, with the aggressor purportedly calling him a “dirty gay”. Speaking out on Twitter directly after the incident, he wrote: “This is obviously a hate crime.”Following the ordeal, the openly gay Korean musician sat with Billboard for an interview, where he recalled the events and thoughts about the incident.

HYBE girl group LE SSERAFIM have set a new first-week sales record with their debut mini-album ‘Fearless’.Today (May 9), Source Music announced that the six member group – comprising Kim Chae-won, Miyawaki Sakura, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha, Kim Ga-ram and Hong Eun-chae – sold 307,450 copies of their debut record ‘Fearless’ in its first week.LE SSERAFIM are now sixth girl group to ever surpass 300,000 album sales within a week of release, a feat previously achieved by acts such as BLACKPINK, Red Velvet and IZ*ONE. According to the agency, this also makes ‘Fearless’ the highest-selling debut release of by a South Korean girl group of all time.‘Fearless’, which arrived last week, is led by the single of the same title.

Popular South Korean K-Pop singer and actor Holland said he was the victim of a homophobic attack last week. Holland, one of the few out gay K-Pop singers, said he was attacked on May 5, while he was walking in the Itaewon neighbourhood in Seoul. Trigger Warning: This story has details and visuals of a homophobic attack, which might be distressing to some readers. For 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention call Lifeline on 13 11 14. For Australia-wide LGBTQI peer support call QLife on 1800 184 527 or webchat.The Itaewon area, where the incident occurred is the popular LGBTQI night life district in South Korea.The photo showed bruises to his head and face.

admitted to a hospital in Seoul on Thursday (May 5) following a sudden cardiac arrest.Kang’s memorial service has been set up at Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. Her funeral ceremony will be held on Wednesday (May 11) and will be broadcast live through the Korean Film Council’s YouTube channel, according to a report from The Hollywood Reporter.The funeral committee will be led by Kim Dong-ho, former chairperson of the board of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).“Kang broke boundaries with her fearless performances.