‘F9’ Driving Past $500M Global; First Hollywood Movie To The Mark In Pandemic Era – International Box Office

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTencent Music Entertainment has been fined by Chinese regulators and ordered to terminate its exclusive content supply deals with major global music suppliers.The company is the largest online music group in China and is a majority owned subsidiary of China’s Tencent Group. Its shares are separately listed on the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S.The ruling was announced on Saturday by the State Administration for Market Regulation.

Latina Powerhouse athlete Marta Vieira da Silva is already one of the most iconic soccer players in the world, and now, she’s making history once again.In the opening match of the Tokyo Olympics on Wednesday, the Orlando Pride star became the first women’s soccer player to score in five straight Olympic Games after netting a pair of goals in Brazil’s 5-0 win over China.Cristiano Ronaldo posts cryptic message about his ‘decision day’The epic way Messi’s wife and kids celebrated his iconic

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Dear Evan Hansen,” a movie version of the hit Broadway show, will open the 2021 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival.In addition, the festival’s organizers announced that Chinese director Zhang Yimou’s latest feature “One Second” will close the festival. Described as a “love letter to cinema,” the film stars Wei Fan and Xiaochuan Li and follows a man who escapes a labour camp for a glimpse of his daughter.

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.

UPDATE: Disney/Marvel’s Black Widow narrowly led the international box office for Hollywood films this weekend, grossing an additional $29.9M from 48 material markets. That’s a 55% drop from opening, which most agree is decent even if there’s no getting around the fact that these are not Marvel-ous numbers. The overseas total is now even with domestic at $132M for $264M global. Contrary to last weekend, Disney did not break out streaming figures this time around.

Rebecca Davis editor“Chinese Doctors” gave a shot in the arm to a sluggish weekend at the Chinese box office, coming in first with sales of $44.4 million, according to Maoyan data.The patriotic tear-jerked had little competition: only other patriotic films, children’s animations and youth-centric programming are currently in theaters.The Wuhan-set pandemic film from Bona Film is the most commercial of a slew of blockbusters intended to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party, and

Rebecca Davis editorTen top Chinese directors have signed on to give a joint donation of RMB1 million ($155,000) to support new Chinese works and directors at the Pingyao International Film Festival, marking a vote of confidence in the festival’s future as its leadership changes hands.The helmers contributing to the fund are a who’s who list of leading Chinese directing talent, including: Jia Zhangke, Lou Ye, Diao Yinan, Ning Hao, Feng Xiaogang, Guan Hu, Chen Sicheng, Wang Xiaoshuai, Zhang

NCT are set to choose their next member through an upcoming TV series.The forthcoming reality TV show will be titled K-pop Goes Hollywood, according to a new report by the South China Morning Post. It will feature cameos from current members of the boyband, though it’s not yet confirmed if they would be on the judging panel.

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.

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.

It’s July 2021, and instead of talking about “F9,” “Black Widow,” or any of the summer blockbusters from this year, The Playlist Podcast is going back to the ‘80s to talk about two cult classic summer films, “Escape From New York” and “Big Trouble in Little China.” Why? Because they’re both celebrating big anniversaries. Oh, and because John Carpenter is one of the best filmmakers of all time and Kurt Russell is a national treasure.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s two new propaganda films topped the box office over their first weekend in theaters, but it appears that the politically correct content may not prove popular enough to drive sales at blockbuster levels.Most of the biggest local blockbusters set to hit China over the rest of the year are propaganda titles.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9” has the box office in overdrive. The ninth installment in Universal’s action-packed “Fast and Furious” franchise has surpassed $500 million in global ticket sales, solidifying its place as Hollywood’s biggest theatrical hit of the pandemic era.Other than “Hi, Mom” ($822 million) and “Detective Chinatown 3” ($686 million), which were both produced in China, “F9” is the only movie to cross the $500 million milestone since 2019.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese propaganda film “1921” grossed $13 million on its opening day Thursday, outperforming debuts from Hollywood releases like “Cruella,” “A Quiet Place Part II” and “Peter Rabbit 2.”Patriotic titles “1921” and “The Pioneer” kicked off China’s summer season with a nationalist splash with Thursday premieres.

Rebecca Davis editorStar-powered propaganda flick “1921” hit number one at the Chinese box office this week, bringing in $11.6 million from pre-screenings ahead of its July 1 debut, according to Maoyan data. The historical drama debuted earlier this month as the opening night title of the Shanghai Intl.

Rebecca Davis editorDespite an unprecedentedly difficult year, the Chinese film industry has come roaring back.

Rebecca Davis editor“Moneyboys,” the China-set first feature from up-and-coming helmer C.B. Yi, dropped its first trailer Wednesday.