‘F9’ Speeds to Explosive $160 Million-Plus Opening Overseas

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe National Music Publishers’ Association filed a lawsuit against Roblox, accusing the massively multiplayer online game company of illegally using songs from numerous artists — and seeking a minimum of $200 million in damages.Songs that are being used in Roblox’s online game without the company compensating writers or copyright holders include those recorded by Ariana Grande, Imagine Dragons, deadmau5, Ed Sheeran, and the Rolling Stones, among other artists,

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“In the Heights,” the big-screen adaptation of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway musical, is poised to light up the U.S. box office.Debuting this weekend in 3,400 U.S.

Rebecca Davis editorDisney’s “Cruella” strut into China on Sunday with a $1.78 million opening day, coming in sixth in a slow weekend behind reigning box office champ “F9,” according to data from Maoyan.Day one China figures for “Cruella” were less than a fourth of the $7.7 million the film grossed on its May 28 opening day in North America, where it premiered in theaters and on Disney Plus via a $30 fee.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9,” the latest installment in Universal’s high octane franchise, has crossed a major box office milestone internationally.The film, starring Vin Diesel, John Cena and Michelle Rodriguez, surpassed the $250 million mark overseas, including a huge $203 million in China.Of course, “F9” carries a massive production budget and will require outsized global ticket sales to turn a profit.

John Krasinski and Emily Blunt's A Quiet Place Part II is making the pandemic box office look happier and brighter. After a lull at the cinemas for over a year, the release of A Quiet Place Part II has been off to a spectacular start in North America and the box office results seem to be a huge boost amidst the pandemic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“F9” downshifted dramatically from a furious start in Chinese cinemas a week ago to a more pedestrian $20.5 million second weekend. But that was still good enough to take first place ahead of two significant foreign releases.The “Fast & Furious” franchise title lost 84% of its pace on its second lap, compared with a blistering opening weekend of $137 million.

Memorial Day weekend to a pandemic-best $48.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. Including the Monday holiday, the studio forecasts the film will gross $58.5 million in North America.The film's performance cheered a movie industry that has been punished and transformed by the pandemic.

Refresh for latest…: It was a busy weekend at global turnstiles, with a particularly noisy start for Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II. The John Krasinski-helmed sequel came out shouting with a $22M overseas debut in just 12 markets for a worldwide opening of $70.4M including the three-day $48.4M North American haul.

Endeavor has agreed to acquire China-based sports digital agency Mailman Group, according to a report today in Sports Business.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefEndeavor China, part of talent, sports and media agency Endeavor, is poised to acquire the Chinese firm Mailman Group.The Shanghai-based Mailman is a sports digital agency that covers strategy and marketing, content production, management of social media accounts, influencer marketing, sponsorship activation, PR and communications.The transaction is reported to be valued at $60 million and will be effected through Endeavor China, according to Sports Business,

Paramount’s A Quiet Place Part II is looking to make some noise in China with a last-minute release date now set for this coming Friday (May 28). This is notable given that the first John Krasinski-helmed thriller was among the rare horror pics to gain access to the Middle Kingdom, and then was even granted an extension in 2018.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“F9” roared into the lead at the China box office, where the “Fast and Furious” franchise has repeatedly lapped faster than in North America.On its first weekend in China the film grossed $137 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.That gave it an 83% share of the China weekend box office, a market share figure that was notably stable from its Friday lights out.

That makes the “Fast & Furious” franchise the sixth in box office history to reach $6 billion in lifetime grosses, largely off of a launch in China that came with the most expansive marketing campaign for a “F&F” film ever in the country that yielded the second-highest Chinese opening ever for Universal. Only “The Fate of the Furious” in 2017 earned a higher opening with $184.9 million.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9” has the international box office sizzling.The latest installment in Universal’s testosterone-fueled franchise kicked off with a massive $162.4 million in eight markets, including China, Korea and Hong Kong.

Ellise Shafer administrator“F9,” the ninth installment in Universal’s “Fast and Furious” franchise, is speeding toward a pandemic-era box office record.The film has generated $127 million at the international box office to date, and it’s expected to gross more than $160 million through Sunday.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s Dalian Wanda Group has dumped almost all of its remaining holdings in AMC Entertainment for $426 million, bringing its stake down to just 0.002%, according to a Friday regulatory filing.Since last Thursday, it has sold off 30.4 million of its AMC shares, leaving it now just 10,000 shares,The development marks the conglomerate’s latest move to shed overseas assets and retrench in China, a process begun in recent years after it came under scrutiny from Chinese

Rebecca Davis editor“F9,” the latest installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, is already revving up for a box office takeover — though a notably less spectacular one than other franchise films in years past.Its release appears not to have been marred by what Universal Pictures called a security “threat” earlier this week that forced the studio to abruptly cancel a major promotional event in Shanghai.“F9” racked up more than $32.6 million (RMB210 million) in pre-sale tickets, making it the

Elaine Low Senior TV WriterThree new animated feature films from Asian American creators are coming to Netflix in 2023, including Stephen Chow’s “The Monkey King,” starring the voice talents of Jimmy O.