‘Fantastic Beasts 3’ Wins Another Weekend as Korea Box Office Is Slow to Respond to Reduced Restrictions

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorEndeavor swung wide to a profit in Q1, fueled by the sale of Endeavor Content and big year-over-year gains for its events and talent representation units.Endeavor posted net income of $517 million on revenue of $1.47 billion. The black ink was driven by a $463.6 million one-time gain stemming from the sale last year of the Endeavor Content division, which was acquired by South Korea’s CJ ENM for $775 million.Excluding the Endeavor Content gain, Endeavor’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization came in it about $129.2 million.The company raised its full-year 2022 revenue guidance slighty, predicting it will come in between $5.235 billion and $5.47 billion, up from the $5.2 billion to $5.45 billion forecast from last quarter, and adjusted EBITDA guidance of $1.1 billion to $1.15 billion.

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.

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.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” opened with a stunning $14.4 million debut weekend in South Korea, far in excess of any film this year at the Korean box office. Its five-day opening score was $29.1 million.Data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service shows the film garnered an 87% market share over the weekend, as it lifted nationwide box office to pre-COVID levels for the first time in more than two years.

Mark Tuan has hinted at what appears to be plans for him to stay in South Korea for the foreseeable future.The GOT7 rapper wrecently appeared on Harper’s Bazaar Korea’s YouTube series Inside Bag, where he introduced to viewers the essential items found in his carry-on. For Tuan, one such item was his set of clear teeth aligners, which he explained was his second time undergoing an orthodontic process after seeing his dentist back in Los Angeles.He then revealed that he has to change out his aligners on a weekly basis, and that he brought about 20 sets. “I think I may stay in Korea for long, so I brought everything along,” he explained.Despite not elaborating further on his plans while he’s in South Korea, he’s so far been situated in the East Asian country for two months now, following his appearance at this year’s Paris Fashion Week.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefK-pop superstars BTS could be given exemption from compulsory military service in South Korea.“It’s time to create a system for incorporating popular culture-art figures as art personnel,” said Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Hwang Hee, at a press briefing on Wednesday, according to reports by the Yonhap news agency. Hwang said he aims to push a new law through parliament that would allow the stars of popular culture to serve their country outside the military.Under the present Military Service Act all able-bodied Korean men must enlist for roughly two years of military service before they reach age 30.

Naman Ramachandran Paramount Global’s streamer Paramount+ will launch in the U.K. and Ireland on June 22, with other international territories to follow.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” topped the box office in South Korea over the May Day weekend, beating a handful of minor local titles which released in hope of catching a rising market.The latest Friday-Sunday period appeared to represent a turning point – a $4.86 million nationwide aggregate was the biggest weekend haul since January – but a slow and uncertain one. Theatrical box office in Korea has been severely depressed all year due to government-imposed COVID restrictions, audience caution and a paucity of new release local titles.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNetflix has dropped the trailer for “Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Arena,” a remake of its hit Spanish crime drama. The streamer also announced that the show will premiere on June 24.The 12-episode series is directed by Kim Hong-Sun (Voice, Black) and is headlined by high-profile actors, including Yoo Ji-tae (“Oldboy,””Healer”), Kim Yunjin (“Shiri,””Lost”), Park Hae-soo (“Squid Game,””Prison Playbook”) and Jeon Jong-seo (“Call,””Burning”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe South Korean streaming market is consolidating around five major players as it also emerges as a hub for premium local content.New research by consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD Research platform show that the country boasted 14.1 million premium video streaming subscriptions at the end of 2021 and that usage of premium platforms accounted for a growing share of total viewing time.SVOD leaders Netflix, Wavve, TVing, Coupang Play and Disney+ captured an aggregate 85% share of SVOD subscriptions in Korea and 83% of SVOD streaming minutes.“Within Korea, nearly 70% of premium video consumption is driven by Korean dramas, movies and variety shows, while U.S. series and movies capture 14%,” said Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director.

Big Hit has responded to reports concerning the reported seizure of Jimin’s home. On Sunday, Korean news outlet Biz Hankook claimed that South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service took over the BTS member’s Seoul apartment on January 25.

Epik High‘s Tablo has revealed that Big Bang’s Taeyang is his “favourite” person to work with, while hinting at more to come with the K-pop idol.The Korean-American rapper had hosted an “ask me anything” (AMA) session on Twitter yesterday (April 21), where he responded to various questions from fans. “I know you collaborated [with] a lot of artists, but do you have a [favourite]?” asked one fan, to which Tablo responded with Big Bang’s Taeyang, whom he has worked with on several times before.taeyang— tablo (@blobyblo) April 20, 2022The duo first teamed up on Tablo’s 2011 album ‘Fever’s End Pt.

aespa are set to perform at the upcoming second weekend of Coachella.Today (April 19), it was confirmed that the girl group will make their Coachella debut at week two of the annual music festival, according to a new press release. The news comes after a week of cryptic social media posts by the members of aespa, which implied that the group were California-bound in the near future.The quartet are set appear on the main stage of the festival on April 23, where they will perform hits such as ‘Savage’, ‘Next Level’ and ‘Black Mamba’, according to Kpop Herald.

EXCLUSIVE: UTA has signed Korean filmmaker Kim Yong-hwa, one of the most important figures in the Korean screen industry.