Hong Kong Cinemas in Pain as Closure Extended Over Chinese New Year

Rebecca Davis editorWarner Brothers’ live action-animation hybrid film “Tom and Jerry” has quietly locked in a Feb. 26 release date in China, which will make it the first foreign film to hit theaters in the wake of the Chinese New Year.The lunar new year public holiday, which this year ran from Feb.

Rebecca Davis editorThe embattled production powerhouse Beijing Culture has emerged as the biggest publicly-listed winner of the Chinese New Year box office bonanza. Its stock price has climbed 18% since the start of the holiday thanks to the success of its hit comedy “Hi Mom.”The boost is a much needed one following two years of losses and a government investigation late last year that unveiled mismanagement and inaccurate figures in its prior financial statements.

Final exams have rarely taken a heavier toll than they do in Better Days, an arresting teen-oriented story that cranks Chinese scholastic competitiveness into the realm of murderous melodrama.

On Wednesday, Chinese New Year box office achieved yet another new milestone with grosses for the holiday period growing to an estimated RMB 7.78B ($1.2B). This beats the previous all-time high set during the comparable 2019 holiday (RMB 5.9B). China often outdoes itself, but the fact that 2021’s Lunar New Year frame came with Covid capacity restrictions makes the performance even more staggering.

After acquiring Chinese New Year title The Yin Yang Master last week, Netflix is adding animated fantasy New Gods: Nezha Reborn to its roster. The film, based on the classic mythology The Romance Of The Gods, debuted theatrically in China for Lunar New Year on February 12 and grossed $21.3M through the weekend. To date, it has made over $36M in the market. Netflix has taken exclusive global streaming rights outside China.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMovie industry shares soared in Hong Kong on Tuesday in response to the bumper revenues being earned at the mainland China box office over the Chinese New Year holidays.Leading the gains were Imax China and Alibaba Pictures, both of which have direct stakes in the box office boom. Imax China stock climbed by 31% to HK$18.36 per share at the close of trading.

Rebecca Davis editorHours after Beijing banned the BBC World Service, Hong Kong’s public broadcaster announced Friday that it will also drop certain BBC programs, sparking concern from foreign governments and journalist organizations.Beijing’s tit-for-tat move to block the BBC came a week after the U.K.

Rebecca Davis editorThe world’s largest film market is living up to its title with world-record-setting sales.

marked by a different animal.

Richard Kuipers Parallel worlds commingle with initially intriguing but progressively less invigorating results in “A Writer’s Odyssey,” a handsomely produced action-fantasy directed by Chinese hitmaker Lu Yang (“Brotherhood of Blades,” “The Sacrifice”).

Rebecca Davis editorHugely-popular Chinese video entertainment platform Bilibili is facing an ad boycott from Chinese brands after its airing of a controversial Japanese anime series sparked user criticism that the site appears to tolerate misogynistic comments and content.The controversy comes just months ahead of an expected secondary listing of Bilibili shares in Hong Kong.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese New Year is the biggest, most lucrative and brashest season of the year in mainland China cinemas. It is a time for big-budget tentpoles and fun films that are pitched as family entertainment.Having reserved their place in the releasing calendar for months or even a year, seven films open simultaneously on Friday (Feb.