IMAX & Golden Screen Cinemas Expand Partnership In Malaysia

controversial set at Good Vibes Festival, where lead singer Matty Healy criticised the government’s anti-LGBTQ+ laws and kissed bassist Ross McDonald. Shortly afterwards, the set was cut short citing “non-compliance with local performance guidelines”.

Japan has dominated this year’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA), with German filmmaker Wim Wenders’ latest Tokyo-set pic and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Drive My Car follow-up taking the top prizes. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two films from Japan, Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days” and Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” won the top prizes at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards on Friday. Multiple other honors went to films from Korea and Kazakhstan. The 16th edition of the APSA Awards was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia and recognized films from eight countries. “Perfect Days,” a gentle comedy drama about a toilet cleaner in Tokyo finding happiness in the everyday, premiered in Cannes and more recently was selected as Japan’s Oscar contender and as the opening title of the Tokyo International Film Festival.

The Star.The offending kiss, between The 1975 vocalist Matt Healy and fellow band member Ross MacDonald, sparked controversy in the conservative, majority-Muslim nation. Healy, who identifies as straight but has reportedly engaged in similar actions during other performances, kissed MacDonald following a rant against Malaysia’s anti-LGBTQ laws.As a result, the remainder of the Good Vibes music festival in Kuala Lumpur, where the band was playing, was canceled.The festival organizer, Future Sound Asia, blamed Healy for the loss of money stemming from the cancellation and demanded that the band pay $2.6 million in damages.Future Sound Asia also claims the incident has damaged the public’s opinion of the Good Vibes festival, potentially affecting future ticket sales if more conservative concert-goers refuse to spend money.The 1975 has also been banned from performing in Malaysia as a result of the incident.Teo noted that police officers are conducting background checks on foreign artists before allowing them to perform in the country.

IMAX is continuing its expansion drive, this time in Australia and Germany via an agreement with Oz-based exhibitor EVT for five new state-of-the-art IMAX with Laser systems in the two markets. Under the deal, EVT will integrate a new IMAX screen in an Event Cinemas location in Sydney, as well as at four CineStar locations in Germany.

Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer will return to IMAX cinemas for a series of encore screenings this week.The film will be re-released in IMAX theatres around the world for a week starting from this Thursday (November 2), including six locations where it will be presented in 70mm.As reported by Variety, the 70mm screenings are at AMC CityWalk Stadium 19 in Hollywood, AMC Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, AMC Lincoln Square in New York, AMC Metreon 16 in San Francisco, BFI London in the UK, and Melbourne Museum in Australia.You can buy tickets for the BFI London screenings here.Oppenheimer stars Cillian Murphy as theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who is credited as the “father of the atomic bomb” for his role in the Manhattan Project.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter Break out the tobacco pipes and fedora hats: Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” is returning to Imax screens for a one-week encore presentation. The blockbuster historical drama will be back on the big(gest) screen starting this Friday, including six Imax 70mm film locations: AMC CityWalk Stadium 19 in Hollywood, Calif.; AMC Irvine Spectrum in Irvine, Calif.; AMC Lincoln Square in New York City; AMC Metreon 16 in San Francisco; BFI London in the United Kingdom; and Melbourne Museum in Australia. These premium screens were the first to sell out during the film’s initial box office run.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Boutique sales agent, House of Film has acquired worldwide rights, excluding Asia, to represent the Malaysian mythical horror film “Curse of the Totem” (aka “Sumpahan Jerunei”) from Produksi Seni Duapuluh-Duapuluh SDN BHD. Based on the 13th Century Borneo sacrificial rituals, “Curse of the Totem” tells the story of Dr.

Imax CEO Rich Gelfond predicts the long SAG-AFTRA strike will settle relatively soon. If, instead, it drags on, theater chains will face a rocky second half of 2024 but he sees the large-format exhibitor standing apart.

Imax swung to a profit and saw revenue revenue jump in the Septembers quarter, buoyed by Oppenheimer and other content from Hollywood to local language films, concert films, docs and live events.

EXCLUSIVE: The National Film Authority of Ghana (NFA) has set the lineup for it’s inaugural Africa Cinema Summit (ACS) in Accra, hosted in partnership with FilmOne Group (Nigeria) and Silverbird Cinema (Ghana). 

Brent Lang Executive Editor Christopher Nolan deserves a really nice fruit basket. The director’s latest blockbuster, “Oppenheimer,” was shot with Imax cameras, something that Nolan talked up during the film’s press tour last summer. That advocacy contributed to $180 million in global ticket sales for Imax venues, lifting the big screen company’s latest earnings results.

Naman Ramachandran Chinese superstar actor and producer Fan Bingbing will be the 2023 recipient of the Singapore International Film Festival‘s (SGIFF) Cinema Icon Award. The festival will screen three of Fan’s films, curated by her – the recent “Green Night,” “Buddha Mountain” and “Double Xposure” – and the star will walk the red carpet on opening night, Nov. 30.

Malaysian filmmaker Amanda Nell Eu has distanced herself from the cut of her feature film Tiger Stripes, which is being released theatrically in Malaysia on October 19 for one week in an Oscars-qualifying run. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Amanda Nell Eu, director of breakout film “Tiger Stripes,” has disowned the censored version of the movie that launched in her native Malaysia on Thursday. “I do not stand behind the cut that will be shown in local cinemas […] the film that will be shown in local cinemas is not the film that we made, and it is not the film that won the Grand Prize of the Critics Week in Cannes,” said Eu in a statement (see below for full letter). The debut feature had received wide acclaim as the first Malaysian film in many years to play in Cannes, the first by a Malaysian woman director. It won a prize as best picture in Cannes Critics’ Week sidebar, will be the opening film of the Singapore International Film Festival and has been selected as Malaysia’s Oscar contender. Pitched somewhere between a coming-of-age drama and a body horror movie, the film tells the story of a 12-year-old who becomes the first among her friends to reach puberty.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese movie conglomerate Hengdian Films has inked a contract to fit Imax with Laser premium large format screen systems at 20 of its cinema locations. The order is the Imax’s largest recorded during the past four years. Hengdian Films is a pre-existing Imax client and the new deal will expand its Imax screen count to 27 when completed.

In yet another move to increase its footprint in Asia, IMAX is expanding its partnership with Hengdian Films via an agreement for 20 new IMAX with Laser systems across China. This marks the largest deal for new IMAX systems in four years, reinforcing the strong demand among Chinese exhibitors and audiences for the premium experience with Hollywood and local content alike. 

Control due to Kevin Spacey’s involvement.Spacey has a voice role through phone calls in the thriller, which marks the actor’s first project since he was cleared of sexual assault charges at a London trial in July.As reported by The Telegraph, Greg Lynn, who runs the London cinema based near Leicester Square, wrote an email to Control actor and producer Lauren Metcalfe to inform them of the cancellation.“We have an issue,” the email from Lynn reads. “It is with my apologies that I have to inform you that we have cancelled your hire with us.“Last night it came to our attention that your film features Kevin Spacey, in particular his first film since the court case.

Michaela Zee The world premiere of “Control,” Kevin Spacey‘s first film since he was acquitted of sexual assault, has dealt with a few setbacks after a London cinema dropped its offer to host due to the actor’s involvement in the micro-budget Welsh thriller. The Prince Charles Cinema, an avid supporter of independent film located in Leicester Place, withdrew its offer to host the “Control” premiere after the theater was made aware of Spacey’s role in the movie.

Kevin Spacey’s attempted career comeback has suffered a blow, with a London cinema dropping its offer to host the premiere of his new film.