India’s ‘K.G.F: Chapter 2’ Is Weekend’s Second Highest Grossing Film, With $70 Million Worldwide Opening

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorIn today’s podcast roundup, “Batman Unburied” flies to the top of Spotify’s charts; HBO Max’s “The Staircase” gets a companion podcast; Slate’s “Slow Burn” Season 7 will unpack the history of Roe v. Wade; Audible set to release “Beast Master” investigative narrative podcast about “Ohio’s bear king”; and more.DC’s “Batman Unburied” superhero series soared to the top of the Spotify podcast charts in markets around the globe this week after its premiere — unseating “The Joe Rogan Experience,” the controversial show that is the streamer’s regular chart-topper. The thriller from David S. Goyer delves into the dark recesses of Bruce Wayne’s psyche with an all-new storyline.The first two episodes of the 10-ep “Batman Unburied” bowed May 3.

Carson Burton The 2022 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) has announced the winners of its annual filmmaker awards, with Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s “Once Upon a Time in Calcutta” winning the grand jury prize for feature film. Anmol Sidhu’s “Jaggi” was the recipient of the Uma da Cunha Award for feature film debut, as well as the audience choice award for feature.“This year’s edition of the film festival was wonderful in so many ways,” said IFFLA executive director Christina Marouda.

Naman Ramachandran India will be the official country of honor for the Cannes Film Market (May 17-25) this year.This is the first time the market is having an official country of honor and the new tradition will be continued annually with different nations at future editions.There s a neat coincidence: India is celebrating its 75th year of independence from British rule. The Cannes festival is also celebrating its 75th anniversary.The market celebrations will lick off on May 18 at the Majestic Beach with an introduction from market executive directors Jérôme Paillard and Guillaume Esmiol and a welcome address from Anurag Singh Thakur, India’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting.India will be prominently visible throughout the festival this year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefFilm adaptation rights to hit Indian novelist Chetan Bhagat’s 2016 acclaimed book “One Indian Girl” have been acquired up by Sony Pictures International Productions. The studio plans a Hindi-language adaptation that will go into development later this year. Bhagat’s book, which broke pre-sale records on Amazon India when it was launched, revolves around a high-flying woman financier who is intelligent and successful, but finds it difficult to find love.

Naman Ramachandran The Knight Riders Group (KRG), backed by Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, alongside actor Juhi Chawla and businessman Jay Mehta, is investing in a 10,000-capacity cricket stadium near Los Angeles.Located at a 15-acre land parcel in Great Park, Irvine, Southern California, some 40 miles from downtown Los Angeles, the plan is driven by Major League Cricket (MLC). The org has revealed that an exclusive negotiating agreement with the city of Irvine to move forward with lease negotiations and design approvals has been approved.

Imax reported a global quarterly box office total of $173.2 million, up 57% over Q1 2021 thanks in large part to the March release of “The Batman” and post-holiday holdover screenings of “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Imax also had screenings of seven local language films in countries like China, India and France. Adjusted EBITDA stood at $14.8 million, up from $2.8 million in Q1 2021 during which theaters worldwide closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

EXCLUSIVE: Park Chan-wook’s anticipated Cannes Competition title Decision To Leave has sold to arthouse streamer, theatrical distributor and producer Mubi in what we understand to be the company’s biggest film deal to date.

Amazon is strengthening its ties in India by unveiling a 40-strong slate of original TV series and films and an on-demand rentals service.

Naman Ramachandran Amazon Prime Video India is betting big on India. At a marquee event in Mumbai the streamer announced that it will more than double its investment in Prime Video India over the next five years and revealed a 40-strong slate, its biggest to date in the country.The titles are in the Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages, across new and returning scripted and unscripted original series and co-productions, streaming over the next 24 months.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentFollowing a tortuous journey and dozens of crazy rumors, the Cannes Film Festival has landed Vincent Lindon, the French actor of last year’s Palme d’Or winning “Titan,” as jury president of its 75th edition.Lindon, who won best actor in 2015 for his role in Stephane Brizé’s movie “The Measure of a Man,” will be the first French star to be jury president since Isabelle Huppert in 2009. The festival said “French celebrities have often held this role in an anniversary year, such as Yves Montand in 1987 for the 40th Festival, Gérard Depardieu in 1993 for the 45th Festival, and Isabelle Adjani in 1997 for the 50th.”The jury will comprise two-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Asghar Farhadi (“A Hero”), as well as U.S.

The Cannes Film Festival has set Vincent Lindon as its jury president for the 75th edition, which kicks off next month. The French actor, who won the Best Actor award in Cannes in 2015 for his role in The Measure Of A Man, starred in last year’s Palme d’Or winner Titane.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBox office in mainland China over the weekend was the lowest this year as thousands of cinemas remained closed due to the expanding COVID outbreak.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed that nationwide cinema revenue between Friday and Sunday sank to just $8.2 million. That compared with $10.5 the previous weekend.“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was again the highest grossing title, with $1.7 million (RMB11.0 million), advancing its aggregate to $17.3 million (RMB111) since release on April 8, 2022.

Vampire Weekend.Vampire Weekend, who will headline the first day of the festival, is joined by three other new additions: rapper and producer JPEGMAFIA, Mongolian metal band The Hu and Indian metal outfit Bloodywood.The four freshly added acts will join previously announced performers that include Jack White, Halsey, Foals, Bonobo, Fontaines D.C., Dinosaur Jr, Syd, Arlo Parks, Black Pumas, Tom Misch, Mura Masa, Hiatus Kaiyote, Superorganism, Japanese Breakfast, Snail Mail and more.More acts are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.⚡️LINE UP UPDATED⚡️7/29（金）ヘッドライナーにVAMPIRE WEEKEND 決定！第2弾ラインナップ発表！≫ https://t.co/9rieugS4hR#fujirock #フジロック pic.twitter.com/aA28zyXEWl— FUJI ROCK FESTIVAL (@fujirock_jp) April 22, 2022The annual festival, which was established in 1997, will return to Naeba Ski Resort in Niigata Prefecture from July 29 to 31 this year. Advance tickets for this year’s festival are now on sale until June 16.This marks the return of international artists to Fuji Rock Festival following a 2021 edition comprising an all-Japanese line-up.

Naman Ramachandran Suresh Triveni, the Indian filmmaker who directed 2017 film “Tumhari Sulu” and 2022 Amazon original “Jalsa,” both starring Vidya Balan, has launched creative studio and production house Opening Image.The venture will be backed by Vikram Malhotra’s Abundantia Entertainment (“Jalsa,” “Sherni”).Triveni says the focus at Opening Image is on content development spanning films and series from idea to screen. A slate of films and series across multiple genres and languages is in development, including a film that Triveni will direct and a series on which he will be the showrunner. Opening Image will also host a script lab that will pair emerging talent with veterans.

It takes a lot of confidence to wear a white suit to a fight in an open-cut mine. It takes something else — maybe an Avengers-style superpower, to repel dirt — to come out of said fight still gleaming, shirt collar tidily spread across those snowy lapels, shades on. Rocky, outlaw hero of KGF, has confidence to burn, obviously: when he tells a former U.S. president that he is the CEO of India, he isn’t joking. We know that for sure because, whatever else he does — fighting off would-be assassins, staging boardroom coups, buying off every politician in the Indian legislature or mashing heads with a mallet — Rocky, like his American namesake, doesn’t joke. He’s got stuff to do.

Ukraine as a backdrop, the Cannes Film Festival plans a special honor for Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun” comeback and to host some 35,000 people as the movie industry looks to reclaim its pre-pandemic allure.On Thursday, organizers of this year's festival unveiled the 18 films that will compete for the coveted Palme d’Or prize at the May 17-28 event. They include “The Natural History of Destruction” by Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa, “All that Breathes” by Indian director Shaunak Sen, and Ethan Cohen’s “Jerry Lee Lewis: Trouble in Mind.”Organizers will announce the jury at a later date.After a pandemic-related production delay, “Top Gun: Maverick,” in which Cruise reprises his 1986 role as a U.S.

Film Independent today announced the names of the 30 filmmakers, from 11 nations, selected to participate in its 2022 Global Media Makers LA Residency, taking place in person this month.

Coming off the blockbuster success of S.S. Rajamouli’s RRR, star Ram Charan is hardly sitting on his laurels. Releasing April 29 is action drama Acharya which he’s producing and starring in with his father, the prolific actor Chiranjeevi. He’s also currently shooting RC15 (working title), a political drama from 2.0 director S. Shankar, and has more projects in the pipeline.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAmazon’s Prime Video platform will broadcast the Australian Swimming Championships, in Adelaide next month, as part of a two-year deal with Swimming Australia. The company will use a roster of celebrity commentators to give a high profile to its continuing foray into the sports sector.The deal with Swimming Australia is the first partnership Amazon has had in Australia for sports, other than sports documentaries.The streaming giant has a patchwork of sportscasting in other territories – in India, for example it currently has a mixture women’s basketball and some cricket, having previously carried major tennis tournaments and English soccer.

EXCLUSIVE: And Just Like That… standout Sarita Choudhury is set to headline another potential series for HBO Max. Choudhury is starring and executive producing in The Colony, a one-hour drama written/executive produced by Sonejuhi Sinha and Charlotte Rabate. It is based on the 2018 feature Stray Dolls, written and produced by Sinha and Rabate and directed by Sinha. Nicholas Weinstock (Severance) is executive producing through his company Invention Studios.