J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Games Raises $40 Million in New Funding

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.

Rebecca Davis editorChina is notorious for dialing up its internet censorship as the June 4 anniversary of the deadly Tiananmen Square crackdown approaches.Each year, its censors go into high alert to wipe out any direct, indirect or disguised references to the 1989 incident, during which the People’s Liberation Army fired upon peaceful democracy protestors in the heart of Beijing.But for the first time this year, a top social media platform took the unusual step of preemptively silencing

LISBON, Portugal -- Dissident Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is putting on the biggest show of his career, and he is doing it in a place he’s fallen in love with: Portugal.The world-renowned visual artist’s new exhibition, “Rapture,” opens in the Portuguese capital Lisbon on Friday.Ai arrived in Portugal almost two years ago and says he has no plans to return to Germany or England, where he has also lived since leaving China in 2015.“I have a great feeling” about Portugal, the artist said Thursday.

Rebecca Davis editorChina has shuttered a portion of cinemas in top movie-going province Guangdong after what reports said may be the country’s first community outbreak of the Indian COVID-19 variant. Reports did not state exactly how many cinemas have been affected.The theater closures come days after U.S.

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,

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s local mobile gaming revenue grew 31% year-on-year to $29.2 billion in 2020, notching the highest annual growth rate since 2017, according to market research firm and consultancy Niko Partners.China’s export game revenue actually grew even more than local game revenue, rising 36.7% last year.After COVID-19 prompted the Chinese government to impose lengthy stay-at-home lockdown orders nationwide starting last January, the local games market has changed and

EXO have confirmed that their Chinese member Lay, who took a hiatus from the group nearly four years ago, is confirmed to participate in their upcoming special album ‘Don’t Fight The Feeling’.Yesterday (May 26), EXO released individual teasers for the members who will be participating in their forthcoming special album.

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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.

As a result, “F9” is the first Hollywood blockbuster since “Avengers: Endgame” to post a $100 million-plus opening in China, and has earned the largest global opening for a Hollywood film since the start of the pandemic. The film has also opened in Korea ($7.7 million), Russia ($6.4 million), Hong Kong ($2.2 million), and the Middle East ($5.5 million), scoring the strongest pandemic-era opening weekends in all those markets.

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

China has added a pair of Sony movies to the release calendar with Columbia Pictures’ Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway set for June 11 — one week before its domestic bow — and Sony Pictures Classics’ Oscar winner The Father due on June 18.

Rebecca Davis editorSony’s “Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway” is set to scamper across China starting June 11, a week before it scurries to screens in the U.S. on June 18.The film was initially schedule to release in February 2020, but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“F9” could send the box office into overdrive when it debuts overseas this weekend.The latest entry in Universal’s high-octane franchise, which opens in Korea, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Russia and China in the coming days, is expected to bring in at least $150 million to $180 million at the international box office.