Japan’s Toho to Embrace North America’s Japanese Pop Culture Fandom With Godzilla and Anime E-Commerce Launches (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sound of Freedom, the indie action-drama film that has already earned over $125 million at the North American box office, will begin to move into international distribution from next month.Angel Studios, the crowd-funded, Utah-based production and distribution firm behind the picture, says it has set releases in territories including the U.K., Australia and Latin America. The company explained that it has arranged direct-to-theater distribution deals in Latin America, the U.K, and Ireland. In other territories it will take the more conventional route of partnering with distributors.

Pink wowed audiences in Europe with her 2023 Summer Carnival tour and now the shows have moved to North America!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Margot Robbie, America Ferrara and director Greta Gerwig visited South Korea early on the promotional tour for ‘Barbie’ (without Ryan Gosling). But their charm failed to translate into strong box office performance in the country and the film opened anonymously in fourth place over the weekend. “Barbie” earned just $1.19 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.91 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Worth just 8% of the nationwide weekend total, “Barbie’s” scores were barely better than fellow new release title “Insidious: the Red Door.” That earned $1.17 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.90 million over five days.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief While “Barbie” was romping to box office records in North American and scoring strongly in many international territories, the pink phenomenon could muster only fifth place in China, the world’s second largest movie market, on its opening weekend. “Barbie” managed $8.2 million in its opening three days, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. Local box office sources show the film trapped in that position on all three days of the weekend session, as the locally-produced titles jostled for leadership and swapped positions. Somewhat encouragingly, the daily score for “Barbie” had increased by Sunday as it was given more screening sessions by Chinese exhibitors.

Police searching for a missing Northumberland man who vanished four days ago believe he may be in the Edinburgh or Dunbar areas.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean TV series and films are increasing still further their hold on streaming audiences across East Asia. They accounted for half of viewing time in the first half of the year, according to new third-party research. Korean-made premium VOD content captured 50% of SVOD viewership and 42% of freemium viewership between January and June 2023, with a record 58 million VOD users tuning in nine East Asian territories (Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam), according to Singapore-based research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. The analysis is based on the measured media consumption activity of 40,000 Asia Pacific consumers, conducted by AMPD, the analysis firm’s sister company.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cineverse, the streaming and content distribution company previously known as Cinedigm, has acquired North American rights to the Chinese animated fantasy film “Warrior King.” Inspired by the legend of the hero and warrior, King Gesar, the film is directed by Lu Qi from a screenplay by Lu Wunan and Wang Yunsheng. Cineverse says that it will release the film in U.S. theaters Aug. 25, following its international theatrical debut.  The story of Gesar is considered one of Central Asia’s literary classics and was passed down in oral tradition for some 1,000 years, as well as literary, poetic and stage play versions. Its Tibetan iteration may now be the most prominent, It is certainly one of the longest, running to over 100 volumes and a million verses, according to some calculations.   

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Exports of K-pop albums increased by 17% year on year to reach an all-time record of $133 million in the first six months of the year. The U.S. is now the second biggest overseas market for Korean music worth $25 million, having overtaken China, but still trailing Japan ($48 million), according to data from the Korea Customs Service. The next largest were Germany, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, Canada, the U.K. and France.The record was achieved despite the absence of BTS as a group (though BTS members Jimin, and Suga put out solo efforts) and saw Stray Kids, Tomorrow X Together, Seventeen, Ateez and Twice all make an international impact.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A+E Networks has promoted Youngsun Soh to senior VP and MD of A+E Korea, and John Flanagan to senior VP and MD of A+E Japan & Southeast Asia. Saugato “Shoggy” Banerjee, who currently serves as MD of A+E Asia, is leaving the company from Sept. 30. The moves, intended to bolster operations in Asia, were announced Monday by Patrick Vien, group MD, A+E International and Steve MacDonald, president, global licensing & international. Based in Seoul, and reporting to Vien, Soh will continue to lead the growth of A+E’s business in Korea. She has led the unit since joining the company in 2017 as GM and oversaw the launch of History and Lifetime linear channels.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix is to release its Japanese live action film “Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead,” on Aug. 3. The horror comedy film is based on the hit manga (comic book series) by Aso Haro and Takata Kotaro that debuted in the Shogakukan magazine Monthly Sunday Gene-X in October 2018. It has also spawned an animated series that plays on Hulu in North American and other territories. The underlying comic is a wackily original melding of the salaryman gag manga – a popular genre in Japan seldom exported abroad – with the sort of zombie holocaust story that has become a Hollywood staple.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Specialty distributor, Trinity CineAsia is releasing China’s summer blockbuster “Lost in the Stars” in the U.K and Ireland on some 30 screens from Friday. “I was fortunate to watch the film when it opened in China and once I saw it I just knew we had to have it,” said Cedric Behrel “‘Lost In The Stars’ is a very clever, uncanny thrill of a ride that harks back to classic Hitchcock and any noteworthy thriller since – the master himself had in fact once optioned the rights to the same story. We organized the fastest turnaround premiere known to man and we’ve been delighted by the reactions to the early previews. It epitomizes the best of what new Chinese cinema can bring to audiences.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Major Japanese studio Toho Co. has announced “Godzilla Minus One” as the title of the latest instalment in its “Godzilla” film franchise. The film will premiere in Japanese theaters on Nov. 4. A U.S. release is set a few weeks later, on Dec. 1. The company revealed an understated poster and a short but punchy teaser trailer. It suggests that an already-devastated postwar Japan faces a new threat in the form of Godzilla, an enormous, mutated kaiju. Directed by sci-fi and fantasy specialist Yamazaki Takashi, the picture is the first Japanese-produced “Godzilla” movie since 2016’s “Shin Godzilla.” The previous picture topped the Japanese box office, earning JPY25 billion ($181 million at current exchange rates).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sakamoto Ryuichi, the Japanese film composer and music supervisor who died in March, has been posthumously named as the recipient of the Jecheon Film Music Award at the 19th Jecheon International Music & Film Festival (Aug. 10-15). Sakamoto won Academy Awards and Golden Globes for his score for “The Last Emperor” and has other credits including “The Sheltering Sky,” “Railroad Man,” “The Revenant,” “Call Me By Your Name” and “The Fortress.”Abrai Joji from Commons the music label established jointly with Sakamoto, and Yutaka Toyama from Promax, which had produced Sakamoto’s concerts since 1986, will visit the festival. Additionally, a tribute concert will be held on Aug. 12 at the Jecheon Stadium.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda Investment, a subsidiary of the privately-owned Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda, has sold an 8.3% stake in Wanda Film Holding for RMB2.2 billion ($306 million). Wanda Film, which is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange, operates China’s largest circuit of multiplexes and retains a stake in Hollywood producer Legendary Entertainment (“Dune”). The buyer is Lu Lili, the wife of Shen Jun, the controller of East Money Information, a financial data platform, Wanda Film said in a regulatory filing this week. The share sale appears to be a move to raise finance for Dalian Wanda and Wang Jianlin, the politically-connected former army officer who built one of China’s largest property empires and from 2012 mounted a seven-year campaign to own a large chunk of Hollywood.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ITN Distribution has picked up distribution rights in North and Latin America for the live action fantasy epic, “Fight For Freedom” from Incredible Film. The completed film, which is also available as a 5×30 mins. mini-series, is a live action fantasy epic about Friesland’s greatest hero known as Grutte Pier. Fabled Frisian freedom fighter, Peer Gerlofs Donia, is a gentle giant who turns into a blood-thirsty, revenge-driven killer when his family is brutally murdered. His quest for revenge forges him into a beacon for his people as he becomes their leader in a fight for independence. The film is directed by Steven de Jong.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The upcoming Asian-American feature film “Chopin,” starring Eddie Liu (“Kung Fu,” Never Have I Ever, “Silicon Valley”) and Violett Beane (“God Friended Me,” “The Flash”), officially wrapped a 25-day shoot on June 4. Announced last year, the film is now in post-production and scheduled for an early 2024 premiere. The film is the feature directorial debut of Vincent Lin, a successful commercials director and co-founder of Valiant Pictures. The film, written by Lin, also stars Golden Horse Film Award winner Leon Dai (“Your Name Engraved Herein,” “Cannot Live Without You”) and Taiwanese legend Wu Min (“The Queen!”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Smash hit Japanese animation feature “The First Slam Dunk” is set to be the first film theatrically released by newly-launched Australian distribution and New Zealand licensing firm Sugoi Co. The company is headed by Tim Anderson, founder and former CEO of Madman Entertainment, the Australian indie with a strong leaning for Japanese content, and Sylvester “Sly” Ip. The pair made an announcement on Twitter and conducted a soft launch at the recent Anime Expo in Los Angeles. “The First Slam Dunk. Coming soon to cinemas across Australia. Follow us for full release and ticket info,” said Sugoi Co on Twitter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney+ has set an Aug. 9 upload date for Korean series “Moving” from webtoon pioneer Kang Full. The previously announced title forms part of a 20-component slate of films and series from East Asia that will release on the Disney-backed streaming platform in the second half of 2023 and through 2024.Also from Korea is “The Worst of Evil,” a detective series in which a rural policemen is brought to the big city to bring down a DJ dealing in a potent new drug. It stars Ji Changwook, “Squid Game” actor Wi Hajun and Lim Semi. Highlights from Japan include “Tokyo Revengers: Tenjiku Arc,” the latest instalments of a popular anime franchise, and the previously announced “Dragons of Wonderhatch,” a hybrid story set in both the “real world” and an anime land where dragons and humans coexist. The multi-dimensional story stars Nakajima Sena, Okudaira Daiken and Mackenyu.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix has acquired Nippon TV’s upcoming already completed rom-com drama “Turn to me Mukai-kun.” The series explores the story of a man who has lost touch with the intricacies of a relationship, a universal theme for anyone unlucky in love, or in search of that special someone. The series will stream on Netflix Japan starting Wednesday, immediately after Nippon TV’s Wednesday primetime air slot, with global streaming of the series to follow on all Netflix outlets. Hulu Japan, which is owned by Nippon TV, will also stream the series immediately after the Japan terrestrial and cable broadcast.