‘Jonny JetBoy’ Animation Series Flies for China’s iQiyi and Canada’s Wildbrain

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Battle at Lake Changjin II” passed $500 million in total sales and remained unchallenged atop the mainland Chinese box office over the latest weekend.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed no positional change among the top five films on a weekend that came a week after the Chinese New Year holiday wound down. Bona’s “Lake Changjin II” earned $43.5 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, ahead of comedy “Too Cool to Kill” with $37.3 million over the same three days. In third place over the weekend was drama “Nice View” with $21.6 million and animation “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” with $14.0 million.

Chinese fans of the hit comedy series are calling out the censorship of multiple episodes, specifically ones featuring LGBTQ content.

Focusing on the positive. After a difficult start at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin offered a glimpse at how she approached her remaining time at the international sports competition.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTrinity Cine Asia has acquired rights to mainland Chinese blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin II” for release in the U.K. and Ireland. The deal was struck with sales agency Distribution Workshop.

Nathan Chen has won Olympic gold!

Naman Ramachandran Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen has wrapped shooting of his first Mainland Chinese feature “The Breaking Ice.”Hailed as one of Asia’s brightest young directors, Chen competed in the shorts competition at Cannes in 2007 with “Grandma” and won the Camera d’Or with his debut feature “Ilo Ilo” in 2013. His sophomore feature “Wet Season” premiered in competition at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Nathan Chen has earned his place in the Olympics record book!

Nathan Chen has earned his place in the Olympics record book!

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterAt some point in the past decade, Hollywood stopped looking at the burgeoning Chinese box office as found money and instead embraced the theatrical market’s windfall for what it has become: a necessity.Today, whether or not blockbuster plays in China could mean the difference between hundreds of millions of dollars in ticket sales. That reality is downright painful at a time when China has continued to deny releases for Hollywood’s biggest 2021 movies, such as Disney’s “Black Widow,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Eternals,” as well as Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage.” And the few films that were given access to Chinese movie theaters, including MGM’s James Bond sequel “No Time to Die” and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” remake, earned far less than their studios had expected.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterThe upcoming “American Born Chinese” series adaptation at Disney Plus has found its main cast, Variety has confirmed.Ben Wang, Michelle Yeoh, Yeo Yann Yann, Daniel Wu, Chin Han, Ke Huy Quan, Jim Liu, and Sydney Taylor will all star in the series, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang.The series follows Jin Wang (Ben Wang), a teenager juggling his high school social life with his immigrant home life. When Jin meets a new foreign exchange student (Jim Liu) on the first day of school, their worlds collide as Jin becomes entangled in a battle of Chinese mythological gods.

EXCLUSIVE: After teaming in the Disney/Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Michelle Yeoh is set to top an international cast for the Destin Daniel Cretton-directed Disney+ fantastical series American Born Chinese. She will star alongside Ben Wang (MacGyver), Yeo Yann Yann (Wet Season), Chin Han (Mortal Kombat), Daniel Wu (Reminiscence), Ke Huy Quan (Finding Ohana), former Taekwondo champion Jim Liu and Sydney Taylor (Just Add Magic).

Fight Club‘s original ending has been restored on Chinese streaming service Tencent Video following cuts to its conclusion.Last month, the 1999 film hit headlines after it emerged that its final scenes had been altered on the platform, replacing The Narrator (Edward Norton) killing of imaginary alter ego Tyler Durden (Brad Pitt) and watching buildings collapse.Instead, a blank slate reads: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding. After the trial, Tyler was sent to a lunatic asylum receiving psychological treatment.”Following a backlash, however, Tencent has now reportedly restored 11 of the 12 minutes cut in its version, only keeping a sex scene between Durden and Marla Singer (Helena Bonham Carter) out.China has strict rules on censorship, which may have explained the original cut ending, though it is unclear if the backlash has led to the restoration.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPatriotic blockbuster “The Battle at Lake Changjin II” earned just short of $400 million over the Chinese New Year holidays at a mainland China box office that weighed in at some $950 million.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed “Lake Changjin II” earning $152 million over the Friday to Sunday weekend, comfortably ahead of comedy “Too Cool to Kill” which took $111 million over the same three days. In third place over the weekend was drama “Nice View” with $45.4 million and animation “Boonie Bears: Back to Earth” with $38.8.

David Fincher’s “Fight Club” has been restored in China to include the original ending after censorship of the final fight scene by Tencent Video sparked backlash.Before the Chinese streaming service began running the 1999 Brad Pitt classic last month, Ed Norton’s narrator killed off his imaginary alter ego (Pitt) and it was implied that his mission of creating anarchy was playing out.But, to follow strict censorship rules, the ending was completely changed. Replacing the climactic scene was a black screen with the message: “The police rapidly figured out the whole plan and arrested all criminals, successfully preventing the bomb from exploding.

Grindr has removed its gay dating and hookup app from multiple app stores as the Communist Party cracks down on LGBTQI content as part of its month-long censorship campaign.The Guardian reported this campaign is happening during the Lunar New Year holiday and as the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games begin. It is being conducted by China’s Cyberspace Administration. Grindr disappears from app stores in China On the eve of the Winter Olympics, let us protest in front of Chinese embassies the world over.

SPOILER ALERT: This story contains details of this morning’s Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony live on NBC.

Naman Ramachandran Leading Indian music label and film studio T-Series is diversifying into producing series designed for streaming platforms and has signed up an A-list directorial talent roster.The company’s stated aim is to create content “which shall appeal to all sectors of the audience, with gripping shows across genres,” including action thrillers, biopics, murder mysteries, jailbreak dramas.”Signed up as show runners are Aanand L. Rai (“Atrangi Re”), Anubhav Sinha (“Article 15”), Nikkhil Advani (“Mumbai Diaries 26/11”), Hansal Mehta (“Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta Story”), Sanjay Gupta (“Mumbai Saga”), Bejoy Nambiar (“Solo”), Suparn S.

Naman Ramachandran Producer and financier Anton (“Greenland,” “The Night House”) has hired Leslie Chen as senior VP, international distribution and sales and has elevated consultant Louis Balsan to executive VP, international distribution and acquisitions. They will be part of Anton’s German office and will report into Paris-based Cécile Gaget, president of international production and distribution.