Korea’s CJ ENM Buying Stake in Hyperreal, Developer of Digital Humans (EXCLUSIVE)

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorBeta Cinema has sold the English-language tragicomedy “My Neighbor Adolf” to several major territories. The film stars German actor Udo Kier and Scottish actor David Hayman, and is directed by Israel’s Leon Prudovsky.All rights for North America have gone to Cohen Media Group, Signature Entertainment has acquired the U.K./Ireland rights, I Wonder took Italy, Lumix Media has South Korea and Tohokushinsha Film took Japan.The film, set in 1960, centers on Polsky, a Holocaust survivor, who lives in the remote Colombian countryside.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorAnimated movie “The Amazing Maurice,” based on a Terry Pratchett novel and featuring a voice cast led by Hugh Laurie and Emilia Clarke, has sold to multiple major territories. Global Screen will present the film as a market premiere at Cannes.Territories where the movie has been picked up include Italy (Lucky Red), Spain (Flins y Piniculas), Scandinavia (Selmer Media), Portugal (NOS Lusomundo), Israel (Red Cape Distribution), Middle East (Selim Ramia & Co.), Australia and New Zealand (Icon Film Distribution), CIS and Baltics (Volgafilm), Poland (Kino Swiat), Hungary, Romania, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Bulgaria (Prorom Media), former Yugoslavia (Investacommerce), Taiwan (Swallow Wings) and Vietnam (Blue Lantern).

India is the country of honor at the Cannes Film Market and consequently a massive contingent from the country is descending upon the Croisette. Variety understands that some 400 attendees are winging their way from India, and that French embassies across the country were working at capacity to issue visas.That stands in contrast with the attendance from other parts of Asia, further East.

The co-founder of Snapchat and his wife are paying it forward.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaNeon has teamed with CJ ENM to acquire North American distribution rights to “Broker,” the new film from writer and director Kore-eda Hirokazu. The deal was inked prior to the film’s premiere in Cannes, where “Broker” is slated to premiere in competition.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” opened with a stunning $14.4 million debut weekend in South Korea, far in excess of any film this year at the Korean box office. Its five-day opening score was $29.1 million.Data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service shows the film garnered an 87% market share over the weekend, as it lifted nationwide box office to pre-COVID levels for the first time in more than two years.

Bolton Wanderers are preparing for a second season in a row under Ian Evatt and seeking to mount a promotion push in earnest next campaign.

Leo Barraclough International Features EditorMunich-based Global Screen has acquired family entertainment film “School of Magical Animals 2” for worldwide distribution. A first teaser will be presented at the Cannes Market for the project, which has a budget of more than $13 million.

Sophia Bromberg is one of the rising stars we’re excited about here at Just Jared, and we want our readers to get an exclusive chance to get to know her better.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeMove over, Eurovision. The “Masked Singer” sensation is now launching an international competition where celebrities from various local editions of the show around the globe will face off in a worldwide battle.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” topped the box office in South Korea over the May Day weekend, beating a handful of minor local titles which released in hope of catching a rising market.The latest Friday-Sunday period appeared to represent a turning point – a $4.86 million nationwide aggregate was the biggest weekend haul since January – but a slow and uncertain one. Theatrical box office in Korea has been severely depressed all year due to government-imposed COVID restrictions, audience caution and a paucity of new release local titles.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentNetflix has dropped the trailer for “Money Heist: Korea — Joint Economic Arena,” a remake of its hit Spanish crime drama. The streamer also announced that the show will premiere on June 24.The 12-episode series is directed by Kim Hong-Sun (Voice, Black) and is headlined by high-profile actors, including Yoo Ji-tae (“Oldboy,””Healer”), Kim Yunjin (“Shiri,””Lost”), Park Hae-soo (“Squid Game,””Prison Playbook”) and Jeon Jong-seo (“Call,””Burning”).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSouth Korean cinema technology firm CJ 4DPlex has struck a deal with Thailand’s Major Cineplex, to open a ScreenX Premium Large Format auditorium at Major’s multiplex at Siam Paragon in Bangkok.ScreenX is a multi-projection cinema with an immersive 270-degree field of view, created by using the side walls of the theater. Some 363 ScreenX auditoriums have been installed at cinemas in 38 countries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe South Korean streaming market is consolidating around five major players as it also emerges as a hub for premium local content.New research by consultancy firm Media Partners Asia and its AMPD Research platform show that the country boasted 14.1 million premium video streaming subscriptions at the end of 2021 and that usage of premium platforms accounted for a growing share of total viewing time.SVOD leaders Netflix, Wavve, TVing, Coupang Play and Disney+ captured an aggregate 85% share of SVOD subscriptions in Korea and 83% of SVOD streaming minutes.“Within Korea, nearly 70% of premium video consumption is driven by Korean dramas, movies and variety shows, while U.S. series and movies capture 14%,” said Vivek Couto, MPA’s executive director.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefPeter Luo’s Stars Collective has optioned the rights to acclaimed Chinese novelist and screenwriter Tong Hua’s best-selling sci-fi fantasy novel series “The Memory Lost in Space” and will adapt the story into both an English language television series and feature film.A story told over four book installments, the first of which debuted in 2017, “The Memory Lost in Space” is set in the distant future, with humans forced into an exodus to the edge of the galaxy after the depletion and destruction of Earth’s energy and habitat. Humans resort to genetic modification to stay strong but this creates new diseases and conflict between pure-breeds and those modified.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaProducer Uri Singer’s Passage Pictures is developing a series called “Enjoy Your Stay,” which the producer says will be based on true events surrounding AirBnB’s crisis response team and its attempts to deal with the aftermath of a crime. A former AirBnB security team member has joined the production as an anonymous source and consultant for the series, Passage Pictures says.

Kaley Cuoco) celebrated one year of sobriety to kick off the new season of the HBO Max thriller, but while it appeared she was on the up and up — relocating to sunny California, dating a hot new guy, regularly attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, moonlighting as a covert CIA asset and working her day job as a flight attendant — it quickly became clear that the demons she thought she put away were just waiting for their moment to pounce.Soon after Cassie made the unsettling discovery that someone was pretending to be her and possibly framingher, her BFF, Annie (Zosia Mamet), and maybe-fiance, Max (Deniz Akdeniz), were brought into the chaos as the trio of amateur sleuths attempted to put the puzzle pieces together. This, coupled with the fact that Cassie witnessed uber-suspicious activity while in Berlin — which resulted in a car explosion just feet away from her and triggering a return to the mind palace, where she's now confronted with not one but versions of herself.