Korea Streaming Growth Slows Sharply, Study Shows

Hallyu is an invented term used to describe the rising global popularity of Korean culture, but it also has never been more applicable in Hollywood than at this moment.

Theatrical, brilliant and instrumental. For two nights only, American family band Greta Van Fleet, known for their outrageous outfits and glitter makeup, took to O2 Apollo to tumultuous applause showcasing their outrageous talent.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Top Gun Maverick” flew to the top of the box office charts in South Korea over the weekend, with a supersonic $9.6 million opening loop. It replaced “The Witch: Part 2 The Other One,” which had been top dog for only a week.Tom Cruise, a regular visitor to Korea, jetted into Seoul with producer Jerry Bruckheimer and co-stars Miles Teller, Glen Powell and Greg Tarzan Davis to goose the movie’s takeoff in the country. Cruise professed himself grateful for the fan’s warm reception and talked up the importance of in-person visits to the cinema.Sub-distributed in Korea by Lotte Entertainment, the film opened on Wednesday and played on more than 1,900 screens.

Gerard Piqué and Shakira are living separate lives, Spanish media outlets assure that the Colombian singer and businesswoman is considering moving back to the United States. Spain’s national daily sports newspaper Marca reports a legal battle between Shakira and the Spanish soccer player.Although the pair never tied the knot, Shakira and Piqué might bring their disagreements before a judge to decide their rights with their two sons, Milan and Sasha.The publication also informed that a journalist of Televisión Española claims that the “Waka Waka” singer wants to move to Miami, Florida, for a while and bring them with her for at least two months.Allegedly the Barcelona Club athlete refused to allow Shakira to leave Spain with their kids and sign the necessary paperwork giving her permission.Shakira and Chris Evans are the internet’s favorite fantasy coupleShakira reappears shaking her hips weeks after calling it quits from Gerard PiquéCreepy messages were spray painted in front of Shakira’s family home in BarcelonaThe singer’s decision to leave Barcelona for a while comes after creepy messages were left right outside her family home.

EXCLUSIVE: Dennis Quaid (Midway), Isabelle Fuhrman (The Novice), David Thewlis (Fargo), Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise) and Kiera Allen (The Good Doctor) will star in the sci-fi mystery Littlemouth, which has entered production in the Cayman Islands. Jonathan Sobol (The Padre) wrote the script and is directing for Productivity Media and and Darius Films.

EXCLUSIVE: Industry tech provider Deluxe has appointed former Netflix Korea exec Samantha Kim to the role of Managing Director, Business Development, APAC.

Emily Longeretta GAC Family is bringing some holiday cheer to summer time.On Tuesday, the network announced that Jen Lilly, who starred in “Royally Wrapped for Christmas” last holiday season, will host the network’s first-ever “Great American Christmas in July” programming event.Kicking off on Saturday, July 2, GAC Media will feature 24/7 Christmas movies throughout Fourth of July weekend. In addition to replaying GAC Family’s original Christmas movies, the event will include first look previews of all-new holiday films planned for Great American Christmas in 2022.“Great American Christmas in July” will include encores of “Christmas Time Is Here,” “The Great Christmas Switch,” “A Christmas Star,” “Jingle Bell Princess,” “A Kindhearted Christmas,” “A Christmas Miracle for Daisy,” “Royally Wrapped for Christmas,” “Joy for Christmas,” “A Lot Like Christmas,” “Angel Falls Christmas” and “Much Ado About Christmas.” Holiday movie fan-favorites “Debbie Macomber’s Mrs.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorSubscription streaming video is cooling down from torrid growth rates seen in 2020 and ’21 — fueled by pandemic lockdowns — but is still experiencing healthy expansion in the U.S., one of the segment’s most mature markets.In 2022, SVOD services in the United States will generate revenue of $25.32 billion, up 13% from last year, according to PwC’s Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2022–2026 report, released Monday. The segment is projected to reach $33.59 billion by 2026, representing an 8.5% compound annual growth rate from 2021-26.The 13% uptick projected for this year is down from 19.5% annual growth in 2021 and a whopping 27% increase in 2020 for U.S.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentAs Paramount+ prepares for its splashy, star-studded U.K. and Ireland launch in London on Monday, Paramount’s president and CEO of streaming Tom Ryan spoke to Variety about the rebranded company’s global streaming biz expansion that, besides being powered by original content, stands out in the field for its diversified model.This model involves a mix of platforms and partnerships, combining direct-to-consumer and a la carte offerings with a market-by-market approach.

EXCLUSIVE: Keir Gilchrist (Atypical) and Lucy Hale (The Hating Game) will topline Daniel André’s debut feature, Mort in Sherman Oaks—an offbeat romance that will also star Francesca Eastwood (Old), Jim Gaffigan (Linoleum), Jay Pharoah (SNL), Rhys Coiro (Paradise City) and more.

Paramount+ has expanded into South Korea, marking the first time the streaming service is available in Asia, Paramount announced Wednesday.Starting now, subscribers of South Korea-based streaming platform Tving will be able to stream Paramount+ content at no additional cost. This includes Paramount+ originals “Halo,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “1883” along with shows from Paramount-owned Showtime including “Yellowjackets” and “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” all of which are available in Korea for the first time.The deal is part of a global partnership between Paramount and CJ ENM, which co-owns Tving, and will also see seven Korean original shows distributed on Paramount+.The first production to launch as part of that partnership is the upcoming series “Yonder,” set to launch on Tving in late 2022 and on Paramount+ where the services is available.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Paramount+ streaming service launches Thursday in South Korea as a free-of-charge addition to the CJ ENM-controlled TVing platform.Paramount+ originals such as “Halo,” in addition to “Yellowjackets,” “Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber,” “Mayor of Kingstown” and “1883” will be released for the first time in Korea, exclusively through the new branded zone. It will also provide access to library movie titles including “Mission: Impossible,” “Top Gun,” and “Transformers,” CBS series “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “NCIS,” Nickelodeon’s “SpongeBob SquarePants,” Comedy Central’s “South Park,” MTV’s young adult series and others from Showtime.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentBack in Japan after his Korean-language drama “Broker” won two prizes at this year’s Cannes festival, Kore-eda Hirokazu appeared as a press event in Tokyo on Tuesday to announce the launch of a group of industry professionals who aim for structural reform of the Japanese film industry.The group calls itself the “Association for the Establishment of a Japanese Version of CNC.” The reference is to France’s government-backed oversight body, the Centre National du Cinema et de l’Image Animee. Kore-eda noted the low incomes and long working hours of freelance filmmakers and emphasized the need for reform.

KARA are reportedly in talks to record new music to celebrate the act’s 15th anniversary.Today (June 14), several South Korean news outlets reported that the former members of KARA had met up to discuss the possibility of reuniting as a group to release new music in lieu of their 15th anniversary.“I heard that they met frequently for discussion.

Getting back in the game. Squid Game director Hwang Dong-hyuk has already started thinking about new games and challenges for the players to take on in season 2.

EXCLUSIVE: The Bridgerton spinoff about the origins of Queen Charlotte is expanding its kingdom. Deadline has learned that British actors Katie Brayben and Keir Charles will play recurring characters Vivian Ledger and Lord Ledger, respectively.

A boy from Stanley is finding out what it would be like to cycle round South Korea - but he’s making his 1200km bike trek without leaving Scotland.