‘Kung Fu Panda’ Bests ‘Godzilla x Kong’ at U.K., Ireland Box Office as Amy Winehouse Biopic, ‘Civil War’ Loom

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In,” a Hong Kong-produced action thriller, took the top spot at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. But it was a quiet session and came ahead of a welter of new releases targeting the May Day public holiday. The film, which is among those that have a Wednesday (May 1) official release date, earned $5.5 million (RMB38.9 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. The nationwide weekend total was a slender $18.7 million.

Paramount’s Ryan Reynolds starring, John Krasinski directed all audience movie, If, is heading for a $40M-plus opening on May 17, which for a non-holiday in May and for an original movie, is very good.

There’s new posters for Back to Black, the new Amy Winehouse biopic starring Marisa Abela as the late singer.

Naman Ramachandran Studiocanal’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” stayed atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the second consecutive weekend with £1.8 million ($2.3 million), according to numbers from Comscore. The film now has a running total of £6.3 million.

With two studios running point for the rock biopic, “Back To Black,” Studio Canal in the U.K., and Focus Features in the U.S., you essentially get two kicks at the promotion can. From director Sam Taylor-Johnson (“Fifty Shades Of Grey”), “Back To Black” is a biopic of the late pioneering blues and soul R&B artist Amy Winehouse, who became a smash sensation globally in the early aughts.

Naman Ramachandran Studiocanal’s Amy Winehouse biopic “Back to Black” debuted atop the U.K and Ireland box office with £2.77 million ($3.4 million), according to numbers from Comscore. It was neck-and-neck for the second spot. Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Civil War,” directed by Alex Garland and starring Kirsten Dunst, debuted with £1.82 million, including previews.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic A great many people appear to have come out of “Civil War,” Alex Garland’s a-house-divided-against-itself-can-kick-highly-equipped-military-ass dystopian combat thriller, feeling all shook up. They’re disturbed by it, unsettled by it. They experience the movie as if it were holding a violent mirror up to the simmering rage of America’s current political/spiritual/ ideological divide.

Amy Winehouse's devastating confession to her doctor just hours before her untimely death at 27 have been revealed. The iconic Back to Black songstress, Amy Winehouse, left the world in shock when she died from alcohol poisoning in July 2011. It's been more than 12 years since the music industry lost one of its most distinctive voices, but Amy Winehouse's legacy endures as fans across the globe pay tribute to her.

Nick Cave and Warren Ellis have shared ‘Song For Amy’, a song they wrote for the new Amy Winehouse biopic ‘Song For Amy’ – listen below.The delicate, orchestrated track features over the opening credits of the film, which is out in UK cinemas now. Elegant strings underscore Cave’s deeply felt vocals as he sings, “You say that it’s time for us to call it a day / But I will love you anyway”.Listen to ‘Song For Amy’ below:Director Sam Taylor-Johnson’s Back to Black tells the Winehouse story in a feature film for the first time.

Amy Winehouse’s ex-husband Blake Fielder-Civil has shared his thoughts on the new biopic Back To Black, explaining that he found it “therapeutic”.The film – directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson – arrives in cinemas earlier today (April 12), and follows the life of the late singer. It stars Marisa Abela (Industry) as Winehouse and charts the iconic singer’s vibrant years living in London, as well as her intense rise to fame.In the movie, Winehouse’s former husband Blake Fielder-Civil is portrayed by Jack O’Connell (Skins, Godless, Lady Chatterley’s Lover). He stars opposite Eddie Marsan, who was cast as the singer’s father, Mitch.Now, appearing on today’s episode of Good Morning Britain, Fielder-Civil shared his thoughts on the biopic, and admitted that he found the film “almost therapeutic” due to how he was depicted.In the interview with host Kate Garraway, he said that some parts of the movie made him feel seen “in a more accurate representation” to what he is used to.“Not in a sense of being let off the hook or whitewashed, as [has] been alluded to… just in a sense of it wasn’t all about addiction,” he said.

Alex Ritman How does an actor authentically and respectfully embody a legendary real-life singer on screen without it being seen as tribute act? And how do they do it when so much of that person’s life as a performer — a life that tragically ended not long ago — was played out in front of the cameras, across the media, in interviews and captured on phones? This was the task given to Sara Green, the choreographer and movement coach who worked closely with “Back to Black” star Marisa Abela to help transform her into Amy Winehouse for Sam Taylor-Johnson’s biopic, which releases in the U.K. today with StudioCanal (and in the U.S. on May 17 with Focus Features).

Thousands will flock to the cinema today to watch the new Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, as it hits screens for the first time.The film portrays the life of the iconic but troubled artist, who rose to fame with her incredible songs such as Rehab and Valerie, before tragically dying from alcohol poisoning in 2011, aged just 27. Despite her immense talent, Amy battled demons her entire life, including struggles with addiction and bulimia, which she faced throughout her music career. Actress Marisa Abela, 27, has been transformed into Amy, donning her signature black beehive hairdo, thick eyeliner, and tattoos, while Jack O'Connell plays her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil.

The girl who Amy Winehouse reportedly wanted to adopt believes she could have saved the tragic singer if she'd been with her. Dannika Augustin, who it's believed was close to being adopted by the late singer before her untimely death, says she still thinks about Amy every day and believes she could have made a difference. In an emotional chat, Dannika, now a mum herself and in her twenties, remembers how the Grammy-winning star's face lit up with happiness and her struggles with alcohol and drugs seemed to disappear when they were together.The two formed a deep connection during Amy's last year alive in the beautiful St Lucia, and it's reported that the Back to Black singer was making plans to bring Dannika back to London before her tragic passing.

Alex Ritman In “Back to Black,” Jack O’Connell’s Blake Fielder-Civil swaggers into the life of Amy Winehouse — played by an exceptional Marisa Abela — with seductive bravado, sweeping the singer off her feet on their first meeting in a London pub thanks to, among other things, a lip-synced rendition of the Shangri-La’s “Leader of the Pack”. As the divisive biopic, directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson and released in the U.K.

died of alcohol poisoning at her London townhouse in July 2011. She was 27.Now musician Dale Davis, 57, is opening up about meeting the late musician in 2003 when she was just 19 when he joined her live band.The bass player, who later became the musical director of The Amy Winehouse Band, said the pair chatted about the six-time Grammy winner’s singing. “I talked to her at 11.30 p.m., three hours before she went to bed for the last time, and she was on good form,” he told The Sun.

Amy Winehouse‘s ‘Tears Dry On Their Own’ features previously unseen footage of the late singer. Watch below.The 2007 single appears on Winehouse’s classic second studio album, 2006’s ‘Back To Black’.

Amy Winehouse biopic Back To Black arriving in cinemas, the search is on to find out which of her songs is the UK’s favourite.The film – which is directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson – is set to arrive on April 12, and will follow the life of the late singer. It stars Marisa Abela (Industry) as Winehouse and charts the iconic singer’s vibrant years living in London, as well as her intense rise to fame.Now, just days before it makes its way into cinemas, a nationwide search has been launched to uncover which of the singer’s tracks is the most-loved in the UK.Commencing last Friday (April 5) and running until tomorrow (April 10), a giant Back To Black touring installation has been making its way across Manchester, Glasgow and London.

For her ‘unofficial’ 2009 John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, Sam Taylor-Johnson had so little music to work with that the opening chord of “Hard Day’s Night” pretty much had to carry the whole movie. You might think that history would repeat for Back to Black, the short but fast-lived story of Amy Winehouse, who rose to international fame in her teens and never saw 28, never mind 30. Surprisingly, the Winehouse estate is all in, and although one might argue that the singer’s trainwreck notoriety has been slightly snow-washed to protect the living, there’s still a surprisingly hard edge here, in a rare film that gives rock’n’roll agency to a woman for once, like a reverse-angle Sid & Nancy.

Owen Gleiberman Chief Film Critic “Back to Black,” the 2006 album that the new Amy Winehouse biopic takes its title from, is a record built on an exquisite contradiction. The music has a crispy delicious retro-bop bounce, a quality that extends to Winehouse’s vocals, which take the growling-cat stylings of jazz legends like Sarah Vaughan and Billie Holiday and kick them up into something playfully ferocious. Yet when you tune into the lyrics, they’re as dark as midnight.

In partnership with STUDIOCANALNME is delighted to announce plans for a special print edition celebrating the life and legacy of acclaimed singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse – and to mark the release of new film Back to Black. There will also be a free NME Screens preview event where fans can see the film before it is released in cinemas (April 12).The 36-page magazine is an in-depth exploration of Winehouse’s story and features never-seen-before photos of Amy, captured during her extraordinary rise during the 2000s by photographer Tom Oxley.