China Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Acclaimed Chinese film director Chen Daming is expected to direct “The Peking Express,” a book-to-film adaptation of the story of an infamous train robbery that took place 100 years ago. The non-fiction book was written Beijing-based writer and lawyer James Zimmerman and was an ‘Editor’s Choice’ selection by the New York Times. It describes the raid on a luxury express train by Chinese bandits in Shandong Province in 1923 and the ensuing six-week hostage standoff that captivated the world.

Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 4 had a rock ‘em sock ‘em weekend at the international box office, adding $55.3M from 69 markets for a $135M overseas running cume, and $268.2M global (there are several key markets still to release, including France, Australia, the UK and Korea). 

Here’s an interesting bit of box office news coming from the trade paper Variety in that horror movie Late Night With The Devil from IFC Films...The weekend box-office estimates are in and the new sequel Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire has taken the top spot at US cinemas...The new Mission: Impossible film ‘Dead Reckoning’ opened up all over the world this past weekend and the numbers for its...It’s official, if not unsurprising – John Wick: Chapter 4 opened at the top spot in the U.S. box-office top ten...I’m literally just back in the door from seeing this myself and confirm, and indeed concur with Kat’s review, that it...The coronavirus pandemic has caused chaos for businesses around the world and the Hollywood film industry is no exception.

Ashleigh Butler and her pooch Pudsey created television history by being the first-ever dog act to win Britain's Got Talent, making Simon Cowell's dream come true.The dynamic twosome won audiences over on the sixth season of the talent show back in 2012 when Pudsey, a fluffy crossbreed of Border Collie, Bichon Frise, and Chinese Crested dazzled the judges with his tricks. Alesha Dixon was overwhelmed at the time, stating: "I can't cope, this moment is too much. You're showing people what dogs can do when they have good homes and are loved.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘Kung Fu Panda 4’ opened on top of the mainland China box office in its first official week of release. But its debut was soft and led the market to one of its quietest weekends of the year. The Universal-DreamWorks Animation picture earned $14.7 million (RMB105 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data provided by consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.

“British storytelling is at growing risk of being squeezed out in an extraordinarily competitive global media landscape,” the BBC Director General will warn in a landmark speech tomorrow that will set out how to “radically transform and renew” the 100-year-old corporation.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor “3 Body Problem” production designer Deborah Riley is no stranger to creating epic environments — she won four consecutive Emmys for her work on “Game of Thrones.” Netflix’s new series reunites Riley with creators David Benioff and D.B Weiss. “That show was vast insofar as cold and hot environments and in its scope and scale, but I had no idea what the term meant until ‘3 Body Problem,’” Riley says, comparing the two shows. Adapted from the Chinese science-fiction saga by Cixin Liu, the series opens with the Cultural Revolution.

Oof! Rose Hanbury is coming after Stephen Colbert!

Murtada Elfadl “Night of Nights” throws the audience immediately into the action. A sick man in a wheelchair and his companion are stopped outside a hospital by a security guard. All three men are masked and speaking Chinese.

(G)I-DLE vocalist Yuqi will make her official Korean solo debut in April, her agency CUBE Entertainment has announced.CUBE Entertainment announced Yuqi’s upcoming solo debut today (March 22) in a statement to South Korean news outlet XSports News. “Yuqi plans to release a solo single in April and promote it on music broadcasts,” the label shared, per Soompi.Information about the (G)I-DLE member’s upcoming solo debut, including the release’s format, tracklist and more, is expected in the coming weeks.

Naman Ramachandran Prime Video is bullish about the large, diverse and volatile Asian streaming market, driven by growth in India and Japan, the streamer’s top executives responsible for the region have said. The region’s online video component, excluding China, where international streamers cannot be present, is projected to grow at 9.2%, to reach $46 billion by 2028, according to a study from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia.

Christine Quinn is done with Christian Dumontet.

No wonder Rose Hanbury is upset those affair rumors resurfaced — because now HER dirty laundry is being aired!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Miyazaki Hayao’s “The Boy and the Heron,” which recently won the Oscar for best animated feature film, will head to global streaming giant Netflix later this year, excluding the U.S. and Japan. The hand-drawn, critically acclaimed fantasy adventure film is part of a renewed worldwide catalog deal between Netflix and the Japanese producer Studio Ghibli, sales agent Goodfellas and independent distributor GKids.

There was drama on Celebrity Big Brother last night after a challenge took a wrong turn and resulted in medics being called.

Bargain Hunt viewers were gobsmacked to see a pair of contestants uncover a valuable hidden gem during an antiques hunt that doubled their money.The duo made a whopping profit on the item, leaving even antiques expert Raj Bisram in shock at their luck in picking up such a great deal during their challenge. Contestants Nathalie and Karl made up the episode's red team, where they went up against blue team duo Adam and Jemma.The show's antiques experts asked the red team to find a profitable fashion accessory and the blue team to search for a valuable item on a Chinese theme.

What is the recipe for dragon’s beard candy?To prepare her dragon’s beard candy, Dutta told Fox News Digital that she combined sugar, corn syrup, vinegar and water in a medium-sized pot.She recommended the following measurements:Dutta then whisked the ingredients together and heated the pot on the stove.She inserted a candy thermometer into the pot and waited for it to reach the hard-ball stage, which falls between 250 F and 265 F.Once the syrup reaches the right temperature, it’s poured onto a flat, cornstarch-covered surface and allowed to cool slightly.Once the mixture cools, the syrup must be pulled and stretched repeatedly to create fine strands.These strands are then twisted and folded to form multiple layers.After the syrup has been stretched into fine strands and twisted into multiple layers, it should be coated with a dusting cornstarch to prevent sticking.Once coated, the candy can be cut into bite-sized pieces and served immediately or stored in an airtight container for later enjoyment.With patience and practice, virtually anyone can master the art of creating this historic treat.

UK director, writer and cinematographer Molly Manning Walker, who won the Cannes Un Certain Regard prize last year for How To Have Sex, has been selected for the festival’s four-and-a-half month La Résidence program in Paris.

Eiza Gonzalez is joining the cast of her Netflix series 3 Body Problem for the UK premiere after missing the LA premiere earlier in the week.

The three major news networks largely bypassed live coverage of the latest chapter in a House GOP-led inquiry of whether to impeach President Joe Biden.

EXCLUSIVE: Fresh off the Max debut of The Girls on the Bus, on which he serves as story editor, Tawal Panyacosit has signed with M88 for representation.

The latest episode of Celebrity Big Brother set to air on Wednesday 20 March sees one housemate forced to sit out as they have a nasty fall. As Big Brother announces the task, the housemates are split into two teams with Zeze Millz and Nikita Kuzmin as captains.They are told to protect a set of balloons whilst at the same time bursting the opposing team’s balloons with a pin.The winners of the challenge will win a Chinese takeaway feast that evening. On the yellow team led by Zeze is Marisha Wallace - who have both been evicted, Fern Britton and Bradley Riches.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s social media, games and video giant Tencent saw 2023 revenues advance by 10% to $84.6 billion (RMB609 billion). But its net profits slid to $16.3 billion (RMB118 billion), down from $26.3 billion a year earlier. The group is directly affected by weakness in the mainland Chinese economy, which has recovered only slowly since the end of the COVID pandemic, and by ongoing regulatory concerns.

Hong Kong’s lawmakers have unanimously passed a national security legislation, which will come into effect on March 23.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Fashion, East-West Asian identities, corporate espionage and romance are on the agenda in “Morning, Paris!,” a new mini-series project being pitched at Series Mania by veteran filmmaker Quentin Lee (“The People I’ve Slept With,” “White Frog”). “’Morning, Paris!’ is a heartfelt comedy about a young modern BIPOC Canadian woman discovering herself in the most romantic city in the world,” says Lee. “Or put another way, it is a limited television series about an aspiring female fashion designer from Vancouver who ends up in Paris Fashion week with a very unlikely companion because she wants to spy on her boss on whom she has a crush.

Coming out of the weekend, and with Sunday’s actuals and Monday’s numbers included, there are new global milestones to celebrate for the two major Hollywood titles currently in release.

The creators of Game of Thrones, David Benioff and DB Weiss, have made a brand-new series and it’s about to land on Netflix.The show, 3 Body Problem, is a sci-fi, fantasy series, and is set to be a hugely popular with viewers. All 8 hour-long episodes will land on Thursday 21 March. Should you not have a Netflix subscription or wish to sign up for one, OK! has found a way to watch the series free of charge.

Lise Pedersen Swiss documentary film festival Visions du Réel has unveiled the program for its 55th edition, which includes 10 first films out of 15 in the main international competition, cementing its reputation as a springboard for emerging talent. The official selection includes 165 films from 50 countries, with gender parity for the second-year running, and no fewer than 88 world premieres, making VdR the place to be in April on the international non-fiction film calendar.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Net profits at Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest digital music company, climbed 36% to reach $735 million (RMB5.22 billion) in 2023 – despite revenues declining by 2% to $3.91 billion. Fourth quarter profits were worth $198 million (RMB1.41 billion), earned from revenues 7% down at $971 million (RMB6.89 billion). The final figures cap a year in which the New York and Hong Kong listed subsidiary of Tencent saw monthly active user (MAU) numbers fall as it successfully organized the transition of a growing number of free users into paying subscribers. In the full year, revenues from music streaming subscriptions grew by 39% to $1.70 billion. That resulted from a 21% growth in the number of paying subscribers (from 88.5 million to 107 million) and a 20% increase in the average revenue per subscriber to RMB10.7 or $1.49.

Yungblud has spoken to NME about his online spat with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy, saying that he found it “quite funny” and branding it as “all fucking entertainment”.The pair came to blows last year when Healy received criticism online for his appearance on The Adam Friedland Show podcast, during which the frontman said he believed Harry Styles “gets a pass” on criticism over alleged “queer-baiting” and discussed New York rapper Ice Spice‘s heritage – debating whether she has Hawaiian, Inuit or Chinese heritage and impersonating the accents of those countries and regions.Healy later apologised to Ice Spice over the comments, as well as all the other people he “hurt” while playing the “character role of 21st Century rock star”.At the time of the podcast, Yungblud penned a now-viral Tweet in which he took aim at Healy and the hosts, writing: “Love listening to three privileged white dudes sit around and objectify a young black female artist who’s blowing up. Welcome to your 30’s I guess.”love listening to three privileged white dudes sit around and objectify a young black female artist who’s blowing up.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “The Boy and the Heron,” the Oscar-winning animated feature film by iconic Japanese director Miyazaki Hayao, is finally to be given a release in cinemas in mainland China. The picture is scheduled to release in China on April 3, 2024, according to Alibaba Pictures. Tickets are already available on booking sites such as Maoyan and Alibaba’s Taopiaopiao.

The stars of the new Netflix series 3 Body Problem stepped out this weekend for the L.A. premiere and Alex Sharp found a way to include two actors who were missing.

celebrities like Jennifer Aniston, Heidi Klum and Jennifer Lopez has been shockingly connected to a severely increased risk of cardiovascular death, via a newly published study.Users of the so-called 16:8 diet — in which one eats only during an eight-hour window and fasts for the other 16 hours in a day — are at an increased 91% risk of dying from heart disease compared to those who eat over 12- or 16-hour periods, South West News Service reports.“Our findings encourage a more cautious, personalized approach to dietary recommendations, ensuring they are aligned with an individual’s health status and the latest scientific evidence,” senior author Dr. Victor Wenze Zhong said in a statement.“We were surprised to find in our study that people who followed an eight-hour, time-restricted eating schedule were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease,” added Zhong, a professor and chair of the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.Those with a cardiovascular illness who ate in a window of time lasting between eight and 10 hours a day have a 66% higher risk of dying from heart disease or stroke, according to the data.Researchers analyzed the eating habits of more than 20,000 US adults — with an average age of 49 — over a median period of eight years.The research was presented Monday at the American Heart Association’s Epidemiology and Prevention│Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Scientific Sessions 2024 in Chicago.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor China hawks in the House have propped TikTok on a political football tee, passing legislation that threatens to kick it off the phones of millions of Americans unless TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, sells its ownership in the app. Right now, there appears to be much less urgency in the Senate to move forward on a measure aimed at forcing TikTok to cut its China ties, while President Biden has said he would sign such a bill (even as his re-election campaign just launched an account on TikTok). Meanwhile, to China, the saber-rattling looks like a trade dispute — wherein the U.S., on the pretext of “national security” concerns, is looking to thwart a successful overseas internet app that has been grabbing share of viewing time and ad dollars from American tech companies.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Previews for Universal Pictures and Dreamworks Animation’s “Kung Fu Panda 4” put the Chinese-themed film in fourth place at the mainland China box office, a week ahead of its official theatrical debut. Over the March 15-17 weekend, however, first and second places remained with holdover titles “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon” and “Dune: Part Two.” Taiwanese crime film “The Pig, The Snake and the Pigeon,” already playing on Netflix in territories outside China, topped the mainland China chart for the third successive weekend. According to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, it earned $11.1 million (RMB79.1 million), for a cumulative of $73.2 million (RMB520 million).

With a solid offshore hold, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two is closing in on $500M globally. The overseas weekend brought in $51.2M across 73 markets, a 40% drop versus last session (-37% excluding China). The international box office cume through Sunday is $289.4M, and worldwide the running total is $494.7M. The latter figure means the film has already surpassed Villeneuve’s 2021 Dune worldwide.