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Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe mainland China box office remained moribund over the latest weekend, lacking direction or new releases and achieving nationwide revenue of just $11.4 million.The country is continuing to suffer from clusters of COVID infections that have caused mass lockdowns in some cities and the temporary closure of many cinemas. Even as there is now talk of easing restrictions in Shanghai, which had been locked down for five weeks, there is the prospect of new restrictions in capital city Beijing. The government has also imposed a blanket ban on all but essential overseas travel.U.S.

Walt Disney chief financial officer Christine McCarthy said the company could record a $350 million squeeze on operating income in the current quarter – it’s fiscal third — from its Hong Kong and Shanghai theme parks, tempering the parks division’s upbeat narrative a bit.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCinema box office in China fell back to the lower depths over the weekend, with just $8.9 million of revenue across a country of 1.3 billion inhabitants.Business continues to be badly hit by COVID-related closures as the disease shows signs of spread around the country, while slowly diminishing in Shanghai where there was a full lockdown that lasted many weeks.Business appeared to spike upwards a week earlier, driven by the May Day holiday. But Chinese state media reports that the Sunday to Wednesday May day period was down 82% compared with last year.The latest weekend box office total (Friday to Sunday) was the second lowest this year.

A “Crazy Rich Asians” spinoff could be coming to a screen near you.

EXCLUSIVE: Emmy nominated Barry producer and scribe Jason Kim is set to pen a spinoff of Crazy Rich Asians which will center around the Gemma Chan character of Astrid Young Teo and her romance with Charlie Wu, played by Harry Shum Jr. in the original movie.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTheatrical box office in mainland China enjoyed a weekend bounce over the May Day holiday and a new market leader, despite a shortage of fresh titles and mounting cinema closures.Romantic comedy “Stay With Me” was the top-scoring new release title with $8.4 million (RMB55.4 million), according to data from Artisan Gateway, a consultancy and research firm. The film about long distance relationships, distributed by Enlight Pictures, deposed “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore,” which had held the top spot for three previous weekends. U.S.

Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang, known for his roles in "Rush Hour 2" and "Die Another Day," has died while quarantining in a Chinese hotel, according to local media reports. Tsang had been undergoing seven days of quarantine after returning from Singapore on Monday and was found collapsed on the floor of his hotel room by staff on Wednesday, according to the South China Morning Post and other media. The South China Morning Post said Tsang was 87, but other sources gave his age as 86.

BEIJING -- Veteran Hong Kong actor Kenneth Tsang has died at age 86 while in a COVID-19 quarantine hotel in the southern Chinese city, local media reported.Tsang was best known internationally for his action roles in the 2002 James Bond film “Die Another Day,” John Woo’s “The Killer” in 1989, “Rush Hour 2” in 2001 starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, and 1998′s “The Replacement Killers” alongside Chow Yun-Fat and Mira Sorvino.Tsang had been undergoing seven days of quarantine after returning from Singapore on Monday and was found collapsed on the floor of his hotel room by staff on Wednesday, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper and other media.No cause of death was given and the paper said he had tested negative for the virus and had no underlying medical conditions.In all, Tsang had some 237 acting credits, mainly in Hong Kong film and television productions, and especially in detective and martial arts movies, according to his IMDb page.Born in Shanghai on Sept. 2, 1935, Tsang began acting after obtaining an architecture degree at the University of California, Berkeley, making his debut in 1955.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKenneth Tsang, a veteran Hong Kong actor who starred in pioneering martial arts movies, has died. He was 86.Tsang (aka Tsang Kong) was staying in the Kowloon Hotel on Nathan Road, a venue used for passenger quarantine after overseas travel, and was found dead in the room on Wednesday. No immediate cause of death has been given by Hong Kong authorities.

Disruption will continue to weigh on the international theatrical system as the Russia-Ukraine war drags on and well over half of China’s theaters are shuttered in the latest Covid crackdown.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBox office in mainland China over the weekend was the lowest this year as thousands of cinemas remained closed due to the expanding COVID outbreak.Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed that nationwide cinema revenue between Friday and Sunday sank to just $8.2 million. That compared with $10.5 the previous weekend.“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” was again the highest grossing title, with $1.7 million (RMB11.0 million), advancing its aggregate to $17.3 million (RMB111) since release on April 8, 2022.

Britain’s Got Talent is facing another fix row after known act Titan the Robot appeared in last weekend’s opening episode.The giant mechanical performer sang and carried out a comedy routine poking fun at head judge Simon Cowell in the ITV series’ return on Saturday.Titan the Robot had members of the audience laughing whilst taking to the stage — which is not the first the act has performed on.Their entertainment past surfaced this week as it was revealed that the robot has in fact been in the industry scene for a while, and having featured in front of the camera with non other than BGT hosts Ant and Dec. Get exclusive celebrity stories and fabulous photoshoots straight to your inbox with OK!'s daily newsletter .

Johnny Depp apologised for the language he used in text messages introduced in court as evidence during his libel lawsuit against his ex-wife Amber Heard. "I am ashamed of some of the references made.

Megan Thee Stallion‘s live performance of her hit Cardi B collaboration ‘WAP’ at Coachella last weekend was subject to censorship on the Chinese social media and messaging app WeChat.The Houston rapper’s set was broadcast live from the Indio, California festival on Saturday (April 16) as part of Coachella’s YouTube coverage.WeChat users who tuned into the livestream of Megan’s set over the weekend, which was not legally broadcast in China, were greeted with the sight of the platform’s censors attempting to block out aspects of the performance.As The Hollywood Reporter reports, Megan’s performance of ‘WAP’ in particular saw the censors frantically attempt to cover the rapper and her backing dancers with a black box while they performed a series of dance routines.Coachella is also being livestreamed via WeChat. Apparently, this performance not only made censors sweat, everyone was also joking that they're singing a song about Shanghai Puxi District.

Johnny Depp’s sound engineer Keenan Wyatt has testified during the actor’s defamation trial against his ex-wife Amber Heard that she became “abruptly loud” when he told her that Mr Depp cared for her. According to Mr Wyatt, Ms Heard yelled “how dare you talk to me” after he tried to speak to her during a private flight.

heavily-censored nation were able to tune-in to the two-weekend festival in Indio, California via the app WeChat, including the 27-year-old rapper’s performance on Saturday evening.In a farcical attempt to adhere to community standards on the Chinese social networking app, moderators used a floating black box to cover Megan and her dancers’ butts, but failed to keep up with their gymnastic twerking. Footage pulled from WeChat shows the black box wildly bounced from side to side and confused viewers as to what exactly they were trying to censor. The restricted livestream took further liberties with the lyrics of “WAP,” Megan’s acronymic 2021 hit featuring Cardi B, remixing the X-rated phrase to “Wet Ass Puxi,” in reference to the district of Shanghai that is currently under lockdown amid a new surge of COVID-19.The Grammy-winning artist also performed fan favorites including “Savage,” “To Whom the F–k It May Concern” and “Sweetest Pie.”Fans mocked the suppression snafu on Twitter.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina’s theatrical box office fell to a new low over the weekend as anti-COVID restrictions forces thousands of cinemas to close. Data from consultancy Artisan Gateway showed that nationwide box office across the world’s most populous country amounted to just $10.5 million.

Amber Heard's defence attorney claimed Johnny Depp would try to turn the defamation cause against his ex-wife into a "soap opera," but warned that it was a distraction. Ben Rottenborn, Heard's lawyer, said the case was about her First Amendment rights to discuss her experiences, and argued that context matters and asked the jury to read the entire article she wrote for The Washington Post – which led to the lawsuit – and not just the parts highlighted by Depp.

Video: Biden Signs Executive Order Calling for Government Oversight of Cryptocurrency (Cover Video)Social Security Retirement Age Could Change to 67, Experts Worry It Won't Stop ThereRepublican-Led States Move To Sue Biden Administration for Lifting Border Policy Title 42House Passes Bill To Cap the Cost of Insulin at $35 a MonthHouse Passes Landmark Marijuana Legalization BillCongressman Madison Cawthorn Under Fire Over Allegations of Drugs and Orgies in DCJen Psaki To Reportedly Leave White House for MSNBCGiannis Surpasses Kareem Abdul-Jabbar As Bucks Scoring LeaderSkippy Recalls 3 Types of Peanut ButterAmazon Workers on Staten Island Vote To UnionizeChina Extends Shanghai COVID LockdownPope Francis Issues Apology To Indigenous for Catholic Abuses in CanadaChicago Mayor Proposes Gift Cards To Help Residents Pay for GasCOVID Hospitalizations in the United States Are at a Pandemic LowUS Announces New Fuel Efficiency Standards Aimed at Combating Climate ChangeBiden Administration to Reportedly End Pandemic Border Restrictions in MayBiden To Mark Transgender Day of Visibility With New MeasuresMcCollum is seeking $25 million (£19 million) for defamation, invasion of privacy, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress for Baldwin's online actions. The actor has now argued the case should be dismissed, claiming the Wyoming court has no "personal jurisdiction" over him as a New York resident.

Vivienne Chow Jimmy Wang Yu, once a superstar of multiple Asian martial arts genres, died on Tuesday. He was 79.News of his death in a Taipei hospital was posted on social media by Wang’s daughter Linda, herself a former Canto-pop star of the 1990s.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefWildBrain CPLG, the agency and licensing arm of kids and family entertainment group Wildbrain, is to open three new offices in Singapore, Taipei and Seoul as part of a major expansion into the Asia-Pacific. The licensing team which is part of WildBrain’s existing Shanghai operations will be expanded and renamed WildBrain CPLG China.Maarten Weck, EVP & MD of WildBrain CPLG, will lead the Asia expansion and be responsible for the management and growth of WildBrain CPLG’s team and business in the region.

translator Dylan Cheung. She did not indicate the nature of the disease.She added, “I believe his [1967 film] One-Armed Swordsman — that image of a dashing great swordsman — will remain forever in the hearts of film history and film fans alike.”Director Ang Lee told the China News Agency: “It’s with the deepest sorrow that we learned of his passing today.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCinema box office in mainland China crumbled to its lowest weekend total this year as the film industry was once again hit by the impact of anti-coronavirus lockdowns. Nationwide, cinemas recorded just $12.6 million of business.Virus infections are spiking sharply upwards in some parts of the country, caused by the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant of the COVID-19 disease, though in comparison with many other countries absolute numbers remain low.

EXCLUSIVE: Producers Andrew Bendel and Alistair Maclean-Clark of Blue Horizon Productions have optioned the memoir Sea Dragons, Yvonne Foley’s story of how she believed she had been abandoned in Liverpool by her Chinese father as a child only to find out many years later that he and other sailors had been deported.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk says he might have contracted the COVID-19 virus again. And while the billionaire says he has experienced “almost no symptoms,” he is known for stating skepticism over the COVID vaccine, opposing to a second dose.“You are taking a risk, but people do risky things all the time,” Musk previously said, sharing his thoughts on why he chose to oppose vaccine mandates.“Covid-19 is the virus of Theseus.

country saw a rise in coronavirus cases.The amusement park posted a “Friendly Reminder” on their website Monday to alert fans of the new change.“Due to the current pandemic situation, Shanghai Disney Resort, including Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park will be temporarily closed from Monday, March 21, 2022,” the company wrote.The memo continued, “We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation and consult local authorities, and will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations.”“We apologize for the inconvenience and will provide refund or exchange for all guests impacted during this period. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation! We look forward to seeing you soon,” they concluded.Chinese officials reported 1,807 new symptomatic COVID cases on March 13 and two people died from the virus over the weekend, the first couple in over a year.The Shanghai Disney Resort first put a halt to functionalities because of COVID-19 back in January 2020.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Shanghai Disneyland theme park closed its doors from Monday in response to China’s growing number of COVID-19 cases. It offered no indication of when the park might reopen.“Due to the current pandemic situation, Shanghai Disney Resort, including Shanghai Disneyland, Disneytown and Wishing Star Park will be temporarily closed from Monday, March 21, 2022. We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation and consult local authorities, and will notify guests as soon as we have a confirmed date to resume operations.

Refresh for latest…: Just days after Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman rounded the five-century mark globally, it is now just shy of $600M worldwide in its third weekend. A $49.1M overseas frame (down 46% versus last session) brings the international box office cume on the Matt Reeves-directed pic to $298M, with global standing at $598.1M through Sunday.

With this result, “The Batman” is now in striking range of the domestic totals of “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” ($330 million) and “Aquaman” ($335 million) as it still has one more weekend with major premium format support before the release of Sony/Marvel’s “Morbius” on April 1. The one blemish on the film’s numbers was its release in China this weekend, opening to just $12 million as it added $49 million from international markets.

Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman released in China today, getting off to an RMB 23.3M ($3.7M) start, including previews. The inauspicious bow was expected given that about 35% of the market’s cinemas have been temporarily shuttered amid a new Covid spike. The good news is that the film has a strong 9 score on platforms Tao Piao Piao and Maoyan. The latter is currently predicting an RMB 194.3M ($30.5M) final tally for the Caped Crusader’s full run.

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentHBO Max’s “Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai” is set for a world premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 13. Produced by Amblin Television in association with Warner Bros. Animation, the highly awaited animated prequel series to the now classic film franchise will see its first episode bow at Annecy’s biggest auditorium, the lakeside Bonlieu’s Grande Salle. The world premiere will be attended by executive producers Tze Chun and Brendan Hay, along with Joe Dante, director of the “Gremlins” films and consulting producer for the series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe shares of China’s largest entertainment and tech companies plunged for a second day on Tuesday as Russia’s war in Ukraine, regulatory warnings and China’s slowing economy all combined to signal tougher times ahead.Alibaba shares crashed 11.7% to reach an all-time low of HK$71.2 in Hong Kong, where they have a secondary listing. Tencent shares plunged by 10.2% to HK$298, their lowest in several years. Both companies have in the past held the title of China’s largest enterprise and are major components of the Hang Seng Index of leading equities.The Hang Seng Index fell by more than 1,000 points and by nearly 6% on Tuesday to close at 18,415.

In its sophomore outing, Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman kept a firm grip on the international box office, dropping just 42% to add $66.6M from 76 offshore markets. That brings the overseas cume through Sunday to $224.7M for $463.2M global. As the Robert Pattinson-starrer heads to $500M worldwide this week, in like-for-like markets and using today’s exchange rates, it’s currently tracking 132% ahead of pandemic comp Godzilla Vs Kong and is 44% above Wonder Woman, 36% ahead of The Dark Knight and 24% over Justice League.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefMainland China’s theatrical box office slipped to its lowest weekend total of the year as the market suffered a combination of rising COVID cases and a lack of new releases.Nationwide box office between Friday and Sunday amounted to just $19.2 million, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. It was the fifth weekend of decline since the splashy opening of eight major titles on Feb.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Inu-Oh,” the acclaimed Japanese animation that debuted in Venice and Toronto last year, has been sold widely by Fortissimo Films and Asmik Ace.Amsterdam and Beijing based Fortissimo is collaborating with Tokyo-based Asmik Ace on two titles, “Inu-oh” by Yuasa Masaaki and “Missing” by Katayama Shinzo, a former assistant director to “Parasite” director Bong Joon Ho on “Mother.”Rock musical animation “Inu-Oh” was licensed to Sun Distribution for Latin America, to Rapid Eye for Germany, Front Row in the Middle East and Cinemaran in Spain. Asmik Ace handles Asian territories, North America, France, U.K. and Benelux.

Shanghai Disney Resort shifted down to reduced capacity on Saturday, amid a Covid surge throughout China fueled by the spread of the Omicron variant.