Malaysia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Alissa Simon Film Critic With her debut feature “Tiger Stripes,” Malaysian writer-director Amanda Nell Eu joins an exciting group of directors who provide subversive takes on genre and body horror. Julia Ducournau and “Raw” comes to mind, as do Agnieszka Smoczynska and “The Lure” and John Fawcett and “Ginger Snaps” — like David Cronenberg before them. Eu, an MA graduate of the London Film School, blends Malaysian folklore with heightened realism and a large dollop of “Mean Girls” in the story of a tween going through changes wrought by puberty and alterations in her friendship group.

Super Junior have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Super Show Spin-off: Halftime’ tour, with concerts in Thailand, Singapore and more.Today (April 18), Super Junior announced the dates and venues of their upcoming 2024 ‘Super Show Spin-off: Halftime’ tour. It comes about three months after the boyband first teased the tour in a statement to news outlet News1.The K-pop boyband will kick off their 12-date tour with a two-date performance on June 22 and 23 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul, South Korea.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Stormy,” a documentary about former porn star Stormy Daniels, has been picked up by Blue Ant Studios for international distribution. The launch was announced on Monday, the same day that former U.S. president Donald Trump begins a criminal trial in New York for allegedly covering up hush money payments to Daniels. “Stormy,” offered as two one-hour episodes or a two-hour feature, is produced by Emmy-nominated producers Erin Lee Carr (“I Love You,” “Now Die: The Commonwealth v.

The Gospel Of The Beast, directed by the Philippines’ Sheron Dayoc, picked up the Golden Star Award for Best Southeast Asian Film at the first edition of the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) in Vietnam. 

Producers in Southeast Asia are facing a very different, much quieter landscape to the one in front of them just 12 months ago, as U.S. players rein in their spending to appease shareholders, and neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan and India draw attention.

THE BOYZ have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘Zeneration II’ world tour, featuring concerts in Asia, the US, Europe and more.Today (April 8), THE BOYZ announced the first batch of dates for their upcoming 2024 ‘Zeneration II’ world tour. The trek will follow their 2023 ‘Zeneration’ world tour, which had featured 24 dates in Asia.‘Zeneration II’ will kick-off in July with a three-date show in South, South Korea, before the boyband head to the US for a solo tour the first time since 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Snow in Midsummer,” which quietly probes the 1969 massacre of Malaysian Chinese during post-election turmoil, was named the winner of the best film for young cinema competition (Chinese-language) at the Hong Kong International Film Festival. Liang Ming was named best director for “Carefree Days,” while the film’s female lead Lyu Xingchen collected the best actress award.

Malaysia-Singapore-Taiwan co-production Snow in Midsummer and Swedish title Sons took top prizes in the Young Cinema Competition at the 48th Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF).

Naman Ramachandran U.K.-based sales agent Reason8 Films has sold 2023 Venice title “The Red Suitcase” to HBO for Europe and Suraya Filem for Malaysia and Brunei. The 15 territories covered under the HBO deal include Albania, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Moldova, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia and Bulgaria. Reason8 Films said that advanced negotiations are on for North America and Latin America.

Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is out and roaring at the international box office, generating $15.9M from 49 markets through its first two days overseas (Wed/Thurs). Not included in that total is the strong China opening day today which came in at an estimated RMB 96.9M ($13.4M).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Directors Factory Philippines,” an omnibus film project initiated by the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, has completed production in the historic city of Dapitan. Operating since 2013, when it kicked off in Taiwan, the Directors’ Factory works with a new partner country each year to mentor eight budding filmmakers who are preparing ambitious first or second feature projects that they will make in pairs. The Philippines was selected in November. The four resulting co-written and co-directed short films will be screened as part of the Directors’ Fortnight (aka Quinzaine des Cineastes) in May. Dapitan, a city in The Philippines’ Zamboanga Peninsula, known for its many shrines and as the place of exile of Philippines’ national hero, Jose Rizal.

EXO singer D.O. – real name Doh Kyung-soo – has announced his upcoming 2024 ‘Bloom’ fan concert tour of Asia.Today (March 25), EXO’s D.O.

Ed Meza @edmezavar Underscoring the growing ties between France and Taiwan in the film and television sector, French and Taiwanese producers CinéFrance, Alef One and Yoosonn Entertainment have presented two new series co-productions at Series Mania. “Fly,” co-produced by Paris-based CinéFrance and Taipei’s Yoosonn Entertainment, is a spy drama series adapted from Taiwanese author Chang Kuo-Li’s original IP that is set to shoot in France and Taiwan.

Manchester United forward Amad Diallo has revealed a remarkable detail about his match-winning performance against Liverpool in the FA Cup.

Naman Ramachandran Ken Kwek’s acclaimed Singaporean film “#LookAtMe” has secured North American distribution with Buffalo 8. The deal is exclusive for the North American territory and non-exclusive for the rest of the world. The film is a tragicomedy following the family of a teenage YouTuber who posts an irreverent video lampooning a megachurch pastor in defense of his gay twin brother.

Hidden in the basement of Bolton Museum is an attraction you won’t find anywhere else in Greater Manchester - and it’s completely free to visit. Beneath the museum is the region’s only public aquarium.

Naman Ramachandran Korean action drama “A Shop For Killers” has become the most viewed local original on Disney+ in the Asia Pacific region (Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and Philippines) so far in 2024, the streamer has revealed. Set in contemporary Korea, the eight-part series follows college student Jeong Jian who dives for cover in her childhood home after a series of highly skilled assassins come after her.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Escaping Man,” a Chinese drama feature about a man dragged into a kidnap plot, heads the FilMart slate of Hong Kong-based sales agency Autumn Sun Company. The protagonist is a man who spent 20 years in jail after being falsely accused of rape. After his release, he intends to confront the woman, but instead falls for her again — to the point that she is able to manipulate him into kidnapping the child for which she is the nanny.

Naman Ramachandran Taiwan-based anime distribution and licensing company Muse Communication has acquired Asian distribution rights for anime “Dan Da Dan,” it was revealed at Hong Kong rights market FilMart on Monday. Written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu, Japanese manga series “Dan Da Dan” was serialized in Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ app and website from 2021. The anime series based on it is due to bow in October.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Cora Yim and Benjamin Lin, both established indie producers of Chinese-language content, have joined forces to launch S11 Partners. It is partially backed by Medialink Group, an IP, distribution and brand licensing mini-conglomerate that is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The pair, who previously worked on TV series “Taiwan Crime Stories,” are launching their venture at FilMart in Hong Kong with a slate of three feature films in development.

Veteran producers Cora Yim and Benjamin Lin are launching a production company, S11 Partners, with an equity investment from Hong Kong-listed Medialink Group.

Warner Bros/Legendary Entertainment’s Dune: Part Two held strongly in its sophomore session at the international box office, adding $81M to handily cross the $200M overseas milestone, and reaching $367.5M globally.

Ramadan 2024 may fall on different dates around the world due to disputes over when the moon will be sighted.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Veteran mainland Chinese director Zhang Yimou is to be honored twice over at the Asian Film Awards ceremony on Sunday. He will be presented with a lifetime achievement award and a separate prize for directing the highest-grossing Asian film of 2023.

Room to Read, a global education nonprofit tackling illiteracy and gender inequality, announced a partnership with Warner Bros. Discovery for the premiere of , the first nonprofit-led animation and live-action film project to promote gender equality through the stories of young women around the world.

With 7.35 million admissions at the box office, horror-comedy film Agak Laen has become the second biggest Indonesian box office hit of all time.

Lee Hi will be holding a “mini-live performance” in Singapore next month, as part of Marquee Singapore’s ‘OH-K!’ event.The nightclub announced the details for its ‘OH-K!’ event today (February 20), revealing Lee Hi as its special guest performer. The event is being billed as one that “spotlights a diverse and eclectic mix of Korean artists and DJs”.Lee Hi will be performing at Marquee Singapore on March 16, with tickets on sale now via the nightclub’s official website.

EXCLUSIVE: Film Mode Entertainment has locked a series of deals on Blue Light, the latest feature from American filmmaker Andy Fickman (Race to Witch Mountain, Parental Guidance, The Game Plan, and She’s The Man). 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia Argento (“xXx,” “Land of the Dead”) and Melvil Poupaud (“Speed Racer,” “Laurence Anyways”) will star in French crime thriller “Stronger Than the Devil.” The project will be pitched for the first time at the European Film Market, attached to the Berlin Film Festival, by All Rights Entertainment, the Hong Kong, Paris and Los Angeles-based film sales agency which has picked up the rights. The picture, which heads into production later this month, is written and directed by Graham Guit (“Les Kidnappeurs,” “Hello, Goodbye”). The finished film is expected to be completed by the autumn.

Naman Ramachandran Streaming subscription growth in the Southeast Asia region slowed dramatically in 2023, but revenue from those subscriptions grew at a robust rate, a new study has found. The report from data analytics company AMPD, that is part of consultancy and research firm Media Partners Asia, shows that the region – that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – added only 1.3 million net new SVOD subscribers in 2023, compared with 11 million in 2022. But subscription revenues grew at 12.5% to $1.4 billion.

ASTRO singer Cha Eun-woo has made his solo debut with his first mini-album, ‘Entity’.ASTRO’s Cha Eun-woo co-wrote all six songs on ‘Entity’, which is led by the single ‘Stay’. Along with the release of the project, the K-pop idol also dropped a cinematic music video for ‘Stay’.According to a statement by his label Fantagio, ‘Entity’ is meant to represent Cha Eun-woo’s resolve to “live honestly while accepting all of [him]self”, per Korea JoongAng Daily.This weekend, Cha Eun-woo will kick-off his solo 2024 ‘Just One 10 Minute: Mystery Elevator’ tour with a show in Seoul, South Korea.

The Lunar New Year is celebrated across the globe and largely underpinned by themes of hope and reunion. Known to many as Chinese New Year, Lunar New Year is also celebrated by many different countries throughout Asia, including Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Mongolia, Malaysia and the Philippines. It is also celebrated in other countries where there is an established Chinese community, as the holiday brings together family and friends to celebrate the start of another year.

EXCLUSIVE: Netflix has landed the Sundance Film Festival buzz title documentary Skywalkers: A Love Story. The film premiered January 18 at The Ray Theatre.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Three Japanese films enjoying their world premieres, along with festival favorites “City of Wind” and “Solids by the Seashore,” are set to appear in the 13-title competition section of the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March. The event will be held March 1-10 at venues including ABC Hall, Cine Libre Umeda, T-Joy Umeda and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. The opening and closing films will be announced in early February. The 19th edition of the festival, which will eventually contain 55 feature and short films, is set to also include three special programs – a “Thai Cinema Kaleidoscope,” “Taiwan: Movies on the Move,” and “Special Focus on Hong Kong” – as well as its regular Spotlight Section on underrated Asian films and the Indie Forum of more challenging and innovative works. The competition titles are: “City of Wind,” by Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir; “Fire on Water,” by Malaysia’s Sun-J Perumal; “Hyphen,” by The Philippines Joy Arnaldo; “The Lyricist Wannabe,” by Hong Kong’s Norris Wong; “The Missing,” by The Philippines’ Carl Joseph E.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

Philippines president Fernando “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. faced criticism from his constituents over the weekend for using the state-funded presidential helicopter to fly over the traffic jam caused by a Coldplay concert Friday night (January 19) in order to attend the show himself.

So, here we are in mid-January, and though we’re staring down the barrel of a tough year ahead, it’s not all wintry doom and gloom on an international box office (and combined global) level.