Memories of the lost restaurant chain with £6 steaks and 7p desserts

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese animation film “New Gods: Yang Jian” was the top film at the mainland China box office over the latest weekend. “Minions: The Rise of Gru” opened in third place.“New Gods: Yang Jian” earned 19.8 million (RMB134 million) on its debut between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. It places ahead of previous winner “Moon Man” which slipped from first to second place with a $17.8 million (RMB121 million) fourth weekend.

Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru bowed in China today (Friday), grossing an estimated RMB 21.74M ($3.2M), including midnights. This was good for the biggest opening day of a Hollywood animated film during the pandemic.

China’s Bona Film Group, producer of such hits as The Battle At Lake Changjin, made its debut on the Shenzhen stock exchange on Thursday, with shares closing the day at RMB 7.24 ($1.07). This was a 44% increase from the initial public offering price of RMB 5.03 ($0.74) per share and put the market capitalization at just under RMB 10B ($1.47B), according to the South China Morning Post. The company raised RMB 1.38B ($203M) from the deal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefKevin Macdonald’s drama thriller “The Mauritanian” is poised to receive a belated theatrical release in mainland China.The film, which charts the ordeal of a man held without trial at the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison, will hit Chinese theaters on Aug. 23, 2022. That is more than a year after its theatrical outing in North America and multiple international markets in February 2021.International rights to the picture were handled by STX International.

Today, bookworms across Greater Manchester are spoilt for choice with a number of brilliant independent bookshops and big brands around.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefSpace comedy Moon Man held on to the top spot at the mainland China box office for a third weekend. It has now accumulated $363 million.Released on July 29, “Moon Man” earned RMB217 million ($32.4 million) between Friday and Sunday earning some 45% of the nationwide weekend total, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. The film’s invulnerability underlines once again how the Chinese exhibition and distribution sector has become focused on major hits and top-heavy.There could scarcely be more powerful demonstration of that than the photographs carried over the weekend by Mainland Chinese of Hong Kong star Louis Koo apparently in tears over the disappointing box office stars for “Warriors of Future,” the sci-fi fantasy that he starred in, financed and produced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Minions: The Rise of Gru” has been given a mainland China theatrical release date of Aug. 19, 2022.

The former Pink Floyd frontman is still sparking controversy.

China has set an August 19 release date for Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru. This will be the first major tentpole from Hollywood to hit the market since Universal’s own Jurassic World Dominion which has grossed $157.4M there through Sunday and during an extended nine-week run; it is the biggest studio import of 2022.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese sci-fi comedy “Moon Man” held station at the top of the mainland China box office, albeit at a lower orbit. After ten days in cinemas its cumulative total is a fraction of a degree short of $300 million, and it operated at a higher elevation than new launch sci-fi actioner “Warriors of Future.”The strong figures came despite some cinemas remaining closed in key cities and capacity limitations remaining in place in others. Hainan Island went into lockdown over the weekend as a cluster of COVID cases emerged.

Holidays might be on people’s minds, but there’s no rest for the hospitality folk, with a raft of new openings coming this month. Here are some of the best new places to check out in August...

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBona Film Group, one of China’s most consistently successful private sector movie studios, is in the final stages of launching an IPO on the Shenzhen stock exchange. The company was behind last year’s “The Battle of Lake Changjin,” the highest grossing film of all time in China.The IPO move represents a return to public company status for a firm that has frequently been ahead of its time.Bona was in the early wave of Chinese companies to list their share in the U.S. and achieved an IPO on the NASDAQ exchange in 2010, in the hope that U.S.