‘Pachinko’s’ Main Title Design Was About ‘The Connection Between Family’

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” welcomed a boost in ticket sales at the international box office, though the third installment in the “Harry Potter” spinoff series already seems to be running out of steam.Over the weekend, “Fantastic Beasts 3” added $71.7 million from 66 foreign markets, taking the film’s international tally to $150.4 million. After debuting to a less-than-enchanting $43 million in North America, “The Secrets of Dumbledore” has collected $193.4 million to date.Along with United States and Canada, the Warner Bros.

Warner Bros/DC’s The Batman has winged its way past three-quarters of a billion dollars at the worldwide box office, maintaining its spot as the highest-grossing film of the year, globally and domestically. The worldwide cume through Sunday is $751.1M with the Matt Reeves-directed spin on the Caped Crusader counting $386.1M at the international box office and $365M in North America.

Michelle Hsieh Last year, social media entered an entirely new dimension, with companies and consumers alike getting interested in the idea of the “metaverse” and the technology that powers it.The word “meta” is now popping up practically everywhere — on social feeds, on the news and in articles profiling the “overnight millionaires” who have found success by grabbing a piece of the meta pie.And now TOKAU, a Japan-based blockchain company, is launching its own metaverse project called MetaCity, the first platform focusing on celebrities and their fans.For the uninitiated, the term “metaverse” refers to a 3D virtual universe into which users from all over the world can enter and interact with one another in real time. The space is created using a permanent record-keeping system called blockchain technology, and the data that is stored within the blockchain is called a non-fungible token, or NFT.

Black Friday matchup against England on Nov. 25. The Americans close the tournament’s opening day against Scotland, Ukraine or Wales, and they also play Iran on Nov.

Bullet For My Valentine have confirmed the release of a deluxe version of 2021’s self-titled album and shared the first new track – listen to ‘Omen’ below.‘Bullet For My Valentine’ is the group’s seventh album. The expanded version will feature the original ten tracks plus four new ones alongside b-side ‘Stitches’ which was previously only available in Japan.The first of those new tracks ‘Omen’ was released Friday (April 8).

Michael Mann (“Collateral,” “Ali”) fans can rejoice that he’s finally back with the HBO Max crime series “Toyko Vice.” In the series, which Mann produces and directs the excellent pilot of (read our review here), we get to see the legendary filmmaker wade into the waters of cops and crooks yet again. Set in Japan, the series focuses on an American crime reporter (Ansel Elgort) who attempts to embed himself in both the worlds of Japanese police and the criminal syndicate known as the Yakuza.

BTS.On the most recent episode of The Joe Budden Podcast, was released on April 6, the 41-year-old rapper discussed his thoughts about the K-pop boyband with co-hosts Ice, Ish and Parks Vallely, during which he said: “You can get mad at me… but I hate them BTS n***as.”When asked by his co-hosts to elaborate, Budden said: “Do I need a reason? … I hate them n****s. I don’t have to divulge my reason to you, I just hate them n****s.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorPodcast series “Batman Unburied,” a thriller delving into the dark recesses of Bruce Wayne’s psyche and featuring classic Batman villains, is set to launch on Spotify worldwide this spring.The drama series will premiere May 3 exclusively on Spotify. It’s the first project under the audio platform’s multiyear deal with Warner Bros.

Daniel D'Addario Chief TV CriticOver cigarettes in a Tokyo nightclub, a newbie crime reporter eager to make a mark is speaking to his source. Jake Adelstein (Ansel Elgort), an American who’s become fluent in Japanese to work as a journalist far from home, uses the language to ask his source Jin Miyamoto (Hideaki Itō) whether the city of Tokyo has officially recorded murder cases at all. Miyamoto, a corrupt cop, is briefly caught up in all the flashes of distraction the nightclub has to offer — bright lights, music, liquor on order and young women ambiently available — before explaining the situation to this outsider.

“Tokyo Vice”Thursday, April 7, HBO MaxMichael Mann, the visionary filmmaker behind “Heat” and “The Insider,” returns to television for “Tokyo Vice.” (Yes, Mann was also one of the people behind “Miami Vice.” But there is no connection between the two beyond the title.) Based on the 2009 book of the same name by Jake Adelstein (played in the show by, um, Ansel Elgort), who in 1993 was hired by one of Japan’s largest newspapers to be its first non-Japanese reporter. Adelstein is soon taken under the wing of a veteran vice cop (Ken Watanabe) and exposed to Tokyo’s dangerous underbelly.

MONSTA X have postponed the release of their upcoming mini-album ‘Shape Of Love’ following member Hyungwon’s COVID-19 diagnosis.On March 28, MONSTA X’s label Starship Entertainment shared in a statement that Hyungwon had tested positive for COVID-19 on a rapid antigen test earlier that day, and would be halting all activities while he recovers. As a result, the group have decided to delay their forthcoming release until further notice.“Hyungwon has completed three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Naman Ramachandran Netflix has revealed 40 anime titles that will bow on the service in 2022, including new shows and returning fan favorites. Titles revealed at the AnimeJapan 2022 event include “Thermae Romae Novae,” launching on Monday, which is part of the partnership that the streamer had announced in 2020 with six anime creators.

Apple TV+’s newest drama Pachinko, based on the award-winning book of the same name by Min Jin Lee, offers poignant takeaways about family, survival and love. But, viewers should also expect to walk away with The Grass Roots’ “Let’s Live For Today” stuck in their heads.

Pachinko is here!

John Hopewell Chief International CorrespondentVery few The Mediapro Studio shows, indeed very few Spanish series in general, have lit a fire on the open market like “The Head,” an Antarctic-set thriller which lifts off as a murder mystery to constantly evolve into other realms. Starring Álvaro Morte, “Money Heist’s” Professor and Japanese pop idol Tomohisa Yamashita, written by Alex and David Pastor (“Hogar,” “Carriers”) and directed by Jorge Dorado (“The Department of Time,” “The Pier”), “The Head” broke viewership records on co-financiers Hulu Japan and HBO Asia and sold to over 90 countries including HBO in the U.S. The Mediapro Studio retained IP. “Sales opened doors to new markets and clients with whom we hadn’t worked before,” said Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of The Mediapro Studio.

Manori Ravindran International Editor“Dexter” and “The Blacklist” producer Daniel Cerone has boarded the U.K. adaptation of Japanese crime drama format “Connected,” Variety can reveal.The veteran producer is overseeing the U.K.

Naman Ramachandran Warner Bros.’ “The Batman” continued atop the U.K. and Ireland box office for the third weekend in a row with £3.3 million ($4.4 million), according to numbers released by Comscore. The film, starring Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz now has a total of £32.6 million.