‘Pokémon Legends: Arceus’ accounted for half of UK’s physical game sales at launch

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“The Novelist’s Film,” which Wednesday earned Korean director Hong Sang-soo the Grand Jury Prize in Berlin, has scored multiple rights deals. With Seoul-based Finecut handling the rights sales, the film was licensed to Ama Films for Greece and Cyprus, Mimosa Films for Japan, L’Atalante Cinema for Spain, Arizona Films Distribution for France and to The Cinema Guild for the U.S.Finecut also did European Film Market business with “Contorted,” an unorthodox horror about a family tragedy.

The World Health Organization has released a new report on Omicron sub-variant BA.2 which shows the strain accounted for 21.5% of all new Omicron cases analyzed worldwide in the first week of February. Omicron, in turn, represented nearly all of the variants identified globally (98.3%) in the genomically-sequenced samples submitted to the GISAID data-sharing hub in the previous 30 days.

The streaming wars have seen both ups and downs, with Disney+ and HBO Max making significant strides by adding subscribers in the shadow of Netflix that looms large. Peacock and other budding streaming services are still trying to grow their audience, and that means putting together more exclusive original content to get eyeballs with compelling television shows.

 chronicled the stranger-than-fiction story about the multiple kidnappings of Jan Broberg, the story is being revisited as a scripted, true-crime series starring Anna Paquin and Jake Lacy.Adapted by showrunner and executive producer Nick Antosca and directed by executive producer Eliza Hittman, will recount the real story of the teenage girl who was abducted not once, but twice by the same man in several years. That man was the Broberg family’s trusted neighbor, Robert Berchtold, who ended up manipulating and exploiting the parents before turning their daughter against them. “Nick Antosca has created a compelling series in that explores one family’s unimaginable experience with great insight and sensitivity,” said Lisa Katz, president scripted content, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming.

Peacock has given a straight-to-series order to A Friend of the Family, a true-crime limited drama about the Jan Broberg kidnapping case, from Nick Antosca (The Act, Channel Zero) and UCP, with Oscar winner Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks and Lio Tipton attached to star. Eliza Hittman (Never Rarely Sometimes Always) is set to direct and executive produce multiple episodes, including the pilot.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPeacock has given a straight-to-series order to the true crime series “A Friend of the Family,” which tells the story of the multiple kidnappings of Jan Broberg.Anna Paquin, Jake Lacy, Colin Hanks, and Lio Tipton will all star in the series, which hails from “The Act” co-creator Nick Antosca. The show was originally announced as being in development back in May 2020.“A Friend of the Family” is based on the true story of the Broberg family, whose daughter Jan was kidnapped multiple times over a period of years by a charismatic, obsessed family “friend.” The Brobergs — devoted to their faith, family, and community — were utterly unprepared for the sophisticated tactics their neighbor used to exploit their vulnerabilities, drive them apart, and turn their daughter against them.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus has been discovered by a player, leading others to speculate it could be cut content.As spotted by VGC, a new YouTube video posted by Faz Faz shows them inside the room, which is only accessible with third-party software on PC.Although the entire room is decorated with the typical present-day items such as a television, bed, desk, laptop, and beanbag, nothing can be interacted with. There’s even a Pikachu Nintendo Switch sitting on the television stand.You can check out the full video below:The video shows the player walking around the small room and through the furniture models.

RuPaul is hosting a very different show!

dropped in 2002 and 2011 on the channel.The new adaption of “Lingo” will have two-person teams attempting to guess words on a grid after being given the first letter. Wordle, which uses a similar format, was recently purchased by the New York Times for a reported seven figures.

CrossfireX launched on Xbox Game Pass today (February 10), but users are having trouble accessing campaign content.CrossfireX includes a single-player campaign developer by Remedy. However, players are currently unable to access the content.

NEW YORK -- The world of Well-Read Black Girl, and founder Glory Edim, keeps growing.What began in 2015 as an Instagram book club and a phrase on a T-shirt given to Edim by her boyfriend is now a newsletter, literary festival, podcast and the basis for two published anthologies. On Thursday, Liveright Publishing Corporation and Well-Read Black Girl announced a partnership for a literary series dedicated to debut fiction by women and non-binary authors, “with a focus on people of color and traditionally underrepresented voices.”The series is called “WRBG x Liveright" and stating in 2023 will publish two books a year.

The Anglican Church of Ghana has taken a small step back from its previously unfettered support for the country’s appalling anti-LGBTQI+ bill.

K.J. Yossman “Breaking Point,” a feature about breakdancing from the directors of hit film “StreetDance 3D” will get its sales launch at EFM.Directed by Dania Pasquini and Max Guia, who helmed both “StreetDance 3D” and “StreetDance 2,” “Breaking Point” is described as “an adrenaline fuelled, high energy deep dive into the world of breakdancing.” HanWay Films are handling worldwide sales for the film, which goes into production in April.“StreetDance 2” alum Niek Traa will reunite with Pasquini and Guia for the new feature, choreographing the dance scenes.

Naturalist Chris Packham has once again urged I’m A Celebrity to stop the ‘cruel stereotyping’ of animals and says the ITV series would be ‘just as good’ without involving them.  Packham is currently helping with coverage of National Geographic’s Big Cat Week, airing from February 7, as he lends his voice to multiple documentaries.  The annual TV programming event aims to highlight the National Geographic Society’s commitment to conservation through its Big Cats Initiative, which supports on-the-ground research and efforts to help protect big cats and their habitats.

Nintendo has announced that franchise revamp Pokémon Legends: Arceus has now reached over 6.5million players across the globe.Released last week on January 28, the newest Pokémon entry adopts a more open world-type approach to the traditional formula, and players look to be onboard with the new direction.The title even accounted for almost half of all boxed game sales in the UK the week it launched, and joined other Nintendo Switch titles to dominate the sales as a whole.“Thank you to the more than 6.5million explorers worldwide who have already embarked on an exciting new adventure in Pokémon Legends: Arceus,” wrote the official Nintendo of America Twitter.Thank you to the more than 6.5 million explorers worldwide who have already embarked on an exciting new adventure in #PokemonLegendsArceus! We hope you're loading up on more potato mochi before your next research mission! pic.twitter.com/u1MKRHkhhD— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) February 4, 2022Whilst the release date of the new Pokémon title means there was no major data in the most recent financial reports for Nintendo, there were some other notable milestones and statements made.Unsurprisingly, the Nintendo Switch has now outsold the Wii, with a few years left on its life cycle.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItaly’s Grammy-wining singer Laura Pausini, Alessandro Cattelan and Lebanese/British pop star Mika are set to host the upcoming 66th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Turin, Italy.The hosts of Eurovision — which boasts an audience of over 180 million viewers, making it the world’s biggest and most-watched song competition — were announced Wednesday during the Sanremo song fest on Italian pubcaster RAI, the host broadcaster of this year’s Eurovision, which will be held May 10, 12 and 14.All three hosts are proficient in English and have plenty of high-profile media experience.Pausini is a 2006 Grammy Award winner for “Escucha” in the best Latin pop album category, one of 13 studio albums she has released, scoring more than 70 million album sales around the world. In 2020, she collaborated with Diane Warren to perform the Oscar-nominated theme song “Io Sì” (Seen) for Sophia Loren-starrer “The Life Ahead.”  Cattelan is an experienced TV host, having hosted talent show “The X Factor” in Italy for nine years, including the 2017 edition, which was won by hard rock band Måneskin.