Religion, Islam and Feminism Come Under the Focus at Haugesund

Rebecca Davis editor“Free Guy” retained its lead of the China box office for the third weekend in a row, and has now surpassed “Tenet” in local sales.It brought in $12.4 million on a rare weekend with three non-Chinese language titles in the top five, according to Maoyan figures.China’s box office has been dismal all summer and the slump continued this week with, once again, only five films that made over $1 million.

Rebecca Davis editorThe latest James Bond film, “No Time To Die,” will have its chance to blow up the Chinese box office this year, as it has now passed local censorship and has a ticket into the world’s largest film market, official local media confirmed on Friday.Although no specific release date has been set, the development is certainly welcome news for Hollywood, as the blockbuster will need significant global sales to turn a profit during a pandemic given its huge budget of around $200

The prospects for Disney/Marvel’s Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings getting a China release date are dwindling. This in the wake of comments originally made by star Simu Liu in 2017 which resurfaced this week and have made waves on Chinese social media. In a 2017 interview with the CBC, the Canadian-born actor referenced his parents telling him of conditions under Comminist rule and referring to China as a “third world” country where people were “dying of starvation.”

Rebecca Davis editorLou Ye’s embattled 2019 film “Saturday Fiction” will have a theatrical outing in the Chinese auteur’s home country nearly two years after its planned high-profile premiere there was abruptly cancelled.After its long time in the dark, the black-and-white drama will return triumphantly to the official limelight as the closing film of the Beijing Intl. Film Festival on Sept.

Vivienne Chow Nicholas Tse, star of the recent hit film “Raging Fire,” says he has applied to renounce his Canadian citizenship and will embrace the People’s Republic of China instead. The move comes as Chinese authorities mount crackdowns on the entertainment industry and on dual citizenship.The singer-actor-celebrity chef made the announcement during an interview on Sunday on CCTV, China’s state broadcaster.

BEIJING -- Chinese social media platform Weibo banned a fan club of popular South Korean K-pop band BTS from posting for 60 days, saying it had raised funds illegally, days after photographs of a customized airplane funded by the fan club were posted online.The fan club account, which had over 1.1 million followers on Weibo, was centered around BTS member Jimin.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Free Guy” held on strongly to grab a second weekend at the top of the mainland China box office. It beat an unusual theatrical release for “The Tomorrow War,” which has gone straight to streaming in other territories.“Free Guy” earned $18.3 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy, Artisan Gateway.

(continued below)These are just a handful of the strict regulations President Xi Jinping has ordered in the name of "national rejuvenation". He's also clamping down on the video game and internet industry, having launched anti-monopoly, data security and other enforcement actions against companies.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe Chinese government’s crackdown on the tech and entertainment sectors has now turned to “sissy idols,” “effeminate men” and all things “overly entertaining.”The measures were sketched out in an eight-point plan on Thursday by the National Radio and Television Administration.

The Chinese government has issued new orders to its broadcasters in its continuing crackdown on culture, business and social mores. This time, it called for a ban on what it termed “effeminate men,” asking instead that “revolutionary culture” be touted.

Reuters has reported.Their message included criticism that the industry supports an “effeminate” male image, to the detriment of Chinese men, they said. The National Radio and Television Administration of China also intends to put the squeeze on stars’ outsized salaries while encouraging such entertainment tycoons to volunteer to aid public welfare programs.

BEIJING -- China’s government banned effeminate men on TV and told broadcasters Thursday to promote “revolutionary culture,” broadening a campaign to tighten control over business and society and enforce official morality.President Xi Jinping has called for a “national rejuvenation,” with tighter Communist Party control of business, education, culture and religion.

Netflix asked him to change the location of his new film Hustle from China to Majorca.Sandler, who signed a new deal with Netflix at the start of 2020 to make four more original films, explained that the streaming giant changed his original concept for the new film about a basketball recruiter who travels overseas.“It was written originally that I find a player in China and somehow, Netflix is not in China,” Sandler said on The Dan Patrick Show.“So they were like, ‘Would you guys please make it

Alexander Durie Discussions around increasing diversity and representation across the film industry have been multiplying in the past few years after global movements like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter spurred systemic change. Confronting these issues head-on was one of the main topics of discussion in Haugesund at this year’s Norwegian Intl.

Alexander Durie “The Man Who Sold His Skin” and “Coda” stood out among films which picked up awards at the closing ceremony of the 49th Norwegian International Film Festival Haugesund. For the festival’s grand reopening to the international market, after a restricted 2020 edition due to the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance surpassed pre-pandemic levels with an all-time-high number of industry accreditations for the event which ran Aug.

After a two-month blackout period in China for Hollywood movies, Disney/20th Century Studios’ Free Guy is looking to lead all pics in the country at the weekend B.O. with a $18M+, possibly $20M take. That’s a promising start for one of the first big movies from Hollywood after a long-hiatus, besting the $15M opening weekend of A Quiet Place Part II, and the $7.8M first weekend of Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway.