Shanghai Disneyland Shuts Down Just 4 Days After Reopening Due To China Covid Requirements

James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water began its international box office rollout today in such majors as Korea, France, Germany and Italy — and with early sneaks in China. One of the most anticipated movies of recent years, it’s dominating play.

And so it begins. Thirteen years after the first Avatar arrived in movie theaters, conquered and continued to conquer the global box office as the highest release of all-time with $2.9 billion worldwide, Avatar: The Way of Water, the sequel to the James Cameron directed 3x Oscar winning 3D sci-fi movie arrives with a global outlook of $525M in what is Disney’s widest global release ever at 52K screens, surpassing Avengers: Endgame.

IMAX China Holding, Inc and IMAX Corporation have named CAA China veteran Daniel Manwaring as Chief Executive Officer of IMAX China. He succeeds interim CEO Jiande Chen, who will return to his full-time role as Vice Chairman of IMAX China. Manwaring takes over the post from January 9, 2023.

Ahead of the rollout of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water in China this week, the original Avatar is getting a surprise rerelease in a limited promotional run from tomorrow locally — and will include an exclusive Easter egg for local audiences. The remastered 4K/HDR version is so far expected in up to 80 cinemas – China has steadily been opening theaters as zero-Covid restrictions have eased in the past week. 

And, they’re back. After a series of Covid-related stops and starts, Shanghai Disneyland has again reopened today, marking the Shanghai Disney Resort’s latest return to full operations. 

Wild Bunch co-founder Vincent Maraval drew comparisons between the burgeoning film industry in Saudi Arabia with that of China during a business-focused keynote at the Red Sea film festival this morning.

Kanye West, now known as Ye, has resurfaced on social media after he was suspended from Twitter for “inciting violence” following more antisemitic messages.

Fresh from its success at the Cannes Film Festival where it won Best Director, Decision to Leave marks the first time a film by Park Chan-wook — long believed to be one of South Korea’s finest contemporary filmmakers — has represented his country at the Oscars. A friendly rivalry with Parasite director Bong Joon-ho, who won in 2019 with the first Korean film ever to be nominated, only heightens the anticipation for its chances.

Roll up, roll up, Insiders. The Deadline International team have once again been travelling the world to bring you the latest news and analysis from the global film and TV biz, with Mel and Zac both in the Middle East. Max and I actually found the TV world descending on London for once, so we didn’t have to go so far for access. Read on.

Apple stock fell 3% today as it was hit by two headwinds — protests in China threatening iPhone production and claims of “censorship” lodged by new Twitter owner Elon Musk.

Censorship concerns in China have reached boiling point as protests rage after a BBC journalist was “beaten and kicked by police” and footage showed the state broadcaster altering World Cup coverage to avoid showing mask-less crowds.

Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival Unveils Jury

After several closures and reopenings throughout the pandemic, Shanghai Disneyland is again set to resume operations, on Friday November 25. The Shanghai Disney Resort said it would continue to operate with limited daily capacity and implement “enhanced health and safety measures.”

The long awaited James Cameron sequel to the highest grossing movie of all-time hit tracking this morning with a projected opening of at least $150M. Tracking has it higher near $175M, but rivals are bullish at $200M.

As expected, China has given a theatrical release to James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water. This is a big deal given the fact that China sidelined, during the pandemic, many Hollywood blockbuster films, specifically Disney-Marvel movies. However, the first Avatar was a big grosser in China. The sequel to the biggest-grossing movie of all time will hit China day and date on December 16.

Before becoming King after his mother died on September 8 2022, Charles had his fair share of controversies over the years.