‘Shaun The Sheep’ China Deal; BFI Black Cinema Event; ‘Guilt’ Re-Commission; Edinburgh TV Fest Additions – Global Briefs

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorWith some of China’s cinemas reopened this week in low-risk areas, and as tomorrow sees Beijing get partially back to business as well, box office has continued to rise. As of 11:30PM tonight local time, Thursday’s takings hit $940K, according to ticketing service Maoyan.

Dino-Ray Ramos Associate Editor/ReporterSince the top of the coronavirus pandemic, there has been a surge in racism against Asians and Pacific Islander (API) which has been bolstered by Donald Trump and his administration’s consistent use of the terms “Chinese virus” and “Kung Flu” to describe COVID-19.

Vivienne Chow Chinese streaming giant iQIYI is to boost its Southeast Asia operation with the appointment of three new country managers. Two hail from Iflix, the regional streamer now being acquired by Tencent Video.IQIYI said that former Iflix executive Sherwin Dela Cruz had been hired as its country manager for the Philippines.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorAs Chinese cinemas began the reopening process today, box office crossed $472K by 8PM local. Maoyan’s real-time ticketing platform reports that play is led by new entry A First Farewell at around $184K.

As cinemas in China look to reopen on Monday amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, Imax Corp. has signed a 20-theater deal with Chinese industry giant Wanda Film Co.

Jill Goldsmith Co-Business EditorImax China has expanded its decade long partership with Wanda Film Co.

Jake Kanter International TV EditorBBC One’s adaptation of Vikram Seth’s best-selling novel A Suitable Boy is heading to Netflix outside of the U.S., Canada and China, distributor BBC Studios has announced.The streamer has also clinched the Lookout Point drama for subscribers in UK and Ireland after its 12-month iPlayer window has expired following its broadcast on BBC One. Lookout Point-owner BBC Studios is currently in talks with a U.S.

China's largest cinema chain operator Wanda Film said it expects to lose $214 to $228 million (RMB 1.5 to 1.6 billion) in the first half of 2020 thanks to over five months on continual cinema shutdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The decline represents a stark reversal of fortunes from the $75 million profit the Chinese exhibition giant reported during the same period in 2019.

Rebecca Davis editorChinese production firm Aim Media has sold the North American rights of director Yang Lina’s “Spring Tide” to distributor China Lion. Smart Cinema, the new venture by former Wanda executive Jack Gao, has also bought the rights to screen the film on its platform in South Korea.

Hong Kong’s controversial new national security law taking force on July 1, scenes once unimaginable in the financial hub have nightmarishly come true: a 15-year-old girl arrested for waving an independence flag; books potentially offensive to China’s Communist Party removed from public libraries; protesters, fearing life imprisonment for wielding slogans, holding up blank sheets of paper — but getting detained anyway.By imposing the law, Beijing is forcibly and abruptly moving its Great

Tom Grater, Jake Kanter UK-China relations took a further dive today after the UK government announced it would ban its mobile providers from buying new Huawei 5G equipment as of December 31, and mandated they remove all existing equipment from their networks by 2027. The move follows sanctions imposed on the Chinese tech giant by the U.S..

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Leading Russian animation outfit Riki Group has signed a deal with Beijing-based producer and distributor Joy Culture and Chinese platform Tencent Video to partner on season four of animated series The Fixies.Following its acquisition of the show’s third season, Tencent will now invest in the production of 52 new episodes of the series, which follows the comical misadventures of Tom Thomas and his secret friendship with Simka and Nolik, two young

Shaun the Sheephas gone truly global. Aardman's much-loved animated farmyard creation and his flock of woolly friends are heading to China following a deal with Tencent Video, which will see the Chinese streaming platform become home to all 170 episodes of the Shaun the Sheep TVseries, including season 6, which launched earlier this year.