‘Squid Game’ gains popularity in China, despite Netflix not being available

Vivienne Chow Controversial Malaysian singer-songwriter Namewee, who has been accused of insulting China and Chinese people with his recent viral hit ballad “Fragile,” and advocating independence for Hong Kong and Taiwan, says that those were not his intentions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefThe global box office recovery is accelerating. Revenues in 2021 could hit $21.6 billion, according to a new forecast from research firm Gower Street Analytics.That compared with the firm’s previous $20.2 billion estimate made a couple of months ago.“We anticipate a potential additional upside that could see the current year finish around $22 billion globally.

Last Week Tonight.Cena came under fire in May after calling Taiwan a country during an interview. The actor, who was promoting Fast And Furious 9, said that Taiwan, an island separated from mainland China by the Taiwan Strait, would be the first “country” able to watch the film.“I made one mistake,” Cena said afterwards on Chinese social media network Weibo (as per South China Morning Post). “I love and respect China and Chinese people.

On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver used awkward apologies given to China by actor John Cena and clothing company The Gap to highlight just how intense the country’s government feels about its claim of ownership of Taiwan. “China insists that Taiwan, an independently operating entity, with its own democratically elected leaders, armed forces and constitution is actually part of China, and in no way a separate country,” Oliver said.

Rebecca Davis editorThe initial excitement and relief among Chinese fans that “Dune” passed government censorship was soon tempered by outrage that the initial release plan didn’t include an Imax 2D version of Denis Villeneuve’s keenly anticipated sci-fi thriller.Hundreds flooded the comments section of Imax’s official Weibo and online message boards last month to vent their frustration, while a few dozen took part in an email campaign to the company.Some said that if there was no Imax 2D

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver tackled the topic of Taiwan on Sunday night which made for the perfect opportunity to mock John Cena.

Rebecca Davis editor“Dune” didn’t quite manage to spice up its China open after a middling $6 million first day in the country on Friday. The film grossed just $21.6 million in its debut three-day weekend, according to studio estimates.The result is more or less in the ballpark of its $41 million weekend tally in North America, where it released day-and-date simultaneously on HBO Max.

Rebecca Davis editor“Dune” was unable to surpass Chinese propaganda war movie “The Battle at Lake Changjin” to take the top spot on its China opening day Friday, coming in second with just $6.45 million (RMB41.2 million) according to Maoyan data, despite a protracted charm offensive to raise awareness about the film in the increasingly sci-fi hungry country.As of the early hours of Saturday local time, the Maoyan platform now estimates that it will mine a total of just $30.9 million (RMB197

Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune hit China today with an estimated RMB 42M ($6.5M) on 28,274 screens and a 34.3% share of the market. While we do not yet have a social score, Friday’s estimate would portend a weekend in the $20M+ neighborhood as we noted coming into the session.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Dune,” Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi film of epic proportions, opened solidly in China on Friday and is forecast to attain a gross box office of $35 million (RMB224 million) in the country.The forecast was made by Maoyan, one of China’s leading online ticketing agencies, which also reported that the film had grossed RMB23.8 million ($3.7 million) by 2pm Friday local time.The $3.7 million haul was only good enough for second place, behind “The Battle at Lake

Enes Kanter and the NBA’s Boston Celtics opened ESPN’s regular-season schedule with a dramatic, double-overtime game won by the New York Knicks. But social media posts by Kanter before the game wound up being much more consequential.

Squid Game.The platform promoted a new show titled Squid’s Victory at an investment fair on Wednesday (October 20), using a poster which closely resembles the iconography, including pink circle and triangle symbols, used in Netflix’s South Korean hit.As reported by the BBC, the show also sees contestants compete in “large-scale kids’ games”, reminiscent of Squid Game’s central premise.