Studio Mentality Informs Asian Expansion Strategy at China’s Linmon Media, Says Zhou Yuan: ‘English Is the Working Language’

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Liam Neeson-starring “Honest Thief” has secured a multi-platform streaming release in mainland China. It launches on SVOD platforms on Christmas Day (Dec.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “If you really missed not seeing us on screen together, then ‘The Goldfinger’ is your opportunity to do so,” says Hong Kong superstar Andy Lau of his new crime movie where he is again paired with Tony Leung Chiu-wai (“In the Mood for Love”). The film releases at the end of the month in different parts of Asia and North America (from Dec. 30).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Just when players and investors had begun to believe that China was finished with major new regulations to the games industry, regulators have announced proposals for more curbs. The draft regulations, proposed by the National Press and Publication Administration appear to focus on in-game spending. The proposals revealed on Friday hit the shares of Chinese gaming giants Tencent and NetEase and dented those of other companies with operations n the Chinese market.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Really, a company that creates augmented reality content for theatrical release movies has hired veteran media executive Peter Gaida as its chief commercial officer in Asia Pacific. The appointment is part of a wider expansion into Asia by the AR company. Founded by media entrepreneur James Andrew Felts in 2017, Really creates “highly functional, large-scale AR content” that it delivers weekly.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief It seems Hollywood’s “sequel-itis” has reached China’s box office too. Despite the country’s dramatic overnight removal of COVID restrictions in December 2022 and film imports quickly restarting with the triumphant debut of “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Hollywood’s new normal in the Middle Kingdom bears little resemblance to its pre-pandemic status. During the three-year disruption of 2020-22, caused by the pandemic and soured U.S.-China diplomatic relations, few Hollywood films — and no Marvel titles — made their way onto Chinese screens. But if Hollywood studios read the $240 million-grossing “Avatar 2” feeding frenzy as a sign that pent-up Chinese demand for their sequels and superheroes slate might continue throughout 2023, they were sorely disappointed. In the world’s second-largest box office territory, with a cume to date of $7.3 billion, the market share for all imported films in China has crashed, standing at less than 15% at the beginning of December. Hollywood films’ share is just 12%, consultancy Artisan Gateway calculates. This month, “Napoleon” and “Wonka” have continued the trend of dismal flops, with $5 million and $3 million opening weekends, respectively. The slump is particularly disappointing given that the Chinese authorities that carefully control the film industry have this year made several moves designed to put Hollywood releasing back on the rails.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese-made crime drama, “Endless Journey” opened on top of the mainland China box office on a weekend with three new releases in the top five. The Wanda Pictures and Alibaba title earned $20.5 million (RMB146 million) between Friday and Sunday, its official opening weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. Together with previews from the week earlier, it ended the weekend with a cumulative total of $34.5 million (RMB245 million).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” movie has cleared multiple stages of approvals and will release in mainland Chinese theaters on Dec. 31. The announcement, foreshadowed by Variety earlier this month, was made at 1.13pm (or 13.13) on Friday in China, a reference to Swift’s birth date and lucky number.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian streamer Stan has acquired rights to both seasons, totaling 20 episodes, of the Malaysian adaptation of Scandinavian crime series “The Bridge.” The agreement, brokered by Lyle Bettson-Barker, SVP Australia and New Zealand from Banijay Rights, represents the first time that Stan has acquired a Malaysian drama series. The Asian version of “The Bridge” was initially commissioned by Viu and HBO Asia in 2018, after Double Vision, part of the Vision New Media group, introduced Viu to the format. It broadcast to across 23 territories in the combined footprints of Viu and HBO Asia and was also shown on Viu in South Africa.The title has garnered more than 20 regional awards and nominations across its two seasons, making it the most awarded drama in Malaysian history. Season one faithfully follows the original show, and sees a dead body found on the border between Malaysia and Singapore, necessitating an investigator from each country to work together to solve the crime.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Two Hollywood films “Wonka” and “Migration” opened in Chinese cinemas over the latest weekend. But neither did enough business to appear among the box office top five. Instead, the weekend crown went to “The Invisible Guest,” a Chinese remake of the 2016 Spanish mystery thriller about a woman who must work with a police officer to clear her name after her lover is found dead in a locked room. It earned a modest $12.6 million (RMB89.6 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Thailand’s broadcast and streaming group Mono Next and Korea’s Studio Genie have struck a deal to collaborate on content creation and distribution. Production of a Thai remake of a Korean series is on the cards, but has not been finalized. The memorandum was announced on stage at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore on Wednesday, with streaming unit Mono Streaming signing on behalf of the Thai group.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Korean-produced series “The Glory” won the best drama series award on Thursday at the Asian Academy Creative Awards Gala Final. Thai-produced TV movie “Hunger” was named best feature film. The awards are organized by the Asian Academy of Creative Arts (AACA) a.k.a Asian Academy Creative Awards (AAA) and are held alongside the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. The AACA “was established to honor creative excellence and serve as a peer judged pinnacle of achievement in content creation, performance and media production.” By the conclusion of the gala ceremony, Singapore, Japan and India had each claimed seven prize wins.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Something Special, the Seoul-based international format agency founded by format specialists Jin Woo Hwang (president and executive producer) and Kim In Soon (EVP & head of content) announce that ITV Studios has optioned the hit Korean celebrity format “Battle in the Box” for France, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The deal was unveiled on Wednewday, the first full day of the Asia Television Forum and Market (ATF) in Singapore. “Battle in the Box,” created by Korea’s NMedia and represented globally by Something Special, has previously seen deals announced with Fremantle for Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Universal Music Greater China has signed a strategic partnership with Mandarin-language music superstar Jay Chou and his record label JVR Music. The agreement secures global marketing and distribution rights for Chou’s extensive music catalogue and for future projects. It also supports rising talent from his label, including artists Patrick Brasca and Young (aka Cao Yang) through JVR. Nicknamed the ‘King of Mandopop’ Chou has a two decade career that spans 15 studio albums, eight world tours and 378 concerts in Asia, America, Europe, and Australia.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Webtoons, the vertical-scrolling iteration of digital comics that emerged some twenty years ago in Korea, along with the smartphone, are now a global medium. But they are only at the beginning of their global journey, says Charlie Park, CEO of Kakao Entertainment-owned Tapas. Park was speaking Tuesday at the Asia Television Forum in Singapore in a session moderated by industry consultant Jimmy Kim. Park explained that the webtoon segment was for several years a niche fan-driven activity with few opportunities for monetization.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China and Netherlands-based Fortissimo Films has picked up international sales rights to anticipated Chinese blockbuster movie “If You Are the One 3.” To be released on Dec. 30 in China, the picture is directed by Feng Xiaogang as the second sequel in his anti-romance comedy franchise, about a rich businessman and an air stewardess, which kicked off in 2008 and earned a follow-up in 2010.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Macau casino operator, Sands China entered into a strategic partnership with Chinese streaming company Tencent Video and Chinese cinema ticketing firm Maoyan Entertainment. The three parties will team up to host large-scale offline events, content creation of lifestyle and entertainment programs and online marketing and promotion. Operating The Venetian Macao, The Parisian Macao and The Londoner Macao casino resorts, Sands runs several large entertainment facilities in Macau, including the 15,000-seat Cotai Arena, the 1,800-seat Venetian Theatre, the 6,000-seat The Londoner Arena, the 1,200-seat The Parisian Theatre, and the 1,700-seat Londoner Theatre. The three will co-organize events in Macau including live performances, concerts, films, TV series, variety shows, sports and cultural activities.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Donovan Chan, co-chief and creative director of Singapore-based Beach House Pictures has operations that span scripted, unscripted and branded TV as well as film, across the width of the Asia region. That gives him a unique perspective on a trying last year and where the upsides appear to be. He sat down with Variety on the eve of the Asian Television Forum.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ridley Scott’s historical epic “Napoleon” was cruelly defeated at the mainland Chinese box office, where it opened in only fifth place on its opening weekend. Chinese crime thriller “Across the Furious Sea” headed the mainland China charts for a second weekend, earning $20.0 million (RMB142 million), according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. “Napoleon” earned just $2.8 million ($19.6 million) in China, according to the firm whose figures are generally considered as final, not estimates. The film earned generally mixed to positive reviews, but only a middling score of 6.6 out of 10 from users of the Douban movie fan site. But it appears that Chinese audiences found the travails of an ancient French emperor to be too much of a specialist topic.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Negotiations are under way to secure a December or more likely an early January release for Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour” movie in mainland China cinemas. The film, which has grossed some $250 million worldwide since debuting on Oct. 13, is currently being reviewed by Chinese authorities.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief I.E. Entertainment, the global distribution outfit founded and run by industry veterans Indra and Erlina Suharjono, has come on board to handle worldwide sales for Cathay Film Company’s “Coolie.” The TV miniseries is inspired by the little-known history of enslaved Chinese ‘coolies’ in Cuba in the 1860s.