TikTok’s Forced Sale to Oracle, Walmart Reportedly Tabled Amid Biden China Security Review

Pierre Morel’s upcoming action thrillerThe Blacksmith, which recently lost its star Nick Jonas due to a scheduling conflict, has a deal in place for the important China market. Beijing-based distributor Infotainment China Media picked up rights to the film ahead of Berlin's European Film Market and plans to stick with the project despite the casting change-up.

Rebecca Davis editor“Tom and Jerry” squeaked in a narrow fifth in China with a $12.4 million debut, failing to capture viewers still flocking to local Chinese New Year holdover titles over the Lantern Festival holiday weekend.The Warner Bros.

With presumed Western blockbusters such as Black Widow, No Time to Die, and The Eternals delayed until later this year, the rambunctious Detective Chinatown franchise has leaped into the void in a very, very big way. Few, if any movies have ever raked in so much coin in so little time.

Amanda Zhou, who plays the role of “Jenn Yu” in the Netflix figure skating drama Spinning Out, has signed with APA.

Rebecca Davis editorDespite nearly six months of cinema closures due to COVID-19, China actually built nearly 6,000 more new screens in 2020, according to a new report from the country’s film authorities.The data contradicts the disastrous predictions made over the summer about the extent to which the pandemic would devastate the Chinese exhibition sector.China now boasts 75,581 screens nationwide at some 12,700 complexes, having built 5,794 more screens last year, said the National Office for

Exceptional and exceptionally confident, Cathy Yan’s “Dead Pigs” is a feature debut that leaves little mystery as to what DC studio execs saw in the filmmaker before tapping her to direct “Birds of Prey (And The Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).” READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2021 Energetically directed and sharply written, this sparkling social satire has in its sights no smaller target than the rapid-onset Westernization of China’s urban sprawl, as embodied by five

Richard Kuipers Parallel worlds commingle with initially intriguing but progressively less invigorating results in “A Writer’s Odyssey,” a handsomely produced action-fantasy directed by Chinese hitmaker Lu Yang (“Brotherhood of Blades,” “The Sacrifice”).

Don’t expect any decisions on TikTok’s fate to come from President Biden‘s administration.

Rebecca Davis editorChina’s top broadcasting regulator said Thursday that it will ban BBC World News from the country, according to the official Xinhua news agency.The National Radio and TV Administration (NRTA) said that BBC World News was found to have “undermined China’s national interests and ethnic solidarity” because of its China-related reports that “went against the requirements that news reporting must be true and impartial,” Xinhua said.In its own statement, the NRTA wrote: “As the

Long-developing plans to engineer the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a group of investors including Oracle and Walmart have been put on hold.

China's multiplexes were mostly silent over the weekend as the country—and its film industry—continued to gear up for the lucrative Lunar New Year holiday. Total ticket sales were just $22.9 million, the lowest of any weekend so far in 2021.

Vivienne Chow Social media app Clubhouse has been blocked in China from Monday evening following a series of chats that were deemed politically-sensitive. The app is a platform for uncensored audio conversations and allows thousands to listen in.Reports of mainland China users being unable to log began to emerge at about 7pm.

Rebecca Davis editorIn China’s second quiet weekend in a row with no notable new releases, Disney/Pixar’s “Soul” continued to hold its own, managing a sixth place finish after 45 days in theaters as local consumers looked ahead to the blockbuster bonanza of the upcoming Chinese New Year.The key week-long holiday, which runs from Feb. 12 to 17 this year, typically accounts for nearly 10% of China’s annual national box office.

Disney/Pixar’s Soul continues to shine overseas with a $96.2M cume after seven frames. In 11 markets this session, the Pete Docter-helmed original added $6.9M to its international box office kitty with No. 1s again in Russia and Korea. In China, it has surpassed Incredibles 2 to become the market’s 2nd highest-grossing Pixar title ever.