U.S. Agencies Court International Distributors as Market Consolidation Puts Domestics in Disarray

HB 20 echoes claims made by conservatives that platforms such as Twitter and Facebook deliberately target conservative speech with content moderation policies such as “shadow banning,” which the platforms have repeatedly denied. However, the evidence is clear that that even with content moderation policies, Facebook still prioritizes conservative speech and ideologies and studies have proven that, for reasons that are unclear, right wing figures are amplified far more than left wing figures on Twitter.The tech industry and other parties have argued that the law would prevent content moderation of any kind, and enable hate speech to flourish online.

Afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here. Cannes is wrapping and we have the very latest from the Croisette, plus a hell of a lot more in this week’s deep dive. Read on.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has announced that more than 1,000 Ukrainian pensioners who recently arrived in the UK after fleeing the Russian invasion are already receiving financial support through Pension Credit, new figures show.

YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Microsoft chief Satya Nadella were skedded to join 2,500 politicians, business and nonprofit leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this week as the annual gathering kneecapped by Covid is back in person. It reconvenes, a bit subdued, at a critical moment with the world staggering under food scarcity, raging fuel prices and war.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCinema box office this year in North America is poised to overtake theatrical revenues in China, the country that has been the world’s largest movie market for the past two years.Before the latest weekend, gross revenues in the year to date stood at $2.38 billion for the North American compared with $2.43 billion for China, according to data from ComScore.U.K.-based research firm Gower Street Analytics forecast that the North American figure would overtake China’s revenues over the weekend or early this week. That reflects business growth in North America and the current reversal in China, where anti-COVID measures are causing renewed cinema closures.Gower Street says that some 85% of global cinemas are now open for business, compared with pre-pandemic levels.

During his lengthy career as an agent, David Unger saw there was a future in representing actors from the growing international marketplace. That’s what led to the creation of the Artist International Group in 2019.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness crossed $800M globally this weekend, now with $803.2M after three frames. Of that $342.1M is from domestic and $461.1M from the international box office. The offshore drop was 53% with $40M from 49 markets.

Here are some of the key talking points from the Cannes Film Festival and market at half-way.

Rolling applause, and lots of it, greeted Ruben Östlund and the cast of Triangle Of Sadness as they entered the Cannes press conference this morning.

Christopher Vourlias Russia may have been cut off from much of the international film community, but here at Cannes, members of the country’s media business are quietly trying to line up deals.Nearly three months into the war in Ukraine, the leadership of the film festival has spent its opening week fielding questions about its stance on Russia. Festival chief Thierry Frémaux, for instance, was grilled over the inclusion of competition title “Tchaikovsky’s Wife,” a movie with financial ties to Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

EXCLUSIVE: CBS’ is gearing up for an explosive Season 1 finale on May 24, and series star Luke Kleintank is teasing what’s ahead.

Naman Ramachandran India’s long awaited location shooting incentive scheme is now a reality. At the Cannes Film Market on Wednesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur revealed a 30% reimbursement scheme for international productions shooting in India.The Indian federal government will reimburse up to 30% of qualifying production expenditure to a maximum of INR20 million ($260,000).

Three people have appeared in court after being accused of verbally abusing former Conservatives leader Iain Duncan Smith at a party conference in Manchester last year.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHong Kong-based sales firm Golden Network has picked up international rights to Jackie Chan’s upcoming film “Ride On.”The feature has recently wrapped production and is scheduled to be released on Dec. 31 in time for what is normally a peak cinemagoing period in China and elsewhere.Asian films are currently struggling to achieve pre-sales in international markets, but “Ride On” could be an exception.

Refresh for latest…: Disney/Marvel’s Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness is approaching $700M globally after two weekends. The worldwide cume through Sunday is now an estimated $688.1M, including $291.9M domestic and $396.2M from the international box office. The latter number will shortly pass The Batman to become the biggest overseas release of 2022.

Avi Federgreen’s Indiecan Entertainment is launching a genre-focused distribution arm, hot on the heels of releasing Junta Yamaguchi’s time paradox comedy Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes.

Kevin Spacey has been confirmed to star in historical drama 1242 – Gateway to the West, which will be on sale at Cannes Market.