Universal Music Breaks From Exclusive China Licensing Agreement to Sign With Both Tencent and NetEase

The Karate Kid star Ralph Macchio says the 2010 reboot, produced by Will Smith, should have been called The Kung Fu Kid.Macchio, who played Daniel LaRusso in the original 1984 film, explained to The Guardian why the modern remake should have had a different title in keeping with the location change.The revival, which moves from Los Angeles to China, should have been renamed The Kung Fu Kid because, as Macchio points out, “there’s no such thing as karate in China”.The film received mixed reviews

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefStarlight Media, the Hollywood-focused Chinese film financier behind “Crazy Rich Asians,” is to go further in its promotion of filmmaking diversity. It has unveiled details of a $100 million film and talent development fund.The company’s Stars Collective initiative will support aspiring female and BIPOC filmmakers and creative storytellers.

In the latest major agency exit, Phillip Sun, a partner at WME, is joining forces with MACRO founder and CEO Charles D. King to form M88, a full-service representation firm amplifying the voices of artists and creators from the global new majority, which Sun will lead as president and managing partner.

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is making its way onto mobile devices in China, according to a new report.Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad shared the news on Twitter, announcing that Chinese entertainment company Bilibili had reportedly “secured the rights to publish a mobile version of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout in China”.Check out the tweet below.Chinese games and entertainment company Bilibili has secured the rights to publish a mobile version of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout in

coronavirus, scientists have warned. A new study found that flushing urinals can release clouds of virus-laden particles within a speedy five seconds.This is compared to a normal toilet at home which takes 35 seconds to spread.

Vivienne Chow Mainland Chinese streaming giants iQIYI and Tencent are set to be banned from operating in Taiwan from next month, following the revision of an existing law that will bar their local partners from providing services for them.Companies and individuals in Taiwan will be banned from providing services for OTT operators from mainland China, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said in an announcement on Tuesday.

DEALSTencent Music is in the midst of a deals frenzy. Following its big new agreement with Universal Music, last week the Chinese company also announced it now had a direct deal in place with Kobalt.

Rebecca Davis editorPeter Chan’s hotly anticipated biographical sports drama “Leap” is set to hit China on Sept. 30, becoming the first of the Chinese New Year blockbusters canceled due to COVID-19 to set a theatrical outing.Local animation “Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification,” which was also originally scheduled to premiere over the lunar new year, will premiere the day after.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorHarry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone worked some magic in China on Friday with Warner Bros’ 3D reissue conjuring $4.6M. This is by far the biggesst single-day gross since cinemas resumed operations, overtaking the opening of WB’s earlier re-release of Chirstopher Nolan’s Interstellar by 66% (though that film bowed on a Sunday).

Rebecca Davis editorUniversal Music Group’s China division on Thursday announced the launch of “Magic Muses,” its first local label in over a decade.It will be focused solely on soundtracks and scores, seeking to work with local artists and composers to create tracks for Chinese film and TV projects.Veteran film marketing executive Kelvin Hou will be the Beijing-based label’s CEO. Hou is the founder and former CEO of Chinese film website Mtime.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefStrong games, music and media performances between April and June helped China’s Tencent deliver a robust quarterly financial performance through the depths of the coronavirus crisis.Group revenue in the second quarter was up by 29% to RMB114 billion ($16.3 billion), with net profits climbing by 37% to RMB32.4 billion ($4.63 billion).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChina Literature, which is both China’s leading online bookstore and owner of one of the country’s top TV producers, swung from profits of $55 million a year ago to net losses of $465 million in the six months to June.

posted to homes across Scotland. Scores of households have received the plastic packets containing mystery seeds that appear to have been sent from China or Singapore.

Chinese streaming platform Huanxi Premium has acquired exclusive local online rights to Stephen Frears' hit U.K. limited seriesQuiz.

Late-night stars are making fun of U.S. President Donald Trump’s apparent obsession with video-sharing app TikTok.

Rebecca Davis editorLocal content is proving more of a draw than Hollywood films as China’s cinemas get back on their feet.

Manori Ravindran International EditorVenice Golden Lion contender “Miss Marx,” starring Romola Garai as the spirited daughter of philosopher Karl Marx, has secured its first tranche of international deals ahead of the September fest. (Watch the film’s exclusive trailer above.)Written and directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli (“Nico, 1988,” “Cosmonaut”), with Celluloid Dreams serving as international sales agent, the film has been picked up by DDDreams in China and B-Team in Spain.