US and China to Lift Restrictions on Journalists That Led to Trump-Era Expulsions

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefAction-adventure film, “Schemes in Antiques” grabbed the top spot at the mainland China box office with a solid $25.6 million debut.It deposed crime comedy “Be Somebody” which had topped the chart for the past three weekends and earned $13.3 million in its fourth weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

After having been cleared by authorities in late November for an eventual China release, the market has now given Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s highly-anticipated The Matrix Resurrections an official date — on January 14, 2022.

UPDATE:  China has responded to the Women’s Tennis Association announcement on Wednesday that it is suspending all of its tournaments in that country. The WTA said it was taken the action because of  concerns about the treatment of tennis star Peng Shuai.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese video streaming company iQiyi is poised to impose massive job just on its workforce Chinese and financial sector media reported on Wednesday and Thursday. The layoffs could affect 20-40% of its workforce, the reports said.Contacted by Variety, iQiyi acknowledged the existence of the media reports, but offered no further response.On Wednesday the company announced a significant crop of original content at its Singapore-based international platform.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefBruce Willis-starring sci-fi action film “Breach” is to receive an online release next week in China across five major streaming platforms.Leeding Media, which has offices in Los Angeles and Beijing, has finally secured Dec.

Oh! My Gran is set to hit Chinese theatres this Friday (December 3), becoming the first Korean film to be screened in the nation in six years since 2015’s Assassination, starring Jun Ji-hyun (Legend Of The Blue Sea, Jirisan) and Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game, The Housemaid).Oh! My Gran, which first premiered in 2020, stars actress Na Moon-hee as the film’s lead character of Moon-hee, an elderly woman who believes she is a princess in an animated series, but is actually diagnosed with Alzheimer’s

Expressing concern for the health and safety of tennis star Peng Shuai, the Women’s Tennis Association announced Wednesday that it is suspending all of its tournaments in China.

Rebecca Davis editorAfter a six-year hiatus, Korean cinema is set to return to the Chinese big screen in wide release at last.This Friday, Dec. 3, Chinese cinemas will run the 2020 comedy “Oh! My Gran (Oh! Moon-Hee),” official posters said Wednesday.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefChinese content aggregator Legend Media has swooped for a 100-hour package of content from multinational Fremantle, which said that it was Legend’s first and biggest factual package so far.The company has licensed digital rights for China and will be placing the factual programs across top Chinese VOD platforms.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefJamie Dornan-starring series ‘The Tourist’ and Jodie Comer- and Stephen Graham-starring serie ‘Help’ have both been licensed to Chinese companies by international distributor All3Media International.The deals were announced on Tuesday, on the eve of the Asa TV Forum and Market in Singapore, which runs from Wednesday to Friday.“The Tourist,” in which Dornan’s character survives a massive car crash in the Australian outback was pre-sold to Pumpkin Films.

Rebecca Davis editorYet another week has passed without any news of a release date for Sony’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” which debuted stateside Oct.

Rebecca Davis editorChina has released the list of nominees for its upcoming Golden Rooster Awards, a set of government-approved film industry prizes that it wants to be seen as rivaling the Taipei-based Golden Horse Awards, historically considered as the “Chinese-language Oscars.”The winning Roosters will be announced amidst a film festival running Dec. 28-30 in the port city of Xiamen in coastal Fujian province, just a short boat ride away from Taiwanese soil.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefCrime comedy film “Be Somebody” held up strongly at the top of the mainland Chinese box office, in a weekend where the top four places remained unchanged.“Be Somebody” scored $21.9 million on its third weekend of release, just 8% down on its second weekend figure, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That give it a cumulative gross of $94.4 million, since releasing on Nov.