Why Hollywood Movies are Being Squeezed Out in China, and What Happens Next

Rebecca Davis editorWhen Taiwanese actor Janine Chang was writing her masters’ thesis in industrial economics in 2010, she likely never imagined that two Chinese characters in it would become a diplomatic flashpoint and threaten to derail her lucrative acting career more than a decade later.This week, however, it has done just that.

Tony Vinciquerra, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, says a decision to release Venom: Let There Be Carnage two weeks early shows the film studio “demonstrating our confidence that people will be going to the movies, if the Delta Variant seems to be receding a bit.” He says that was the clear takeaway from Disney’s strong Labor Day weekend release of Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings.

Rebecca Davis editor“Free Guy” retained its lead of the China box office for the third weekend in a row, and has now surpassed “Tenet” in local sales.It brought in $12.4 million on a rare weekend with three non-Chinese language titles in the top five, according to Maoyan figures.China’s box office has been dismal all summer and the slump continued this week with, once again, only five films that made over $1 million.

Emmerdale's Max Parker will reportedly be hitting the big time in Hollywood with a major new gig on an upcoming series.The talented star left the popular ITV soap back in mid-June after two years in a bid to take his career to the next level. And it has now been claimed that the Luke Posner actor has landed a dream acting gig in Vampire Acadamy, which is produced by The Vampire Diaries' Julie Plec and will see a global audience when it airs on US streaming service Peacock.

Tom Cruise, now approaching age 60, has never reacted calmly to frustration. This week his carefully structured life was put on hold by delays of his two heralded mega movies: the Top Gun sequel and the seventh Mission: Impossible.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorFrom dragon scales to the five elements of Chinese philosophy, production designer Sue Chan worked to incorporate numerous element into the set details of Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.”From ancient worlds to San Francisco and a magical village protected by dragons, Chan and her team were faced with the mammoth task of striking a variety of moods as Simu Liu’s Shang Chi and the audience travel through these scenes.A monotone palette was used for

Netflix asked him to change the location of his new film Hustle from China to Majorca.Sandler, who signed a new deal with Netflix at the start of 2020 to make four more original films, explained that the streaming giant changed his original concept for the new film about a basketball recruiter who travels overseas.“It was written originally that I find a player in China and somehow, Netflix is not in China,” Sandler said on The Dan Patrick Show.“So they were like, ‘Would you guys please make it

Thursday appearance on “The Dan Patrick Show,” in which he discussed his new sports comedy “Hustle.” In the flick, which is currently in the post-production phase, Sandler plays a washed-up basketball agent who attempts to save his flatlining career by recruiting a talented overseas player to the NBA.“It was written originally that I find a player in China and somehow, Netflix is not in China,” the “Happy Gilmore” star told Patrick.

Sarah Paulson admitted that she regrets wearing a fat suit to portray Linda Tripp in "Impeachment: American Crime Story."  Paulson was tapped to play the real-life White House staff member who blew the whistle on the affair between former President Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky.The affair and ensuing national scandal will be depicted and dramatized in the upcoming season of the series that has previously tackled real-life events like the trial of O.J.

only Indigenous person on set for miles, and it was lonely. I wasn’t enjoying my work as much as I previously had been. But then on ‘Reservation Dogs,’ there was such a magic to the set.

After a two-month blackout period in China for Hollywood movies, Disney/20th Century Studios’ Free Guy is looking to lead all pics in the country at the weekend B.O. with a $18M+, possibly $20M take. That’s a promising start for one of the first big movies from Hollywood after a long-hiatus, besting the $15M opening weekend of A Quiet Place Part II, and the $7.8M first weekend of Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway. 

NCT, WayV and SuperM, has issued a personal apology following a recent cheating and gaslighting controversy.The Hong Kong-born idol took to his personal Instagram to address the situation in a handwritten letter in Traditional Chinese, alongside a Korean translation in the caption.

Rebecca Davis editorThe toppling of powerful men by #MeToo accusations in Hollywood and beyond has be­­come a familiar phenomenon to Americans in the post-Harvey Weinstein era, but in China, such reckonings remain rare.