Will COVID-19 Hand the 2020 Box Office Crown to China?

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChina was the big breakout this past weekend, leading the international box office for the fourth frame in a row and powered by the reissue of Warner Bros’ Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone in a 4K 3D restoration that conjured $13.6M on 16,000 screens over the three-day frame.

Rebecca Rubin News Editor, OnlineYou’re in the billion-dollar club, Harry.Two decades after it was released in theaters, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” has surpassed $1 billion at the global box office.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorIt’s not so much mischief managed as it’s magic managed: Warner Bros’ reissue of Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone has become the second film in the franchise to cross $1B worldwide. The film, originally released in 2001, counts a global cume of $1,001,260,000 after debuting in a remastered 4K 3D version in China this weekend.

Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorCould TikTok end up in the clutches of Silicon Valley billionaire Larry Ellison?Software giant Oracle is in discussions with ByteDance to acquire popular social-video app TikTok, according to multiple reports. The Chinese internet company faces a looming mid-November deadline to divest TikTok’s U.S.

Harry Potter is enjoying a new from the top.

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.

Imax Corp.'s strong box office share with library titles, such as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which won the weekend in China, led one analyst on Monday to laud the company's "impressive" performance. Reiterating his "buy" rating and $18 price target on Imax's stock, B.

Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone cast its spell over the box office in China this weekend, as Hollywood rereleases continue to entice people back to recently reopened cinemas. The 3D, 4K rerelease of the first film in Warner Bros' multi-billion dollar franchise was able to magic up a stellar $13.4 million this weekend, according to local box office consultancy Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” rereleased in 3D and in Imax versions, topped the box office chart over the weekend in China.

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).

Sam Mendes' harrowing World War I movie 1917 debuted at the top of China's box office this weekend, as the country's theatrical business still deals with pandemic-related restrictions on operations. China's cinemas are now into their third week of reopening after a novel coronavirus enforced lockdown in January, and theatrical companies are operating with limits on the number of screens and with strict social distancing measures in place.

Rebecca Davis editorSam Mendes’ World War I saga “1917” took the top spot at China’s box office this weekend with a $5.3 million debut, according to data from industry tracker Maoyan, as overall nationwide ticket sales dipped down from the week before.Meanwhile, the China premiere of the 20th Century Fox’s racing drama “Ford V. Ferrari” flopped and came in fifth with just $1.2 million.

Manori Ravindran International EditorNetflix has launched a user interface in Hindi — a new functionality that will cater to almost half of India’s 1.4 billion population.The platform’s subscribers will be able to switch over to the Hindi interface from the “language” option on the platform — which has largely been accessible only in English to date in India —  allowing every aspect of the service to appear in Hindi.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorChina’s third Friday back to the movies scored a slight increase on last week’s comparable day at $4.38M. It’s short of the $7.6M generated last Sunday which was boosted by Warner Bros’ reissue of Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, but still a jump on last Friday, while midweeks were solid.

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorWhile Universal’s Dolittle and Warner Bros’ reissue of Interstellar were the big kahunas in China this weekend, Russell Crowe-starrer Unhinged hit the road in 19 new markets over the session. Among them, the UK, Australia, Netherlands and New Zealand where the Solstice Studios pic was No.

Universal'sDolittletopped China's box office for a second week as the country's cinemas continued their tentative reopening following the novel coronavirus shutdown.

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

Nancy Tartaglione International Box Office Editor/Senior ContributorSATURDAY UPDATE: Since cinemas reopened in China’s low-risk areas on July 20, the market today had its biggest day yet. Box office was $5.74M (RMB 40M) overall for the day, according to Maoyan figures.