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Thread: Chollywood rising

  1. #346
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    The html addy for this is 'coronavirus-no-time-to-die-mulan' ironically.

    NEWS FEBRUARY 28, 2020 6:15AM PT
    Hollywood Studios Assembling Coronavirus Strategy Teams
    By BRENT LANG
    Executive Editor of Film and Media
    @https://twitter.com/BrentALang

    .
    CREDIT: NICOLE DOVE

    As coronavirus continues its deadly march across the globe, the outbreak is wreaking havoc with Hollywood’s efforts to launch major movies and shows. In the process, companies are asking employees to delay work trips to countries such as China, Japan, Italy and South Korea, the regions that have been the most affected by the disease, and they are scuttling promotional campaigns for several upcoming blockbusters.

    Studios have already cancelled plans for China premieres for films such as Disney’s “Mulan” and the James Bond adventure “No Time to Die” — moves that could cost those movies tens of millions in box office revenue. Sony’s “Bloodsport” was also expected to screen in China, but that release date remains up in the air. Most of these films hadn’t gotten the official word from Chinese authorities that they would be allowed to screen in the country, but there’s little chance that will come any time soon, as movie theaters in China remain closed. There are also indications that several upcoming movies such as “Mulan,” “The Grudge,” and “Onward” will delay their release in Italy, where the number of cases recently jumped to 400. No major U.S. films will debut in the country this weekend. Globally, the disease, named COVID-19, has infected over 82,500 people and killed 2,810. Healthcare experts expect that number to climb as coronavirus continues to spread to other parts of the world.

    No studios were willing to go on the record about their response to the crisis, but privately they said they were taking “a wait-and-see” approach as the number of hotspots expands. Many are in regular contact with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization as they assess the rapidly changing situation.

    Most of the major studios have begun assembling advisory teams comprising members of their production, marketing, finance, and human resources staff to assess the potential impact of the disease. Part of their task is to figure out how staff in these affected areas can remain safe. In some cases, they’re encouraging people in areas where there are a growing number of cases to work from home, and helping to ensure the technology is in place to make that happen.

    Another topic of discussion is the business ramifications of a health crisis that has the potential to grow into an epidemic or pandemic. Studios are trying to determine if they should move major releases to avoid debuting films in parts of the world where coronavirus is spreading. At the same time, they’re assessing what impact such moves will have on other movies that are scheduled to debut later in 2020 and 2021. Studio executives believe that the theater closures in China and Italy, as well as the spread of the disease in major markets such as South Korea could result in billions of dollars in lost ticket sales.

    “Mulan,” a $200 million adventure film with a cast of Asian actors, was expected to resonate in markets such as China, where it may not play for weeks or months. Rival studios say they are watching to see how Disney handles the challenges of debuting the film at a time when theaters in some countries are closed and people are hesitant to spend time in public spaces, before determining what to do with their own upcoming releases. The Bond film, “Wonder Woman: 1984,” and the ninth “Fast & Furious” movie are among the major films debuting in the coming months that had planned robust international rollouts. Those could be impacted if the disease continues to spread. The latest 007 adventure had originally intended to take a promotional swing through China, South Korea, and Japan, but those plans have been abandoned.

    So far, studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount, Universal, and Disney are also still expected to attend CinemaCon along with the stars of their upcoming movies. The annual exhibition industry trade show is being held in Las Vegas at the end of March and brings attendees from across the globe — though Chinese companies have cancelled on account of the travel ban. In a note to participants this week, Mitch Neuhauser, managing director of CinemaCon, and John Fithian, head of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the group behind the convention, said they still expected the event to be well-attended.

    “An encouraging measure of the impact of coronavirus is that the number of concerned emails or phone calls coming to us are minimal,” they wrote. “We are, though, inundated with our normal number of emails and calls that are all about the planning of the convention.”

    Justin Kroll contributed to this report.
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  2. #347
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    COVID-19 impact on global entertainment

    Entertainment giants brace for outsize hit from theme park closures, cinema shutdowns
    "China alone is a third of the world’s movie screens. I can’t think of anything comparable," said one entertainment expert about the financial impact of cinemas across China remaining shuttered.


    A security guard wearing a protective facemask is seen at the temporarily closed Shanghai Disney resort in Shanghai on Feb. 23, 2020.Noel Celis / AFP - Getty Images file
    March 3, 2020, 6:02 AM PST
    By Claire Atkinson

    Major entertainment and media conglomerates have been grappling with the unstoppable coronavirus contagion in Asia and Europe, and now it’s arrived on American shores.

    COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, has already claimed six lives in the United States, with almost 100 confirmed cases nationwide, making some Americans cautious about spending time in public spaces.

    "This virus has so many unknowns and is clearly highly contagious. Why take the risk, being in huge public places like theme parks or contained on a cruise ship?” Stacey Bendet, chief executive of Alice+Olivia fashion company, told NBC News.

    Shares of some entertainment stocks fell on Monday, with Live Nation, SeaWorld Entertainment and Six Flags showing declines for the day. Disney and Netflix stocks rose — along with fitness company Peloton — as interest in "at-home" entertainment gathers strength.

    “If [the virus] is a major issue in the U.S. into the May/June time frame, all bets are off," said James Hardiman, a managing director at Wedbush Securities. "I wouldn’t think we are there yet,” he said, noting that the big regional parks aren’t yet open for the season.

    China has not been so lucky. Shanghai's $5.5 billion Disney Resort and Hong Kong Disneyland both closed indefinitely on Jan. 26, which Disney said would ding its bottom line by $175 million. In Japan, the two Disney-branded theme parks in Tokyo are closed until March 16 as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus.

    "The precise magnitude of the financial impact is highly dependent on the duration of the closures," Disney's Chief Financial Officer Christine McCarthy said last month.

    Universal's Osaka theme park has also closed down for two weeks as part of the government mandate. Universal Beijing Resort, a giant theme park under construction and penciled for a spring opening, has emergency staff back on the job. They are being monitored with thermal equipment and some have been encouraged to work at home, according to a spokesperson for the company. Universal is owned by Comcast, the parent company of NBC News.

    Television show production has also been hurt. CBS said on Friday it would postpone filming on its global adventure TV series, “The Amazing Race,” citing "increased concerns and uncertainty regarding the coronavirus around the world."

    Film producers have been left in limbo. “This has thrown a wrench into filming schedules,” said Rob Cain, a partner in Pacific Bridge Picture, which works closely with Chinese companies. Cain said it was unclear how insurance policies would deal with the problem, given all the lost revenue.

    China began closing some 70,000 movie theaters on Jan. 23, with no word on when they might open again.

    "China alone is a third of the world’s movie screens,” Cain said. “I can’t think of anything comparable, and I’ve been in the business 30 years."

    Global box office revenue clocked in at $42.5 billion in 2019, with China representing $9.2 billion.

    “It is an enormous impact,” said Stanley Rosen, an expert in U.S.-China relations and a professor of political science at the University of Southern California. He pointed to the potentially delayed release of Disney’s $200 million Chinese warrior movie “Mulan” in the China market, which is slated to open in late March globally.

    In Europe, AMC Theatres closed its cinemas in Northern Italy to help local governments contain the spread of the disease. Half of all Italian cinemas are now closed, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The Cannes Film Festival said it was monitoring the epidemic, but would move ahead with its May event, even though a Cannes resident tested positive for the virus.


    Claire Atkinson
    Claire Atkinson is the senior media editor for NBC News.
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  3. #348
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    China isn't the only one...

    MARCH 15, 2020 11:04PM PT
    China’s Economy Heading for Historic Reverse, Reflecting Virus Impact
    By PATRICK FRATER
    Asia Bureau Chief


    CREDIT: REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

    An historic shift into reverse gear for the Chinese economy could be one of the next consequences flowing from the spread of the novel coronavirus. That prospect threw Asian stock markets into reverse on Monday, despite economic stimulus measures in the U.S.

    The U.S. Federal Reserve, on Sunday (Monday morning in Asia) announced a full percentage point cut in its benchmark interest rate, reducing it to close to zero. The Fed also promised to inject liquidity into the economic system by buying at least $500 billion of Treasury securities and at least $200 billion of mortgage-backed securities. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority followed the U.S. central bank’s example and cut its own base rates.

    But financial markets were unimpressed. Australia’s ASX index crashed by more than 9% on Monday to 5,002. New Zealand’s NZX 50 index fell 3.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index, already a bear market since Friday, was down 2.2% at the lunchtime trading break. South Korea’s KOSPI index headed for a loss of more than 1%, though Japan’s Nikkei index rose 0.7%, apparently in anticipation of stimulus measures.


    Mainland Chinese markets were firmly down, with the SSE Shanghai Composite benchmark down more than 2%.

    Chinese data unveiled on Monday showed that industrial production in the world’s manufacturing hub fell by 13.3% in January and February. That has never happened before in the modern era.

    Other data showed Chinese retail sales down by 20.5% in the same two months, and fixed asset investment down by 24.5%.

    Despite China, now seeming to get back to work after new Covid-19 infections have peaked in the country, many economists are now forecasting an historic decline in China’s GDP when data for the January-March quarter is completed.

    In total, China has incurred some 81,000 coronavirus infections and over 3,100 deaths. On Monday, it reported 16 new coronavirus infections and 14 deaths, numbers that are significantly down on the past trend. Since the weekend, mainland authorities have been saying that most new cases are not local infections, but are imported with foreigners arriving in China.

    That pattern may also explain the latest fall in Asian stock markets. The recent decision by Apple to close its retail stores outside Greater China hurt many of its Asian suppliers. iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision fell 4.3% to TWD71.3 per share by mid-Monday. Sunny Optical slumped 10.6% to HK$105.9. LG Display was 2.2% lower at KRW11,050. Sharp bucked the trend with a 2.2% gain to JPY989.

    The pain being incurred by Chinese businesses was reflected in additional share price losses for Alibaba and Tencent. The Hong Kong-traded units of Alibaba dropped 5% on Monday to HK$182.10, while Tencent fell 4.2% to HK$349.60.

    There was no new bad news for China’s media sector. But the longer that mainland cinemas stay shut, the deeper the problems become for companies including: Wanda Film (whose shares were down 4.4% to CNY17.12); China Film Co. (down 2.4% to CNY12.96); and Huayi Brothers (down 3.5% to CNY3.77). Hong Kong-traded Imax China on Monday fell 3.5% to HK$13.94.
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  4. #349
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    HK falling

    Hong Kong Filmmakers Discuss the Dire State of the HK Film Industry
    By addy on May 31, 2020 in Movies, NEWS



    The COVID-19 pandemic has made the already cold Hong Kong film industry even colder. For nearly twenty years, HK movies were the fire of Asian cinema, dominating the eastern sphere. HK films pioneered Chinese cinema, and the Chinese diaspora carried these films wherever they went. There wasn’t a single country in the world where they weren’t exposed to HK’s legacy.
    But the HK film industry—overwhelmed by its much larger Asian neighbors—has been on a downward spiral since the late 90’s. HK films are no longer as influential as they were thirty years ago. Some even say that HK films have already completed its mission, and has passed down the baton to their neighbors.

    Hong Kong’s four great filmmakers—Derek Yee (爾冬陞), Henry Fong (方平), Ronald Wong (黃斌), and Cheang Pou-soi (鄭保瑞) all came together to discuss about the future of Hong Kong’s film industry. From the problems the industry are facing today, to the possibility of having a great revival, here are their thoughts.
    The HK People Can No Longer Relate to Their Films
    The failure of catching up to the times, the “ingenuity” of its stories, the shrinking of its market, and the lack of relatability in co-produced films have led many to claim that HK films are already dead. Over the past decade, more and more HK films have become co-productions with other industries, specifically with the much larger mainland Chinese film market.

    “Hong Kong viewers aren’t exactly satisfied with co-produced films [with China],” said Derek Yee (The Shinjuku Incident, The Great Magician). “A lot of these films are tied by regulations. You can’t do movies that are about triads, that are violent, or too erotic. That’s why, eventually, these co-produced films drove Hong Kong viewers further and further away from them. At this rate, you basically can’t turn back.”
    In a previous interview, Cheang Pou-soi (The Monkey King, SPL 2) said that Hong Kong films were the first to give up on their audiences. Yee agreed with his statement. “It’s true. When we made these films, we didn’t consider the Hong Kong viewers. That’s why they’ve given up on us. We also have so many options to choose from. We’re not limited to consuming just one market. Take Korean films for example. They’re very versatile. Even films in Japan and Taiwan have looser restrictions.”
    The HK industry’s biggest flaw is its failure to capture the interest of its main market. HK people stopped consuming their films because they did not find them worthy to watch anymore. Because of this, many film investors have started to look elsewhere, specifically the much larger mainland market. This has, overtime, pushed back the HK film industry even further.

    Can Pure HK Films Still Survive?

    But if Hong Kongers don’t enjoy co-productions, would they be interested in watching a pure local film again? Will the HK industry be revived with more local productions?
    “Let’s not talk about the mainland and Taiwan,” said Henry Fong (Forsaken Cop). “Because they are now in a more advanced position. Our films used to be very popular in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, England, the Netherlands, and North America. If we just work on doing local films, would we be able to survive?”
    Yee did not have a very optimistic answer. “If I was the investor? If you give me 1 million Hong Kong dollars to do a movie that won’t be sold overseas, then you are crazy. With that HK$1 million, HK$300,000 of that would go into marketing, and then you’ll be left with nothing to use. By then, you’ll have to ask the media to help out.”
    He added another example: “Let’s say the movie’s budget is HK$1.3 million. To earn a profit, that film would have to gross as least three times its budget, equating to HK$3.9 million. Including marketing, office rentals, and other admin fees, that just wouldn’t be enough. You’re still losing money.”
    The lack of funds, the small market, and the lack of interest among the HK public to support local films have been pushing the industry to a dead end for years, long before the current pandemic.
    Movies are a form of commercial art. To make a good film requires a decent amount of funding and creativity. “Take going to a restaurant for example,” said Fong. “Usually you eat first before you pay, but when you’re making a movie, you’re paying first before you eat. You don’t even know what you’re going to eat yet. It’s a huge gamble.”

    Derek Yee Tells Louis Koo: “Watch Out for Your Wallet”

    A few years ago, just as the industry was in deep discussions about its dire condition, Louis Koo (古天樂) splurged out the money to create his own film production studio in hopes to revive the HK film industry. Yee found his attempts to be bittersweet.
    “I told him to watch out for his wallet,” said Yee. “But he’s saved a lot of money, and I am not the person to hold back someone who is so hot-blooded and passionate for the industry. All I can do is offer him my care.”
    Actor-producer Ronald Wong said, “He is worthy to support.” Yee added, “I believe in karma. A good heart will be rewarded.”

    Will There Be More Cop Films in the Future?

    The Hong Kong action and crime genre was what made HK films known in the world. However, recent political and societal struggles have made the topic sensitive.
    “It’s hard to say what will happen,” said Yee. “This is still ongoing, and hasn’t quite made history yet.”
    In 2004’s One Nite in Mongkok <旺角黑夜> directed by Yee, there was a scene featuring a cop beating up a person. In the 2007 film Protégé <門徒>, Daniel Wu (吳彥祖) was brutally attacked by customs officers after he was arrested. How would these scenes carry over if they had occurred in films made today?
    While these questions are difficult to answer, they are important to consider. Though the crime genre is very sensitive to pursue during this time, Cheang said the Hong Kong people are exceptionally well at adapting. It is not in their nature to keep silent, and he believes that filmmakers and other artistes will come up with their own creative ways to share their vision.
    Source: HK01.com
    Nothing like a good HK cop drama.
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    RIP Huang Wei

    Bona Film Group Executive Dies by Apparent Suicide at 52
    5:13 AM PDT 6/10/2020 by Patrick Brzeski


    Getty Images
    Beijing

    Bona released a statement over social media saying that Huang Wei, a vice president at the company who oversaw its cinema division, had died, but provided no details.
    Shock waves of sorrow ripped through the Chinese film industry on Wednesday as news spread that Huang Wei, an influential and widely liked senior executive at Bona Film Group, leapt to his death from an 18th floor window at the company’s headquarters in central Beijing.
    Bona released a statement over social media late Wednesday saying that Huang, a vice president at the company who oversaw its cinema division, had died at the age of 52. No other details were included.
    Sources close to Bona tell The Hollywood Reporter that it is believed Huang jumped from an office window late Wednesday morning. The incident occurred at Bona’s corporate headquarters in the U-Center Building, a mixed-use commercial building in Beijing’s Chaoyang district.
    Bona is among China’s top-tier of film and media companies. The company produced or co-produced three of China’s 10 highest-grossing films of 2019, including The Captain ($410 million) and The Bravest ($237 million). The company also co-financed Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
    Huang joined Bona in 2009 from rival cinema circuit Stellar Cinemas. He was influential in Bona’s growth as a movie theater operator. The company now has approximately 80 cinemas in China.
    News of his death — and its suspected cause — circulated rapidly through the Beijing film business over social media.
    Leading Chinese auteur Jia Zhangke shared Bona’s statement on Weibo, writing simply, "Film industry grief." Jerry Ye, former president at Chinese studio Huayi Brothers Media, one of Bona’s biggest rivals, also posted just one word: "grief." Many others shared emojis of a single candle burning.
    Jimmy Wu, CEO of Chinese cinema chain Lumiere Pavilions, posted at length about Huang’s death, writing: "It's so sudden! ... On April 16th, we talked for more than half an hour! The call was mainly about the future of the cinema. He was a little depressed about the late opening of the cinema, and I talked a lot about the bright future of Chinese movies. ... I didn't expect to say good-bye after this conversation. Alas, I can not say a word. I sincerely hope that the relevant parties can let the movie theaters get back to work, so that staff can maintain a livelihood, in order to comfort Huang Wei's spirit in heaven!"

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  6. #351
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    Chollywood on hold


    CORONAVIRUS
    China’s Darkened Movie Theaters Pose a Danger to Hollywood

    Billions are at stake as the world’s second-biggest box office market keeps cinemas closed during its halting recovery from COVID-19.
    BY ANTHONY BREZNICAN
    JUNE 19, 2020


    FROM STR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES.

    Even as China gradually gets back on its feet from the devastation of its COVID-19 outbreak and quarantine earlier this year, its roughly 70,000 movie theaters remain dark, one aspect of everyday life that remains locked down by the government.

    President Xi Jinping has indicated no rush to reopen the nation’s cinemas, cutting off the world’s second-largest market, which was close to usurping the United States as number one. China’s strict cultural ministry only allows a limited number of international films into the country, and Hollywood has often tried to break through by tailoring scripts to remove elements undesirable to censors or adding scenes with popular Chinese stars.

    The enduring lockdown on Chinese theaters was chronicled by the New York Times in a recent article, which stated that it was one factor “holding back the Chinese economy when the world needs it most.” The article noted that even though theaters for plays and concerts had reopened, Xi had continued to keep cinemas shuttered. “If anyone wants to watch a movie, just watch it online,” Xi said during a public appearance on March 31.

    But what are the actual losses for both Hollywood and other filmmakers around the globe? The answer, in a word: massive.

    China’s total contribution to the global box office in 2019 was $9.2 billion. The North American tally was $11.4 billion. Together they made up nearly half of the world’s total movie ticket sales of $42.5 billion.

    “China can often save a movie,” said Paul Dergarabedian, a box office analyst with the media-metrics tracker Comscore. He cited Terminator Genisys and the two Pacific Rim movies as titles that benefited from being Chinese hits. “Some of those films that didn’t do well in North America did do well internationally, particularly in China.”

    He called China “the savior of many a would-be blockbuster that, had they relied merely on their North American box office, would have remained really in the red.”

    If the country’s theaters remain closed indefinitely, the lost revenue could be catastrophic. That’s more than Hollywood studios can reckon with at the moment, as the effort continues to both restart production of new films and get North American theaters operational again. Studio executives don’t know when that will happen, even as they barrel toward the late-July releases of would-be blockbusters like Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.

    This adds another layer to the already-complicated relationship between studios and China’s State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television, which typically allows fewer than 40 international films to screen per year. In addition, China enforces periodic “blackouts” when no new international films can screen publicly.

    If China’s leadership wants to hold back the reopening of movie theaters, pressuring them to do otherwise could backfire, making a bad situation worse.

    Comscore’s total $9.2 billion number for China’s 2019 box office only tells part of the story. Of that number, about $2.9 billion went to Hollywood films. In 2018, the country’s total box office was about $8.8 billion, and $3.2 billion was for Hollywood films. In 2017, the total was $8.3 billion, while approximately $3.4 billion went to American studios.

    That means that even as China’s box office prowess has increased, the share of money going to Hollywood has slightly diminished. Will the prolonged shutdown of theaters accelerate that decline, or will Chinese moviegoers be so hungry for cinematic escape that the box office comes roaring back?

    As per usual in Hollywood, the answer is the old maxim: Nobody knows anything. Except that there’s a lot of money to be found in China, for those who can collect it.
    At first, I thought Covid would put a damper of Chollywood Rising. Now I'm beginning to wonder if they will emerge the victor.
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    $200+M loss


    BUSINESS
    China's Wanda Film Warns of $226M Loss After 6 Months of Cinema Shutdowns
    6:51 PM PDT 7/14/2020 by Patrick Brzeski


    Getty Images
    A Wanda cinema in China

    China's largest cinema operator, which also controls North America's largest chain AMC Theatres, has seen all of its Asian theaters idle since Jan. 25, months before movie theater shutdowns hit the U.S.

    China's largest cinema chain operator Wanda Film said it expects to lose $214 to $228 million (RMB 1.5 to 1.6 billion) in the first half of 2020 thanks to over five months on continual cinema shutdowns in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

    The decline represents a stark reversal of fortunes from the $75 million profit the Chinese exhibition giant reported during the same period in 2019. "Operating income dropped by a big margin compared with the same period last year," the company said in a statement, noting its ongoing rent and salary obligations.

    Movie theaters across China shut down en masse on Jan. 23, shortly before the weeklong Lunar Near Year holiday, always the country's biggest box office stretch of the year. Wanda's production and distribution business also are hurting amid the pandemic. The studio's latest tentpole Detective Chinatown 3, the latest installment in a series that has grossed nearly $700 million, was set to be released over the holiday but remains on the shelf. Production of other projects has been indefinitely delayed.

    Total box office in China for the first half of 2020 was $311 million (RMB 2.2 billion), down 93 percent from $4.4 billion (RMB 31.2 billion) during the same period last year, according to data from Artisan Gateway.

    Although China has made great strides in controlling the coronavirus, cinema operators have suffered repeated setbacks in their attempts to resume business over the past several months.

    In mid-March, Beijing regulators appeared to have settled on a province-by-province phased reopening strategy, giving approximately 600 cinemas in the least COVID-19-affected regions of the country the green light to reopen. Within days, however, they were ordered reshuttered, reportedly at the direction of senior central government authorities who were concerned about the prospect of a second outbreak. The industry went back into waiting.

    In early May, reopening again appeared imminent. China’s top administrative body, the State Council, publicly stated on May 8 that indoor entertainment facilities, including cinemas and live music venues, could resume business nationwide. Yet no instructions for precisely when and how the reopening should be undertaken were ever provided, keeping theater operators in limbo, awaiting further guidance from officialdom. Then, on June 11, Beijing discovered a fresh cluster of locally transmitted COVID-19 infections at a food processing facility, prompting the city's health authorities to again order cinemas to remain shut.

    Rumors circulated through Beijing industry circles earlier this month that the reboot was finally coming in late July, but an official plan, or confirmation, has been unforthcoming.

    Wanda also is the largest shareholder in North American cinema chain AMC Theatres — the Chinese company owns 49.85 percent of AMC's outstanding common stock, but holds 74.89 percent of the combined voting power — but Tuesday's earnings warning made no mention of the group's North American holdings. AMC is held by a division of the Dalian Wanda Group parent company, not the Wanda Film subsidiary, which is listed on the Shenzhen stock exchange.
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    China's cinemas reopen next Monday

    Jul 15, 2020 10:18pm PT
    China to Begin Reopening Cinemas
    By Rebecca Davis


    ROMAN PILIPEY/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

    China will begin reopening cinemas in “low-risk regions” from July 20, the China Film Administration (CFA) announced Thursday, ending nearly six months of closures that left thousands of theaters bankrupt.

    “Cinemas in low-risk regions can resume business in an orderly manner on July 20, with the effective implementation of prevention and control measures. Mid- and high-risk regions must temporarily remain closed,” the administration said in a statement posted to its official website.

    “Once low-risk regions become designated as mid- or high-risk regions, they must strictly implement epidemic prevention and control measures…[and] cinemas must close again in a timely fashion in accordance with requirements.”

    The long-awaited green light comes, however, with caveats that may mean that profits continue to prove elusive for the hard-hit Chinese exhibition sector.

    Attendance of each screening will be capped at 30%, the CFA said in a four-page document of specific guidelines and safety measures, and the overall number of screenings per venue must be reduced to “half their number in a normal period.” Furthermore, each film screening may not exceed two hours in length, it said — without providing further detail as to what this might mean for longer films.

    Meanwhile, concessions — cinemas’ biggest profit driver — will be banned.

    “Film screening venues will not sell snacks and beverages, and eating and drinking in the screening rooms is prohibited,” it said.

    Other indoor businesses such as restaurants or transportation resumed operations months ago in China, and currently do not face policy restrictions on their operating capacity.

    The CFA said that cinemas will be required to follow the “precise and scientific implementation of prevention and control measures.”

    All tickets must now be sold virtually through real-name registered online reservations, and procured via contactless methods, it said. Different parties unknown to each other should be sold seats more than a meter apart.

    Public areas like lobbies, corridors and bathrooms should be disinfected no less than twice a day, while commonly touched areas like ticket vending machines, sales counters and public seats should be wiped down no less than five times a day. Armrests, 3D classes and other such frequently touched items should be disinfected after each use. Ventilation in screening halls must be improved.

    Masks will be mandatory for both employees and customers, with temperatures taken for anyone entering the venue.

    Employees returning to work from mid- and high-risk regions will be asked to quarantine, and to “reduce unnecessary going out and avoid frequenting crowded places.”

    The CFA also described the precise bureaucratic mechanism by which reopenings will be monitored.

    “Once each region’s local film department has received the local party committee and government’s approval for their plan to reopen cinemas, they should discuss with the local CDC how to reopen in accordance with the rules,” it explained. Ultimately, different regions’ plans for re-opening must be reported back up to the national-level CFA.

    Unverified leaked documents and statements from insiders indicate that cinemas in Guangzhou, one of China’s top movie-going regions, may be among the first batch to reopen.

    The problem now facing cinemas is what they will have to show viewers, when.

    When a small portion of cinemas reopened briefly in March, business was dismal. Venues were unable to attract much of a crowd by offering stale local titles that most people had already seen. Fresh content will now be crucial to getting people through the door.

    The first film to confirm its intentions to release theatrically in China was “The First Farewell,” a Xinjiang-set about three Uighur children which Variety called “an outstanding debut feature” from writer-director Wang Lina. Even before authorities had mentioned any timeline for reopening cinemas, the movie said earlier this month that it was “scheduled to screen the first day cinemas reopen.” It issued a new tagline aligned with its tale of sorrowful partings: “Let’s meet again after a long period of separation.”

    Previously, a number of Hollywood films were set to hit Chinese cinemas to reel in post-COVID crowds. They included a 3D, 4K restoration of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” as well as “1917” and “Little Women,” which both began putting out new promotional material in May, apparently in anticipation of a theatrical run. All four films of the “Avengers” series, “Coco,” “Call of the Wild,” Oscar winner “Jojo Rabbit,” “Inception,” “Avatar” and “Interstellar” are other Western movies whose names have appeared as potential kickstarters for the Chinese box office.

    Others like “Ford v. Ferrari,” “Sonic the Hedgehog,” and “Bad Boys for Life” are also already sitting in the holding tank, having been approved for earlier, cancelled Chinese theatrical releases.

    Yet just because the doors are open doesn’t mean that the profits will flow. Confidence in a quick rebound at the box office appears in some quarters, at least, to be low.

    On Wednesday, the $43 million-budgeted, effects-laden Chinese fantasy actioner “Double World” announced that it would forgo a theatrical debut in favor of premiering online on iQiyi and Netflix, where it will debut next weekend. The decision at least “provides us with a way to reach users and recoup our investment,” its producer Zhang Amu said.
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  9. #354
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    reopening

    Jul 17, 2020 9:45am PT
    ‘Pursuit of Happyness,’ ‘Dolittle,’ ‘Bloodshot,’ And ‘Coco’ Set to Open China Cinemas

    By Rebecca Davis


    Bloodshot Movie Vin Diesel
    Courtesy of Sony

    Chinese cinemas will open next week in regions at low risk for COVID-19 with a boost from a slew of Hollywood titles, including “The Pursuit of Happyness,” “Dolittle,” “Bloodshot,” and “Coco.”

    China’s theaters have been closed for longer than any other country’s, having stayed dark — despite a brief attempt to reopen in March — since the lunar new year holiday in late January.

    As of early Saturday morning in China, 22 films are set to hit theaters on Monday, the first day of reopenings, including U.S. films “Pursuit of Happyness,” “Coco,” and “A Dog’s Purpose.”

    The others are all Chinese re-run titles, except for one new one: “A First Farewell,” a well-received arthouse title set in China’s Xinjiang region that screened as part of last year’s Generation Kplus selection at Berlin.

    The opening day offerings include: blockbusters “Wolf Warrior 2,” “Monster Hunt,” “Wolf Totem,” “American Dreams in China,” and Jackie Chan’s “CZ12”; comedies “The Mermaid” and “Goodbye Mr. Loser”; thrillers “Sheep Without A Shepherd” and Huayi Brothers’ 2009 “The Message”; rom-coms “How Long Will I Love You” and “Beijing Love Story”; propaganda film “The Moment of the Sunrise”; and animations “Big Fish and Begonia,” “White Snake,” “Nezha,” “The Adventure of Afanti,” and the classic 1960s version of the “Journey to the West” tale, “The Monkey King (Uproar in Heaven),” a nostalgic audience favorite.

    “Happyness,” the 2006 biographical drama starring Will Smith, appears to have had a short run in China back in 2008, grossing just $848,000. Chinese audiences typically gravitate towards emotional but ultimately feel-good titles, so distributors are likely hoping it will tap into viewers who recently enjoyed Oscar-winning “Green Book” enough to shoot it to a gross $71 million in China last year — just a few million shy of its $85 million U.S. run.

    “Coco” did extremely well in China, despite featuring ghosts, which the country’s censorship regime technically bans. It grossed $189 million in 2017.

    Meanwhile, four foreign films are set to debut July 24, kicking off cinemas’ first opening weekend back in business. They are: “Dolittle,” “Bloodshot,” “Capernaum,” and “A Dog’s Journey,” the Dennis Quaid-starring sequel to “A Dog’s Purpose.”

    Universal’s “Dolittle” was supposed to screen Feb. 21 in China, but was indefinitely pushed back due to COVID-19 as cinemas shut. Its star Robert Downey Jr. is beloved to Chinese fans for playing Tony Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

    Superhero film “Bloodshot” was released March 13 stateside. Its China release could give it a shot at profitability, given that headliner Vin Diesel has a large fan base there thanks to his “Fast & Furious” franchise appearances. Made on a reported $45 million budget, the title grossed just $29 million globally, $10 million of which was earned in the U.S.

    “Capernaum” already became a surprise theatrical hit last year in China, grossing $54 million last April, a sum greater than its haul anywhere else in the world.

    Variety has seen a leaked list of titles that state-run distributor China Film Group has sent out to cinemas but was unable to verify its origins. It said that in addition to the films listed above that have already confirmed, the first two “Avengers” series films (2012’s “The Avengers” and 2015’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron”), James Cameron’s classic “Titanic,” and local sci-fi mega-hit “The Wandering Earth” will be re-released but have yet to set dates.

    The document indicated that nearly all the Chinese re-releases would screen via a “charity” model in which distributors and producers will forgo their cut of box office returns in favor of handing it over to help struggling exhibitors. “Capernaum,” whose China rights are held by Road Pictures, will also be released under this model, but not the other foreign films .

    Meanwhile, the well-anticipated local animated film “Mr. Miao” has confirmed it will release on July 31.
    What an odd selection of films. Man, I miss going out to the movies...

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  10. #355
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    $34-36 M loss for PRC

    Wonder what the U.S. IMAX loss might be...

    Jul 22, 2020 6:57pm PT
    Imax China Warns of $36 Million Half Year Loss
    By Rebecca Davis


    Courtesy of IMAX

    Imax China, the Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of Imax, has warned that it expects a net loss between $34 and $36 million for the first half of the year, as cinema closures in the country due to COVID-19 have slammed exhibition firms.

    The 2020 figures stand in contrast to a net profit of $24 million in the same period last year.

    There are around 700 Imax cinemas in mainland China, nearly all of which have been shut since late January because of the coronavirus.

    A notice posted Tuesday to the Hong Kong stock exchange said the 2020 decrease was primarily attributable to the shutdown and coronavirus slowing the installation of new theater systems. A non-recurring deferred income tax charge and provisions of around $9 million made for trade and financing receivables were also other factors.

    The news comes after China’s largest cinema chain operator Wanda Film said last week that it anticipates net losses of between $214 and $228 million in the first half of the year, down from net profits of $75 million (RMB524 million) during the same period last year. Its 600 complexes have also been shut for nearly that entire time, and its blockbuster “Detective Chinatown 3” indefinitely postponed its late January premiere.

    Despite the downturn, Wanda and Imax struck a 20-theater agreement earlier this month, in which Wanda will upgrade ten of its existing theaters to the latest “Imax with Laser” technology and install Imax systems at ten others. With these upcoming systems, there will be 378 Imax screens across China at Wanda venues.

    Wanda Film’s executive president said that Imax “will be critical in welcoming back to theaters and offering the best possible cinematic experience well into the future.”

    Last year, Imax saw a record-breaking year in China with a box office of $366 million. It may be quite some time before the company sees such highs again.

    Although cinemas began reopening from Monday, the Chinese box office has so far been slow, with theaters earning just $500,000 nationwide their first day back in business. The strong $20.8 million opening weekend of South Korean zombie film “Peninsula” elsewhere in Asia, however, provides some hope of a faster recovery once desirable new blockbusters start hitting screens with regularity again.

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  11. #356
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    PRC theaters back in buisness

    I can hardly wait for US theaters to reopen.

    Jul 26, 2020 11:25am PT
    China’s First Post-Coronavirus Weekend Box Office Led by ‘Dolittle,’ ‘Bloodshot’

    By Rebecca Davis


    (from left) Gorilla Chee-Chee (Rami Malek)
    Universal Pictures

    Robert Downey Jr.’s family film “Dolittle” and Sony’s thriller “Bloodshot” led China’s first opening weekend at the box office since the coronavirus outbreak, a sign that new titles sell better than re-runs of beloved classics. Five out of the top 10 films this weekend were Hollywood titles.

    China began reopening theaters in regions deemed at low risk for COVID-19 on Monday. As of noon on Sunday, local time, it had opened around 4,900 cinemas, accounting for approximately 44% of the country’s total. They are currently only allowed to operate at 30% capacity to provide sufficient social distancing between customers.

    “Dolittle,” from Universal, was the top title this weekend with a $4.71 million three-day debut, according to Chinese data provider Ent Group. Vin Diesel-starring “Bloodshot,” backed by China’s Bona Film Group, trailed in second place, bowing to the tune of $2.61 million.

    Local crime thriller “Sheep Without a Shepherd” came in third with $2 million. This is the third theatrical outing for the Chinese adaptation of the 2013 Indian film “Drishyam,” after it premiered last December and hit screens again briefly in March.

    In fourth and fifth slots were re-releases of the family-friendly Disney animations, “Coco” and “Zootopia,” which grossed $740,000 and $290,000, respectively. The 2006 Will Smith-starring title “The Pursuit of Happyiness” came in sixth with $220,000 in ticket sales.

    A hodge podge of local offerings lagged behind Western titles. They included the 2009 spy thriller “The Message,” animation blockbuster “Ne Zha,” a new arthouse film “A First Farewell,” and “Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella,” all of which grossed less than $200,000.

    The total nationwide weekend box office was $12.6 million (RMB88.6 million).

    That result is far and away better than the pathetic whimper of business that cinemas did in late March, when there was greater uncertainty about the patterns of COVID-19 in China. At that time, authorities allowed around 500 cinemas — approximately 5% of China’s total — to re-open in low-risk regions, but they collectively earned just $10,000 (RMB72,000) in their opening weekend. They were quickly ordered shut again without explanation soon after.

    This time around, China hopes things will be different. More cinemas are opening with a greater degree of official support and a larger selection of films at a time when the public has already been comfortably galavanting about returning to spaces like tourist sites, restaurants and malls in most of the country for months.

    Reports from Chinese state media and listed film companies — parties admittedly interested in trumpeting a rapid rebound — touted cinemas’ current recovery as “faster than expected,” having risen from a single-day box office of RMB3 million ($428,000) to RMB30 million ($4.28 million) in just six days. They celebrated that the national box office has already broken the RMB100 million mark and that a million tickets have already been sold.

    Though China’s early numbers are encouraging at a time when cinemas around the world are shutting for the foreseeable future, there is still room for growth.

    This weekend’s nationwide ticket sales amounted to just a quarter of January’s average weekend box office pre-shutdowns, and just 16% of the weekend average for last year’s much busier month of December, according to Variety’s calculations.

    Beijing was given the green light to re-open its cinemas on Friday just in time for this opening weekend, six months to the day of when cinemas initially shut due to COVID-19. Meanwhile, however, cinemas in the northeastern port city of Dalian, home to some seven million people, were abruptly ordered shut Thursday just as they were in the midst of reopening due to a new surge of coronavirus cases there.

    IMAX cinemas began to re-open from Friday. As of Sunday, 369 of its more than 700 screens in China were back in back in business. The company expects at least 600 of its theaters will be up and running again by mid-August.

    Like other exhibitors, IMAX China has been hammered by the extended closures, warning earlier this week of expected losses of up to $36 million in the first half of the year. Globally, however, IMAX was up 30% this weekend from last, with a overall cume of $1.3 million from theaters worldwide.

    In China, “Dolittle” earned $535,000 from 266 IMAX screens, accounting for 11% of its national weekend gross, while “Bloodshot” earned $210,000 from 228 IMAX screens, accounting for about 7% of its nation-wide earnings.

    Upcoming China premieres and re-runs of foreign films currently include: “Sonic the Hedgehog,” “Jojo Rabbit,” “Big Hero 6,” “47 Meters Down: Uncaged,” and France’s “Mia and the White Lion” on July 31; “Interstellar” on Aug. 2; “Ford vs. Ferrari” and “1917” on Aug. 7; “Bad Boys for Life” on Aug. 14; and “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone 3D” on Aug. 14.
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  12. #357
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    Well alright then. This answers that.

    Quote Originally Posted by GeneChing View Post
    I can hardly wait for US theaters to reopen.
    Jul 27, 2020 4:11pm PT
    Regal Cinemas Announces August Reopening of U.S. Theaters
    By Dave McNary


    Michael Buckner for Variety

    Regal Cinemas, the nation’s second largest cinema chain, has announced that it will begin to reopen its U.S. locations on Aug. 21.

    Regal’s U.K. parent Cineworld made the announcement on Monday afternoon following Warner Bros. disclosure that it will open Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller “Tenet” in international markets on Aug. 26 with a Sept. 3 launch in the U.S.

    “Welcoming theatergoers back to our cinemas will be a celebration for not only our team and our industry, but most importantly for the fans who have been anxiously awaiting the year’s upcoming releases,” said Mooky Greidinger, CEO of Cineworld. “With the health and safety of our staff, customers and communities as our top priority, we are happy to invite audiences to return to the timeless theatrical experience that we have all dearly missed.”

    Along with AMC and Cinemark, Regal closed down U.S. sites in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic — which profoundly altered the spring and summer slate. “Wonder Woman 1984” was moved to October and James Bond title “No Time to Die” has been slotted for November while many major titles have been taken off the schedule, gone out on streaming services or dated for 2021.

    Titles currently set to open domestically on Aug. 21 are “Unhinged” from Solstice Studios and “Antebellum” from Lionsgate.

    Theaters in Los Angeles, New York and many other locations have not yet been given an approved reopening date by their health departments. It’s too early to say how many locations could be approved by Aug. 21.

    Regal operates 549 locations in 42 states. It also said Monday it will enforce previously announced health and safety measures that adhere to the latest public health guidelines, including innovative sanitization procedures, new social distancing protocols, and mandatory mask policies for Regal employees and guests. The news was first reported by Deadline Hollywood.
    Who's going back to the movies next month?
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  13. #358
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    Slightly OT

    Relevant nonetheless

    MOVIES
    AMC Theatres, Universal Collapsing Theatrical Window to 17 Days in Unprecedented Pact
    1:30 PM PDT 7/28/2020 by Pamela McClintock


    Tolga AKMEN / AFP; Amy Sussman/FilmMagic
    Donna Langley, Adam Aron

    The studio will have the option of making any of its titles, as well as films from Focus Features, available on premium VOD after just three weekends of play in cinemas.
    In a stunning reversal, AMC Theatres has struck a historic agreement with Universal that will allow the studio's movies to be made available on premium video-on-demand after just 17 days of play in cinemas, including three weekends, the two companies announced Tuesday.

    The deal — which presently only covers AMC's U.S. locations — shatters the traditional theatrical window, a longstanding policy that has required studios to play their films on the big screen for nearly three months before making films available in the home. The unprecedented move on the part of a mega-exhibitor has far-reaching implications for the film business — particularly amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and related theater closures — and is a major coup for Universal.

    AMC, the country and world's largest theater chain, is expected to share in the revenue from PVOD. The debt-laden company was hit particularly hard because of the pandemic, although recently found new institutional investors.

    More than any other studio, Universal has pushed for years to shorten the theatrical window, but it has backed down in the face of boycott threats from AMC and other major exhibitors. And in March, AMC CEO Adam Aron, in a sharp rebuke, said his company was going to boycott all Universal titles after the studio said it would make Trolls World Tour immediately available on PVOD and in any theaters that were left open in early April. (NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell has been an ardent advocate for early home offerings and revealed in a subsequent interview that Trolls made a huge $100 million in U.S. PVOD rentals.)

    Tuesday's announcement did not say what the cost for premium VOD titles would be, but Trolls and other recent films have been priced at $19.99 for a 48-hour rental window. Sources suggest AMC may receive 10 percent of each rental.

    The PVOD policy was part of a multiyear agreement in which AMC agreed to play Universal films. The deal includes at least three weekends of theatrical exclusivity for all Universal Pictures and Focus Features theatrical releases, at which time the studio will have the option to make its titles available across PVOD platforms. Universal said its traditional windows for electronic sell-through and regular VOD remain unchanged.

    In the coming weeks, the two companies will begin PVOD discussions regarding AMC locations overseas in Europe and the Middle East.

    At the onset of the pandemic, Universal decided to move many of its 2020 tentpoles to 2021, including F9 and the next Jurassic World installment. The studio, however, does have international distribution rights to November’s James Bond pic No Time to Die. It’s unclear whether the AMC-Universal deal could impact the film in those territories where AMC operates. (MGM is the Bond film's domestic distributor.)

    In a joint release, Universal and AMC said they reached the historic agreement based on their "shared commitment to a mutually beneficial long-term partnership that is focused on serving consumers worldwide, while preserving and enhancing the theatrical experience." Insiders added that the deal provides consumers with options during uncertain times.

    “The theatrical experience continues to be the cornerstone of our business," said Donna Langley, chair of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group. "The partnership we’ve forged with AMC is driven by our collective desire to ensure a thriving future for the film distribution ecosystem and to meet consumer demand with flexibility and optionality.”

    Added Aron: “AMC enthusiastically embraces this new industry model both because we are participating in the entirety of the economics of the new structure, and because premium video on demand creates the added potential for increased movie studio profitability, which should in turn lead to the green-lighting of more theatrical movies. This multi-year agreement preserves exclusivity for theatrical viewing for at least the first three weekends of a film’s release, during which time a considerable majority of a movie’s theatrical box office revenue typically is generated."

    The exact terms of the deal are not being disclosed.

    PAMELA MCCLINTOCK
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  14. #359
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    Tenet oked for PRC

    Jul 29, 2020 8:26pm PT
    ‘Tenet’ Approved for Theatrical Release in China
    By Rebecca Davis


    Melinda Sue Gordon

    “Tenet” announced Wednesday that it has passed government approvals for a theatrical release in China, an indication that an official release date is now on the horizon.

    The film has released a poster in Chinese, swapping the English tagline “time runs out” for a clarion call to return to cinemas that roughly translates to “make every second count; invade the theaters.”

    Chinese cinemas reopened in regions at low risk for COVID-19 on July 20, taking in $12.6 million in their opening weekend. Currently, around 44% of its cinemas are back in business, but have been required to operate at just 30% capacity to allow for social distancing, as well as reduce their total number of screenings to half their usual tally.

    Additionally, guidelines for reopening released by the National Film Bureau request that cinemas not screen films that are over two hours long — which could potentially pose problems for “Tenet,” which runs at two hours and 31 minutes.

    This directive was soon contradicted, however, by Chinese authorities’ subsequent approval of numerous films longer than two hours for nationwide theatrical release. These include “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and Nolan’s own “Interstellar” — currently scheduled for a theatrical re-run starting Aug. 2 — as well as local blockbusters already in play like “Operation Red Sea.”

    Until the guideline is more formally lifted, it appears that cinemas in different regions under different levels of COVID-19 threat have been given varied amounts of leeway, or at least have been variously willing to stick their neck out and program longer films.

    All eight of the “Harry Potter” films run over two hours, but they are all currently screening as part of the Shanghai International Film Festival.

    Yet at least two cinemas in Beijing said Wednesday in private chats posted to social media that due to the confusion, they currently didn’t dare program approved, available titles over 120 minutes long — even the patriotic blockbuster “Wolf Warrior 2,” which runs 123 minutes.

    Elsewhere in China, however, that film’s re-run has already made $1.1 million since cinemas reopened Monday.

    “Tenet” had to reschedule its release numerous times due to COVID-19 before Warner Brothers this week settled on the unconventional plan of debuting it internationally before it hits North America.

    It is now prepared to open in around 70 countries abroad starting on Aug. 26, including the U.K., Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea and Russia. It will then premiere in select U.S. cities over Labor Day weekend from Sept. 3.

    China is far and away the most important foreign market for “Tenet” director Christopher Nolan’s films.

    The Chinese box office for almost every film he’s made as either director or executive producer has blown away earnings from other territories by a large margin. The only exceptions are “Dunkirk” and “The Dark Knight Rises,” for which China was the second largest market globally behind the U.K., and “Batman Begins,” which hit the Middle Kingdom all the way back in 2005, when its box office was still comparatively nascent.

    Of the Nolan-directed films, “Dunkirk” made $51 million in China in 2017, while “Interstellar” grossed $122 million there in 2014. The “Dark Knight Rises” grossed $52.8 million in 2012 and “Inception” $68.4 million in 2010.

    Films executive produced by Nolan have also seen strong showings in the country. They include “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” with $96 million, “Justice League” with $106 million, “Transcendence” with $20 million, and “Man of Steel” with $63 million.
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    Doolittle? Really?

    Coincidentally, I just watched Doolittle last night (not going to review it here although there are some sword brandishing but no real sword fights). Produced $175 million, earned $126 million, plus now another 11.8 million. Still a ways to go...

    'Dolittle' Tops China Box Office, 'Interstellar' Rerelease Scores Single-Day Record Since Reopening
    10:06 PM PDT 8/2/2020 by Abid Rahman


    Paramount Pictures/Universal Pictures
    'Interstellar' and 'Dolittle'

    With limits on the number of screens, a wary public and social distancing measures in place, weekend box office in China hit a modest $17.5 million.

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

    With limits on the number of screens, a wary public and social distancing measures in place, weekend box office in China hit a modest $17.5 million according to local box office consultancy Artisan Gateway. This weekend's gross takes this year's severely truncated China box office total to $364.1 million, a 93.2 percent drop year on year. At the same point last year, China's box office was humming along at $5.4 billion.

    Dolittle's $3.3 million take was enough to secure consecutive weekends at the top in China, giving the fantasy film a 10-day total of $11.8 million. Produced for a hefty $175 million, Dolittle bombed disastrously in North America, and has earned just $126 million worldwide prior to its China release. The sluggish performance of China's box office since the restart is unlikely to add too much to Dolittle's final cume, despite Robert Downey Jr's unquestioned Marvel-powered popularity in the country.

    In second place was the local drama The Enigma of Arrival which debuted with $3 million. A new release, something of a rarity as cinemas reopen, Song Wen's Enigma was first screened at Busan Film Festival in 2018 and was originally scheduled to be released in China in February before being moved in calendar due to the lockdown.

    With the conspicuous lack of new films in recent weeks, the rerelease of Christopher Nolan's Interstellar was the story of the weekend in China. Debuting on Sunday, Interstellar's $2.8 million take, boosted by its presence at over 400 higher priced IMAX theaters, was the biggest opening of any film since China's cinemas officially reopened. The 2014 sci-fi epic, which stars Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain, also secured the biggest single-day performance since the restart.

    Including its original run, Interstellar has now grossed $111 million in China, according to Artisan Gateway, and its performance bodes well for the Middle Kingdom release of Nolan's high concept sci-fi movie Tenet, which has cleared the country's censors but is yet to be given a release date.

    Rounding out the top five is two local films, the rerelease of Sam Quah's 2019 crime drama Sheep Without a Shepherd in fourth place with $2.4 million and the animated new release Mr. Miao in fifth with $1.2 million. A remake of the Indian thriller Drishyam, Sheep Without a Shepherd was a big commercial and critical hit when it was first released in December, and its total cume now stands at $180.4 million.

    ABID RAHMAN
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