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Warner Bros. and Legendary’s Dune: Part Two got off to a healthy start at China’s box office over the weekend, opening with a solid $20 million, just a notch below the first film’s $21.9 million debut in 2021.

Warner Bros. reported Dune 2 as winning the weekend in China, whereas regional box office consultancy Artisan Gateway’s data had the holdover Taiwanese crime thriller The Pig, the Snake and the Pigeon taking the frame by a sliver with $21.3 million.

In any case, Denis Villeneuve’s artful sci-fi epic has fared far better than most recent Hollywood tentpoles in China, where local interest in U.S. filmmaking has plummeted in recent years. Dune 2 has also given Villeneuve and star Timothée Chalamet their biggest China openings to date.

The film has high ratings of 9.3 on the leading ticketing app Maoyan and 8.3 on the taste-making site Douban. On Monday, Dune 2 had...

It is no small irony that while New Zealand competes with Canada, the U.K. and Australia for foreign productions, those three English-language territories have historically also been the country’s most frequent partners for co-productions. But the tide is turning.

New Zealand has reached out more within the Asian region, and as it has strengthened its case as a partner through a growing web of bilateral co-production treaties. In the past three years, China, Australia and Germany have been the busiest partners.

In other industries, notably dairy, wine and tourism, New Zealand’s relationship with China is already substantial, but still growing. The entertainment business relationship is accelerating thanks to a WeChat presence, a “China Club” that organizes regular visits and outreach events with that country and entrepreneurial individual producers: Pukeko Pictures with TV shows “Kiddets” and “Book Hungry Bears”; Nhnz in the factual and TV space; and Huhu Studios in animation.

China’s Pingyao International Film Festival will play “Old Neighborhood” as its opening night movie, in place of the previously announced “Liberation.” The announcement was made on Monday evening, just three days before the third edition of the Jia Zhangke-led festival is due to get under way on Thursday.

While the festival quoted the number of film’s release permit, and said that it had permission for the screening, Pingyao organizers said that “Liberation,” directed by Li Shaohong and Chang Xiaoyang, had not completed its post-production. “The post-production including the digital and visual effects of the film has not been completed as expected and it will have to require further work,” it said in a statement.

While the festival did not overtly hint at any political or regulatory difficulties, Chinese films and film festivals this year have been dogged with censorship and other permitting problems since the beginning of the year.

The film stars Tatsuya Fujiwara and is the third in the series.

Japan’s Nippon Television (Ntv) is launching sales at Asian Film Market on the third installment in its series based on the popular Kaiji manga, Kaiji: Final Game, again starring Tatsuya Fujiwara.

Created by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, the Kaiji manga about a consummate gambler and his misadventures has previously spawned an anime TV series and two live-action films: Kaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (2009) and Kaiji 2: Jinsei Dakkai Game (2011). The manga also inspired a Chinese live-action film, Animal World, released in June 2018.

Kaiji: Final Game, again directed by Toya Sato,...

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.Animal World2018 has been a remarkably strong year for Chinese language cinema, in terms of films on the international festival and arthouse circuit, retrospectives across the United States, and commercial films exhibited at multiplexes in a handful of North American cities. New movies from Jia Zhangke, Bi Gan (Long Day’s Journey Into Night), Wang Bing (Dead Souls), Hu Bo (An Elephant Sitting Still), Jiang Wen (Hidden Man) and Zhang Yimou (Shadow) electrified festival audiences around the globe, though none have as yet seen commercial release in North America. Rather than focus on these kinds of films, all of which have been covered elsewhere on the Notebook over the course of the year, this column has primarily been devoted to following those Chinese-language films that see small multiplex releases,...

More Hollywood actors are expected to appear in starring roles in Chinese films as China’s film industry continue to expand, with bigger productions looking to meet international standards and feed the growing appetite for domestic blockbusters.

So far, however, the top Hollywood stars joining the ensemble casts of these blockbusters have almost all been men. Opportunities for Hollywood actresses in China still remain largely unavailable because of the lack of suitable roles and limited genres. Agencies have been pushing for female starring roles, however, and Milla Jovovich has a role in upcoming action-thriller “The Rookies.”

According to Jonah Greenberg, who left his role as head of CAA China in February to launch a Beijing-based development and production company called Salty Pictures, the agency helped Jovovich get the role, originally written as a male. Such a successful gender-switch of a role in a Chinese film to accommodate a Western actress is a first.

Chinese action thriller Animal World, directed by 34-year-old filmmaker Han Yan, won high praise over the summer for the nuanced use of its Hollywood co-star, Michael Douglas.

While past efforts to integrate a major U.S. actor into a Chinese blockbuster have often felt awkward, Douglas was cast perfectly to type as the film's mysterious, icy villain. The film also has been noted for its considerable below-the-line participation from overseas, part of a growing trend of veteran Hollywood talent heading East to participate in the Chinese film boom.

To achieve its many fantastical elements, Animal World employed visual effects supervisor Jim ...

Chinese action thriller Animal World, directed by 34-year-old filmmaker Han Yan, won high praise over the summer for the nuanced use of its Hollywood co-star, Michael Douglas.

While past efforts to integrate a major U.S. actor into a Chinese blockbuster have often felt awkward, Douglas was cast perfectly to type as the film's mysterious, icy villain. The film also has been noted for its considerable below-the-line participation from overseas, part of a growing trend of veteran Hollywood talent heading East to participate in the Chinese film boom.

To achieve its many fantastical elements, Animal World employed visual effects supervisor Jim ...

The U.K.’s Trinity Cine Asia will Thursday give a theatrical release to Chinese thriller “Animal World” across multiple territories in Central Asia. Starring Michael Douglas, alongside Li Yifeng and Zhou Dongyu, the film was released in China on June 28.

The film releases in Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan Thursday. Previously in August, it had theatrical releases in Russia and Ukraine on over 800 screens through distributors Megogo and Kinomania. International rights sales are handled by Cmc Pictures.

Directed by Han Yan, and adapted from a Japanese manga, “Animal World” sees a man coerced into boarding a ship which is hosting a high stakes gambling party. It was set as the opening night film of the Shanghai International Film Festival in June.

“This is a game-changer for Trinity and the Cine Asia brand, which lays the path for future expansion and marks the start of a very exciting adventure,...

After Chris Hardwick and James Franco faced accusations of sexual improprieties, they each contended with a raft of dismayed think pieces, social-media brickbats, and a backlash of public opinion; anyone who suggested the possibility of a comeback was immediately upbraided. Some months later, it’s clear that just not the case.

AMC announced the end of Chris Hardwick’s suspension after investigating an abuse claim from his former girlfriend. Collider reported that James Franco is circling his first directing project since five women accused him of sexual harassment. (Franco had already been granted reentry to HBO’s second season of “The Deuce”). Meanwhile, Johnny Depp — accused of physically and verbally abusing ex-wife Amber Heard — was the biggest attraction at last week’s Comic-Con.

As the movement continues, different post-scandal fates have started to emerge. As a Vox headline noted this week, “Mel Gibson has set the blueprint for a #MeToo comeback.

Contemporary Chinese Cinema is a column devoted to exploring contemporary Chinese-language cinema primarily as it is revealed to us at North American multiplexes.After a quiet spring and early summer, with few Chinese releases of note to play on American screens, things are starting to pick up as we head into the second half of the year. A couple of weeks ago saw the release of another Herman Yau film (The Leakers), his fifth feature in the past 14 months, along with Han Yan’s follow-up to his surprisingly effective cancer rom-com Go Away Mr. Tumor, the bizarre-looking manga adaptation Animal World. Both films quickly disappeared, playing not quite a full week here in Seattle, but this week’s big release should have a longer run. Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings is the third in a series of fantasy-adventure films from Tsui Hark, who has been for 40 years the central...

“Skyscraper” comfortably topped the Chinese box office on its opening weekend. It enjoyed a 50% market share and earned $48 million, according to local data tracker Ent Group.

The prospect of a burning tower block should terrify audiences in China, where so many citizens live in vertical cities. But with the hugely popular Dwayne Johnson leading the rescue, the film was able to overcome fear of heights and only modest ratings on popular ticketing and ratings sites.

Despite being produced by Wanda-owned Legendary Entertainment, the film is considered as a revenue-sharing quota import, and is distributed by state-owned China Film Group and Huaxia Distribution. The connections to Wanda, China’s largest cinema circuit, as well as a powerful marketing machine, can only have helped. The film rated 7.1 of out 10 on the Wanda-owned Mtime ticketing and merchandise site, and 6.6 on Douban. The weekend total, however, makes “Skyscraper” only the sixth best opening for...

The comedy drama held off challengers including ‘Hidden Man’.

Dying To Survive continued to thrive at the Chinese box office in the period of Jul 9-15, as new opener Hidden Man failed to take it down from the top.

Dying To Survive maintained an astounding momentum in its second week and added $159.7m for $350.2m after 11 days. It has fast become the third highest grossing film of 2018, after Operation Red Sea and Detective Chinatown 2. It has also outpaced Monster Hunt and Fast And Furious 7 to become the sixth highest grossing film of all time in the territory.

But it...

The comedy drama held off challengers including ‘Hidden Man’.

Dying To Survive continued to thrive at the Chinese box office in the period of Jul 9-15, as new opener Hidden Man failed to take it down from the top.

Dying To Survive maintained an astounding momentum in its second week and added $159.7m for $350.2m after 11 days. It has fast become the third highest grossing film of 2018, after Operation Red Sea and Detective Chinatown 2. It has also outpaced Monster Hunt and Fast And Furious 7 to become the sixth highest grossing film of all time in the territory.

But it...

Social drama “Dying to Survive” continued its domination of the Chinese box office, despite a challenge from new revenge drama “Hidden Man.” “Dying to Survive’s” $68.5 million take was the highest outside North America this weekend and the second highest worldwide.

By contrast, big-budget Chinese fantasy “Asura,” which was seen as a potential franchise-launcher, limped to third place in its opening weekend with a meager score of $6.88 million. The film, one of the largest-budget movies ever made in China, will be withdrawn from release, producer Zhenjian Studio announced on social media. It may be re-released at a later date.

The race between the top two finishers was closest on Friday, when pharmaceutical story “Dying” earned $18.3 million, according to data tracker Ent Group. “Hidden Man,” the highly anticipated tentpole from director-actor Jiang Wen, earned $17.9 million on its opening day. But in subsequent days it slipped, finishing with $46.5 million after three days.

Cashing a check, that's what he's doing. Probably a pretty big one. Michael Douglas is on screens worldwide right now in Ant Man And The Wasp but that's not his only current big screen foray. Nope. Douglas is also on screens throughout Asia as a featured baddie in Yan Han's big budget fantasy action film Animal World, in which high stakes underground gamblers transform into creatures and beat the tar out of each other on board a floating casino. Yup. Yi Feng Li takes the lead part But Douglas is all over the marketing materials here chewing the hell out of the furniture as clearly nobody had the will or inclination to tell him to rein it in a little bit. Heh. Chinese release of...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The first local summer blockbuster of 2018 represented over 77% of the total box office last week.

Xu Zheng’s Dying To Survive lived up to expectations to be the first Chinese summer blockbuster of 2018 when it amassed $190.1m from its opening weekend.

This represented over 77% of the total box office in the week of Jul 2-8 and brought that week’s box office to soar by over 111% week-on-week. Its four-day debut of $190.1m (including previews) is also comparable to the $161m three-day weekend collected by the global launch of Ant-Man And The Wasp.

Dying To Survive also opened 33% higher than Wolf...

The first local summer blockbuster of 2018 represented over 77% of the total box office last week.

Xu Zheng’s Dying To Survive lived up to expectations to be the first Chinese summer blockbuster of 2018 when it amassed $190.1m from its opening weekend.

This represented over 77% of the total box office in the week of Jul 2-8 and brought that week’s box office to soar by over 111% week-on-week. Its four-day debut of $190.1m (including previews) is also comparable to the $161m three-day weekend collected by the global launch of Ant-Man And The Wasp.

Dying To Survive also opened 33% higher than Wolf...

Chinese comedy drama, “Dying to Survive” opened with a massive $151 million to be the second largest film across the world this weekend. Its cumulative score by Sunday stands fractionally short of $200 million.

Based on real events, about a cancer survivor who took it on himself to import cheap drugs from India, the film is an unlikely winner in terms of subject matter. The film, directed by first time feature maker Wen Muye, changes the lead role to a non-patient, creating parallels with “Dallas Buyers Club.”

The picture got commercial traction by starring comedy titan Xu Zheng, veteran of “Lost in Thailand” and “Breakup Buddies,” and was powered by strong social media interest. It was the first Chinese-language film in 16 years to score 9 out of 10 on the Douban rating site. Adding to the film’s pedigree, Xu also co-produced with serial hitmaker Ning Hao. It premiered last month at the Shanghai International Film Festival.

Chinese thriller Animal World officially kicked off the summer blockbuster season in the world's second-biggest film market over the weekend, opening to $38.2 million and topping the China box-office champion of the preceding two weeks, Universal's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

The youth-oriented action film is based on a popular Japanese manga and stars Li Yifeng as a young man who is induced into taking part in a violent game of chance overseen by an archvillain, played by Michael Douglas. Directed by rising talent Han Yan (Go Away Mr Tumor) and produced by Enlight Media, Animal World was boosted by ...

Chinese thriller Animal World officially kicked off the summer blockbuster season in the world's second-biggest film market over the weekend, opening to $38.2 million and topping the China box-office champion of the preceding two weeks, Universal's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

The youth-oriented action film is based on a popular Japanese manga and stars Li Yifeng as a young man who is induced into taking part in a violent game of chance overseen by an archvillain, played by Michael Douglas. Directed by rising talent Han Yan (Go Away Mr Tumor) and produced by Enlight Media, Animal World was boosted by ...

Jurassic World 2 passes 2015 predecessor to become the sixth highest grossing foreign film of all time.

The last week of June (Jun 25-Jul 1) marked the beginning of a two-month onslaught of Chinese summer blockbusters. The first of which is Animal World which opened top, ending the 14-day No.1 reign of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom.

Based on the Japanese manga by Nobuyuki Fukumoto, the Chinese gambling adventure took $35.9m from its three-day opening weekend (including previews). It follows a young man played by Li Yifeng who is forced to take part in a violent game when trapped on a gambling ship.

The film,...

Dinosaurs stand at $237.1m in China after three weekends.

July 2 Update: Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has raced past $900m worldwide as a $118.4m haul propelled the tally to $935.1m worldwide, while Fox Star scored its second highest debut in India where the biopic Sanju arrived on $21.6m.

Universal Pictures International

Updated: A $57.3m international weekend from 68 territories boosted the running total on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to $669.2m. The dinosaurs rank second in China on $14.9m behind local opened Animal World and have reached $237.1m after three sessions.

In second weekend holds, Mexico delivered $6.2m for $23.3m and Australia $4.5m for $14.7m,...

Dinosaurs stand at $237.1m in China after three weekends.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom has raced past $900m worldwide as a $116.1m haul propelled the tally to $932.4m worldwide, while Fox Star scored its second highest debut in India where the biopic Sanju arrived on $21.6m.

Universal Pictures International

A $56.1m international weekend from 68 territories boosted the running total on Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom to $667.6m. The dinosaurs rank second in China on $14.9m behind local opened Animal World and have reached $237.1m after three sessions.

In second weekend holds, Mexico delivered $6.7m for $23.8m and Australia $4.4m for $14.7m, while...

This eccentric Chinese fantasy mixes deadly rock-scissors-paper tournaments, game theory lectures and Michael Douglas

A curiosity whichever way you slice it, Animal World features a maniacal clown battling bizarre CGI monsters, Michael Douglas flying his super-villain freak flag, and intermittent maths lectures to explain possible strategies in a huge, deadly tournament of rock-scissors-paper. There’s some narrative logic girding the whole unlikely structure, but it’s a wilfully eccentric mix. Imagine a YouTube video mashup of ultraviolent manga, David Fincher’s Douglas-starrer The Game from 1997, and a Ted talk about game theory – except that description risks making this sound like more fun to watch than it is, especially given the bloated two-hour-plus running time.

Li Yifeng stars as Kaisi, a damaged young man who works as a clown in a local arcade. In moments of emotional stress, Kaisi is prone to imagine himself as a clown with ace fighting skills battling ornate beasties in,...

Jurassic sequel becomes the third highest grossing imported film in 2018.

Incredibles 2 failed to topple Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom which reigned again for the second straight week in the period of Jun 18-24.

The $84m added by Universal’s Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom represented about 60% of the week’s total box office. With a 10-day total of $188.3m, it has become the third highest grossing imported film in 2018 and will soon overtake Ready Player One for second place.

Disney/Pixar’s Incredibles 2 launched strongly in second with $19.3m from its three-day opening weekend, making it the best Pixar’s debut in China.

“Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” continued the dinosaurs’ reign at the top of the Chinese box office on Friday. “Incredibles 2” opened in second place.

Holdover, “Jurassic World” bit out $8.31 million on Friday. That represented a 73% drop compared with its $31 million opening day, on Friday last week, which put it on course for the fourth best opening weekend by a Hollywood movie in China. But after eight days on release, the film has a mighty cumulative score of $178 million, according to Chinese data service Ent Group.

“Incredibles 2,” managed a more timid $4.65 million, and will not challenge “Coco” for Pixar’s record in the Middle Kingdom. “Incredibles 2” played some 75,000 screenings on Friday, compared with the 99,000 sessions for “Jurassic World.”

In terms of market share, “Jurassic World” enjoyed 47% on Friday, with “Incredibles 2” taking 26%. In third place, Chinese comedy actioner, “Lobster Cop” earned $2.77 million, with a 16% share of aggregate Friday revenues.

China's hotly anticipated teen action film Animal World, co-starring Michael Douglas, is heading to Netflix.

The streaming giant has acquired global digital rights to the title for all territories outside of China, according to industry sources with knowledge of the deal. Cmc Pictures, the international film distributor controlled by Li Ruigang’s China Media Capital Holdings, is also planning to give the film a substantial international theatrical release, making the pickup somewhat unique for Netflix (the company declined to comment).

Directed by Han Yan (Goodbye Mr. Tumor), Animal World stars Li Yifeng (Mr. Six) as an imaginative teenager who gets lured ...

China's hotly anticipated teen action film Animal World, co-starring Michael Douglas, is heading to Netflix.

The streaming giant has acquired global digital rights to the title for all territories outside of China, according to industry sources with knowledge of the deal. Cmc Pictures, the international film distributor controlled by Li Ruigang’s China Media Capital Holdings, is also planning to give the film a substantial international theatrical release, making the pickup somewhat unique for Netflix (the company declined to comment).

Directed by Han Yan (Goodbye Mr. Tumor), Animal World stars Li Yifeng (Mr. Six) as an imaginative teenager who gets lured ...

Have you ever seen a trailer for a film and thought, “what did I just watch?” Or, “why is this clown fighting monsters on the subway?” Or even, “what is Michael Douglas doing here?” Welcome to “Animal World”, the bonkers new vision from Han Yan, the promotional trailers for which have been leaving viewers equal parts confused and excited. The film is based on the manga series “Ultimate Survivor Kaiji”.

Animal World will be available in cinemas across the UK starting June 29, courtesy of Cine Asia

Zheng Kaisi works in a gaming arcade. Money is hard to come by and what little he earns, he spends after the hospitalisation of his comatose mother. He also has a “condition” where, whenever he feels overtly emotional, he imagines himself as Super Clown, his favourite childhood cartoon character, a sword-wielding crime-fighting vigilante wrecking havoc on the “monster humans.” His girlfriend Liu Qing is...

If the contestants in The Hunger Games had been forced to kill each other by playing rock-paper-scissors instead of with bows and arrows, they might have earned a place at the gaming tables of Animal World (Dongwu shijie).

Drawing equally from the altered-reality universes of comic books and video games, Animal World is an exciting if disjointed mash of ideas and emotions. When it finally settles down to business on board a sinister ship called Destiny, the tale turns into a risk-it-all gambling fantasy that is surprisingly gripping. Opening the Shanghai International Film Festival with a punch, its florid special effects ...

If the contestants in The Hunger Games had been forced to kill each other by playing rock-paper-scissors instead of with bows and arrows, they might have earned a place at the gaming tables of Animal World (Dongwu shijie).

Drawing equally from the altered-reality universes of comic books and video games, Animal World is an exciting if disjointed mash of ideas and emotions. When it finally settles down to business on board a sinister ship called Destiny, the tale turns into a risk-it-all gambling fantasy that is surprisingly gripping. Opening the Shanghai International Film Festival with a punch, its florid special effects ...

Getting under way on Saturday, the Shanghai International Film Festival looks set on keeping its place as the most convenient set-piece meeting place in China for the local and foreign movie industries.

The 10-day event marked the opening of its 21st edition with the screening of Chinese-made drama “Animal World” starring U.S. veteran Michael Douglas. The downtown opening ceremony at the Lyric Theater was preceded by the usual red-carpet pageant.

With celebrity actor-director Jiang Wen leading out the main competition jury, the parade was always going to be starry.

The festival moves into full business gear from Sunday, with forums and panel discussions involving leading Chinese executives Ren Zhonglun from Shanghai Film Group, Enlight’s Wang Changtian, Bona’s Yu Dong and Huayi’s James Wang. The growing filmic influence of China’s Internet majors is marked by the presence of three Alibaba representatives as speakers on Sunday alone.

Summer box office has roared back to life with $34m opening day for ’Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’.

After a quiet couple of weeks, the China market roared back to life with today’s opening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which marks the unofficial start of a busy summer box office season.

As of 22:00 China time on June 15, the Universal Pictures sequel, opening one week ahead of its North American premiere, was topping the box office with $31m (RMB198m). The last film in the franchise, Jurassic World, racked up $99m on its opening weekend in China in June 2015, ahead...

The box office has roared back to life with ’Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom’.

After a quiet couple of weeks, the China market roared back to life with today’s opening of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which marks the unofficial start of a busy summer box office season.

As of 22:00 China time on June 15, the Universal Pictures sequel, opening one week ahead of its North American premiere, was topping the box office with $31m (RMB198m). The last film in the franchise, Jurassic World, racked up $99m on its opening weekend in China in June 2015, ahead of a final gross of $229m.

Selected as the Opening Film of the 2018 Shanghai International Film Festival, “Animal World” is the new film from director Han Yan, best known for “Go Away, Mr. Tumor”, which represented China at the 88th Academy Awards, and producer Chen Zhixi, famed for the hits “Lost in Thailand” and “Detective Chinatown”.

Based on the bestselling Japanese novel and anime series “Ultimate Survivor Kaiji” and described as China’s “The Hunger Games” meets “The Matrix”, the film is headlined by megastar Li Yi Feng (李易峰), joined by award-winning actress Zhou Dongyu (周冬雨) and Hollywood legend Michael Douglas.

The suspenseful action-packed blockbuster will have a national release across the UK via Cine Asia from 29th June, the same date the film will be released in China, and is expected to be one of the year’s biggest and most exciting hits.

Synopsis

Drifting aimlessly through life, Kaisi has racked up debts of several...

Hollywood A-lister Michael Douglas will appear in the upcoming Chinese movie Animal World, and the trailer for the film is honestly too crazy for words. Directed by Han Yan, whose previous films include Go Away Mr Tumour and First Time, Animal World appears to be a movie about martial artist clowns fighting giant cockroaches. Kind […]

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