More from Patrick Brzeski
China Box Office: Anime ‘Suzume’ Dominates as ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ and ’65’ Flop
Makoto Shinkai’s Japanese anime sensation Suzume held strong at the top of China’s box office over the weekend, earning $22.1 million while easily defeating Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and Sony’s 65, which both flopped. Suzume has earned $80.6 million in China, better than any other international film released in the country this […]
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Netflix Unveils First Look at Japanese Sumo Series ‘Sanctuary’
Netflix is giving global fans a sneak peak at its forthcoming Japanese original series Sanctuary, a YA drama set within the reclusive world of Japanese professional sumo wrestling. (See the first teaser trailer and art from the show below.) Set to launch on Netflix on May 4, the series follows a juvenile delinquent who becomes […]
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China Box Office: Makoto Shinkai’s Anime Hit ‘Suzume’ Soars With $50M Opening
Japanese anime maestro Makoto Shinkai’s latest feature Suzume shot to the top of China’s theatrical box office over the weekend, earning a strong $50 million, the biggest start for a non-Chinese film this year. The performance underscores the growing potency of Japanese anime in China’s huge movie market at a time when Hollywood superhero fare […]
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How a ‘Pooh’ Slasher Flick May Have Tipped Hong Kong Towards Greater Beijing Censorship
Oh, bother. What has Winnie-the-Pooh gotten himself into this time? Something quite a bit more troubling than the usual travails of Hundred Acre Wood, it turns out. First, the lovable children’s character was transformed into the murderous protagonist of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, a micro-budget U.K. slasher film that went viral and scored theatrical distribution […]
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Netflix’s Indian Adaptation of ‘Ray Donovan’ Finds Global Audience
Indian action crime show Rana Naidu has climbed onto Netflix’s top 10 list of most-watched non-English series for the second consecutive week, becoming one of the streamer’s most globally successful Hindi-language titles to date. The show is a local adaptation of Showtime’s hit crime drama Ray Donovan. This week it hit fourth place on Netflix’s global […]
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Vanessa Hudgens to Explore Her Filipino Heritage in Travel Documentary
Actress Vanessa Hudgens is heading to the Philippines to explore her family history as the star of a new travel documentary. The film will capture Hudgens’ first trip to the country of her mother’s birth, showcasing her close relationship with her family and her personal trajectory as an American-born, half-Filipino woman who has become one […]
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Disney+ Adds Buddy Cop Series ‘Han River Police’ to K-Drama Slate
Disney+ is boosting its growing K-drama slate with Han River Police, an action comedy series starring Kwon Sang-woo (Stairway to Heaven, Curtain Call) and Kim Hee-won (Netflix’s Unlocked). Kwon will star as Han Dujin, the hot-tempered sergeant of the Han River Police Force who holds back for nobody, while Kim plays Lee Chunseok, a laid-back lieutenant […]
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China Box Office: ‘Shazam 2,’ ‘M3GAN’ Bomb Big Time
Hollywood’s recent streak of shaky box office results in China continued over the weekend, as Warner Bros’ superhero sequel Shazam! Fury of the Gods and Universal’s horror hit M3GAN both crashed and burned, losing to Chinese holdover releases. Shazam! 2, directed by David F. Sandberg and starring Zachary Levi, opened to just $4.3 million, according […]
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Is Crunchyroll the Right Specialty Streamer for the Moment?
As the global streaming business underwent a surprise, secular reassessment last year, Sony’s anime service Crunchyroll found the whole industry suddenly contemplating the same strategies it had been prioritizing for years. Out was the gusher approach to content spending in pursuit of limitless subscriber growth. In were financial discipline, multi-tiered subscription options and a more […]
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Filmart: China’s Linmon Pictures Launches Ambitious International TV Slate (Exclusive)
Shanghai-based Linmon Pictures is preparing to go where few major Chinese TV studios venture — overseas. On the second day of Hong Kong’s Filmart entertainment convention, the premium TV producer unveiled an ambitious plan for a slate of local-language TV projects targeting the Korean, Thai, Indonesian and Taiwanese markets. The company says it will produce at […]
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Filmart: Singapore’s mm2, Taiwan’s Man Man Er Team on TV Series Adaptation of Bestselling Book ‘Tales of Mystery’
Singapore-based entertainment company mm2 and Taiwan’s Man Man Er revealed Tuesday at Hong Kong’s Filmart that they are teaming up to develop a high-end series adaptation of the bestselling Taiwanese book Tales of Mystery. The project is the first title to emerge from a new development deal the two partners have signed with Taiwanese IP […]
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Oscars: India Celebrates ‘RRR’ Win, but Laments Jimmy Kimmel’s Mischaracterization of Film’s Origins
India’s legions of film lovers are in a state of rapture after director S.S. Rajamouli’s action epic RRR made history at the Academy Awards on Sunday night by becoming the first-ever homegrown Indian movie to take home an Oscar. In a widely expected win, composer M.M. Keeravaani scored the statue in the best original song […]
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