China

In another sign of the return to China for Marvel after a long drought, Disney /Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 has been set for a day-and-date release on May 5. The James Gunn -directed finale in the series is due to hit North American cinemas that same day while international rollout will begin on May 3. (Check out the new China poster below.) This marks the third Marvel title to secure a theatrical release in China following a three-and-a-half year period during which no movies featuring a Marvel character gained entry to the world’s second largest box office market. Last month , Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania became the first titles in since Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home in June 2019, and Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame in April that same year. Neither Wakanda Forever ($15.6M) nor Quantumania ($39M through last Sunday) spun Chinese turnstiles off their axes in February — … [Read more...] about China: ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’ Secures Day-And-Date Release

Disney ’s live-action take on The Little Mermaid has been cleared for theatrical release in China , as has Fast X — the penultimate installment in Universal ’s long-running Fast & Furious action franchise . Dates are still to be set for both films in the market which has increasingly been handing out day-and-date releases for Hollywood titles even if audiences have been somewhat tepid of late. Hope springs. The Little Mermaid , directed by Rob Marshall and starring Halle Bailey as Ariel, begins overseas rollout on May 24 and swims to North America on May 26. Fast X , from director Louis Leterrier, goes a week earlier with international play revving up on May 17 and the U.S. and Canada joining on May 19. The Fast movies have been major attractions in China with the franchise (including Hobbs & Shaw ) grossing over $1.2B since Fast & Furious 6 in 2013. F9 in 2021 had a staggered overseas release with China going a full five weeks ahead of … [Read more...] about ‘The Little Mermaid’ & ‘Fast X’ Cleared For China Releases

The woman suing Judge Judy over really expensive china and silverware says she's willing to END her legal war ... if she just gets her stuff back. TMZ broke the story ... Patric Jones filed a lawsuit against the TV judge claiming she conspired with Jones' ex-husband to screw her out of $500k worth of tableware. Judy denied the allegations ... but now Jones is telling the NY Daily News , "I don’t want to sue Judge Judy ... We were close friends. She counseled me on my marriage. I flew on her private plane. We vacationed together and had dinner once a week. I just want my china back ." Jones shouldn't hold her breath ... 'cause Judy was crystal clear when she told TMZ -- "I don't owe this lady a cent. And if this 50-year-old woman would spend her time more productively at trying to find a job, instead of abusing the judicial system with frivolous lawsuits, we would all be a lot better off." … [Read more...] about Judge Judy Accuser — I’ll Drop My Suit … If You Gimme My China!!!

Two icons are back in action this weekend as Roadside Attractions presents the comedy Moving On with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin on close to 800 screens, hoping it will connect with female audiences. Willem Dafoe -starring Inside from Vasilis Katsoupis on 350+ screens. It’s been relatively quiet on the specialty front. “There’s not that much out there for this audience right now,” said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside Attractions. “I think this is the opportunity that we felt — it’s after the Oscars and before the Sundance movies and summer movies.” Fonda and Tomlin have a great alchemy. They co-starred in 1980’s 9 to 5 , played together for seven years on the Netflix sitcom Grace and Franki e and co-led the recent 80 for Brady . The cast of their Paul Weitz-directed Moving On , which premiered in Toronto, also includes Malcolm McDowell and Richard Roundtree. Deadline review here . It’s wide for specialty, and Cohen said it’s a good sign … [Read more...] about Jane Fonda & Lily Tomlin Reunite In ‘Moving On’ – Specialty Preview

A cell tower in Kota Bharu could be the missing puzzle piece in the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 last weekend. There's a theory ... the aircraft doubled back over Malaysia after it began to cross the South China Sea, and crashed off the opposite coast instead ... somewhere in the Malacca Strait. Malaysian officials have rejected the theory -- but if it's true (as some still believe) the plane would have passed over the city of Kota Bharu, which contains a powerful Celcom cellular phone tower. Credible mobile analysts tell TMZ, if the plane flew over the tower there's a high likelihood the tower would contain data transmitted by cell phones inside the aircraft ... if the phones were on. Roughly 30% of passengers leave their phones ON during flights -- this according to published reports. So ... the cellular tower could be the critical piece of evidence to either prove or disprove the U-turn theory. We've reached out to Celcom about … [Read more...] about Malaysian Plane — Cell Tower Could Be the Key In Mysterious Disappearance

Refresh for latest …: New Line/DC/Warner Bros’ Shazam! Fury of the Gods has had a less than heroic launch with $65.5M global, including $35M from the international box office . We always knew this sequel was going to come in lower than its predecessor , but the result is also far off where projections were ahead of the weekend. Overall, the main issue on Shazam 2 appears to be a disconnect with hardcore DC fans, and, when it comes to China, an increasingly cold-shoulder approach of audiences to Hollywood fare. Fury of the Gods was simply a no-show in the PRC with a slight $4.4M weekend. Despite getting a day-and-date release there, moviegoers did not turn up for Shazam 2 (in the heady days of 2019, the first movie bowed to nearly $30M). This is part of a concerning trend in the world’s second biggest box office market where (outside of Avatar ) folks have shied away from Hollywood fare. Interestingly, Shazam 2 has an 8.8 audience score on Maoyan whereas the … [Read more...] about ‘Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’ Strikes Out With $66M Global Bow – International Box Office

EXCLUSIVE: Los Angeles-based Russian-Kazakh director and producer Timur Bekmambetov has secured Turkish backing for his animated feature about iconic Middle Eastern, Balkan and Asian folk hero Hodja Nasreddin. Bekmambetov’s company Bazelevs has signed an agreement with Yeni Dusler Animation, a production company and content provider for the national public broadcaster of Turkey , the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation. The previously announced English-language production marks Bekmambetov’s first foray into animation and is underway for a planned 2024 release. The voice actors will be attached later this year. Nasreddin is a wandering philosopher and prankster who gets into absurd situations, but ultimately always emerges victorious thanks to his wit, wisdom, and humor. He appears in thousands of folk tales across the Middle East and Asia, dating back to the 13th century. “For people from the Middle East and Asia, he has superhero status. In this part of … [Read more...] about Timur Bekmambetov’s Passion Project About Muslim World Folk Hero Nasreddin Hodja Secures Turkish Backing

Shazam! Fury of the Gods star Rachel Zegler took to social media over the weekend to lament what she called “senselessly mean” reactions to the film. The DC sequel had a lackluster opening at the global box office, landing with $65.5 million worldwide. It currently carries a 52% score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Posting on Twitter, Zegler wrote, “Some people out there and just being… senselessly mean. And it’s unnecessary. And I know, I know, ‘If you can’t handle the heat…’ and all that nonsense, and you’re right. But our film is actually very good, it’s just cool to hate on fun nowadays. That’s okay. We’re good.” While the movie did not win favor with critics, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score is currently 88%. Zegler, who broke out in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story , plays Greek goddess Anthea in the David F. Sandberg-directed Shazam 2 , which stars Zachary Levi as the titular superhero. She encouraged audiences to “give it a chance”: The New … [Read more...] about ‘Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’: Rachel Zegler Laments “Senselessly Mean” Criticism Of Movie

EXCLUSIVE: Josh Gordon and Will Speck have signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment to develop and produce feature films. The news comes in the wake of their feature take of the children’s book Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile grossing over $104 million at the global box office. The movie, which stars Javier Bardem and Constance Wu and has songs by Benj Pasek & Justin Paul and Shawn Mendes, is set for a China release April 15. Speck and Gordon are attached to direct a film based on the AfterShock comic The Kaiju Score for Columbia Pictures. Todd Black and Jason Blumenthal at Escape Artists are producing along with AfterShock Media’s Lee and Jon Kramer; that project is in development. The duo are also attached to direct the A24 TV thriller Silverlake starring Zach Quinto and written by Samuel D. Hunter ( The Whale ). They also are the creators and showrunners of the Hulu/Marvel animated series Hit Monkey , which was recently ordered for a second season and … [Read more...] about ‘Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile’ Filmmakers Josh Gordon & Will Speck Ink First-Look Deal With Sony

The stars of Joy Ride will receive at Comedy Ensemble of the Year Award at CinemaCon next month. Ashley Park , Sherry Cola , Stephanie Hsu and Sabrina Wu will be honored April 27 during the confab’s Big Screen Achievement Awards at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. “The cast of Joy Ride delivers a fearless and over-the-top hilarious performance, one that will delight audiences with their hysterical, no-holds-barred journey through friendship and self-discovery,” CinemaCon Managing Director Mitch Neuhauser said. “This brilliant group of actors captures the very essence of the messy human experience.” Here’s the logline for Joy Ride, from first-time director by Adele Lim, who co-wrote Crazy Rich Asians and Raya and the Last Dragon : When Audrey’s (Park) business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo (Cola), her irreverent childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat (Hsu), her college friend-turned-Chinese … [Read more...] about ‘Joy Ride’ Stars Set For CinemaCon’s Comedy Ensemble Of The Year Award