Amsterdam and Beijing-based film sales company Fortissimo Films has picked up licensing duties to upcoming “Escape From the 21st Century,” a Chinese sci-fi action title.
The story follows three friends who discover they have the power to travel back and forth 20 years with a sneeze. However, the future is not as good as they hoped and need to take on the responsibility of saving the world. The action shuttles between 1999 and 2019 and on Planet K, which is very similar to Earth.
The film is directed by Li Yang (short and co-directed feature “Lee’s Future”) and stars Zhang Ruoyun (“Joy of Life”), Zhong Cuxi (“Youth”) and Song Yang (“Wrath of Silence”).
The picture is produced by Desen International and is headed for a mainland China commercial release on Aug. 3 through Enlight Pictures. Fortissimo is handling rights in the rest of the world ex-mainland China.
Watch the trailer here.
Fortissimo had a busy Cannes,...
The story follows three friends who discover they have the power to travel back and forth 20 years with a sneeze. However, the future is not as good as they hoped and need to take on the responsibility of saving the world. The action shuttles between 1999 and 2019 and on Planet K, which is very similar to Earth.
The film is directed by Li Yang (short and co-directed feature “Lee’s Future”) and stars Zhang Ruoyun (“Joy of Life”), Zhong Cuxi (“Youth”) and Song Yang (“Wrath of Silence”).
The picture is produced by Desen International and is headed for a mainland China commercial release on Aug. 3 through Enlight Pictures. Fortissimo is handling rights in the rest of the world ex-mainland China.
Watch the trailer here.
Fortissimo had a busy Cannes,...
- 7/13/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Balance is key in the world of “The Yin-Yang Master”. Light and darkness, science and music, beauty and horror, the real and the unreal: none of these things can exist without the other in the fantastical works of author Baku Yumemakura, which have served as inspirations for cinema, manga, stage plays, video games and even ice skating sets! 2001's “Onmyoji” was the first big-screen outing for Yumemakura's complicated folklore figure Abe no Seimei, laying the groundwork for the celebrated yin yang master to become a popular hero for audiences around the world. With the exception of its 2003 sequel, each subsequent film exists in a vacuum, with viewers new to the lore and character able to pick up any one of them in any order and thankfully still get the full experience. The latest is Shimako Sato's “The Yin-Yang Master Zero”, a well-mounted and entertaining origin story for Abe no Seimei that creates a fine,...
- 5/30/2024
- by Simon Ramshaw
- AsianMoviePulse
Let's begin by talking about the numbers of the Far East Film Festival 26. This year the Feff community will be able to watch 75 films from 11 countries. More precisely, 15 world premieres (including those of restored classics), 24 international premieres, 19 European premieres and 13 Italian premieres. Expected in Udine from 24 April to 2 May, in the historic headquarters of the Teatro Nuovo and in the spaces of the Visionario, the Far East Film Festival 26 will give life to a 9-day long full immersion and it will colour the heart of the city with Asia (there are over 100 thematic events scheduled). A real feast of cinema.
The Opening Night on Wednesday 24 April will travel between China and South Korea with two international premieres. The task of opening the curtain will fall to “Yolo”, the blockbuster that bears the signature of famous comedy star Jia Ling (here in the double role of director and protagonist). It is...
The Opening Night on Wednesday 24 April will travel between China and South Korea with two international premieres. The task of opening the curtain will fall to “Yolo”, the blockbuster that bears the signature of famous comedy star Jia Ling (here in the double role of director and protagonist). It is...
- 3/27/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
China and Netherlands-based Fortissimo Films has picked up international sales rights to anticipated Chinese blockbuster movie “If You Are the One 3.”
To be released on Dec. 30 in China, the picture is directed by Feng Xiaogang as the second sequel in his anti-romance comedy franchise, about a rich businessman and an air stewardess, which kicked off in 2008 and earned a follow-up in 2010. The new picture reunites the key cast Ge You and Shu Qi, as well as Fan Wei (“One Second”), Yao Chen (“Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back”) and Guan Xiaotong (“Shadow”).
Set in 2031, the new film tells the story of Qin (Ge) retiring alone on a small island, as his wife Xiaoxiao (Shu) is away all year long. Fan (Fan), Qin’s friend, designs an android identical to Xiaoxiao to keep Qin company. Spending time with the android and old friends, Qin reflects on loneliness and companionship,...
To be released on Dec. 30 in China, the picture is directed by Feng Xiaogang as the second sequel in his anti-romance comedy franchise, about a rich businessman and an air stewardess, which kicked off in 2008 and earned a follow-up in 2010. The new picture reunites the key cast Ge You and Shu Qi, as well as Fan Wei (“One Second”), Yao Chen (“Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back”) and Guan Xiaotong (“Shadow”).
Set in 2031, the new film tells the story of Qin (Ge) retiring alone on a small island, as his wife Xiaoxiao (Shu) is away all year long. Fan (Fan), Qin’s friend, designs an android identical to Xiaoxiao to keep Qin company. Spending time with the android and old friends, Qin reflects on loneliness and companionship,...
- 12/5/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Updated: “F9,” the latest installment in the “Fast & Furious” franchise, is already revving up for a box office takeover — though in a lower gear than other films in the franchise.
Its release appears not to have been marred by what Universal Pictures called a security “threat” earlier this week that forced the studio to abruptly cancel a major promotional event in Shanghai.
On Friday, “Fast & Furious 9” comfortably raced to the top of the box office chart, scoring RMB231 million ($35.8 million) by 5.30pm local time, and claiming an 88% market share, according to data from ticket sales agency Maoyan. That gave it a running total of RMB292 million ($45.3 million) including sneak previews and midnight screenings.
A solid start was clearly on the cards. The film racked up more than $32.6 million (RMB210 million) in pre-sale tickets, making it the most hotly anticipated Hollywood tentpole of the year so far. It...
Its release appears not to have been marred by what Universal Pictures called a security “threat” earlier this week that forced the studio to abruptly cancel a major promotional event in Shanghai.
On Friday, “Fast & Furious 9” comfortably raced to the top of the box office chart, scoring RMB231 million ($35.8 million) by 5.30pm local time, and claiming an 88% market share, according to data from ticket sales agency Maoyan. That gave it a running total of RMB292 million ($45.3 million) including sneak previews and midnight screenings.
A solid start was clearly on the cards. The film racked up more than $32.6 million (RMB210 million) in pre-sale tickets, making it the most hotly anticipated Hollywood tentpole of the year so far. It...
- 5/21/2021
- by Rebecca Davis and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Amazon and the BBC have assembled a stellar cast for the forthcoming drama series The English.
The series is produced by Drama Republic.
The epic western will be led by Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer.
It is written and directed by multi-award-winning Hugo Blick and set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890.
The series follows Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son.
Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive.
The cast will also include Rafe Spall, Tom Hughes, Stephen Rea, and Valerie Pachner (The Kingsman).
Additional cast includes Toby Jones,...
The series is produced by Drama Republic.
The epic western will be led by Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer.
It is written and directed by multi-award-winning Hugo Blick and set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890.
The series follows Cornelia Locke (Emily Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son.
Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Chaske Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history which must be defeated at all costs, if either of them are to survive.
The cast will also include Rafe Spall, Tom Hughes, Stephen Rea, and Valerie Pachner (The Kingsman).
Additional cast includes Toby Jones,...
- 5/11/2021
- by Paul Dailly
- TVfanatic
Cast also includes Rafe Spall, Tom Hughes, Stephen Rea, Valerie Pachner, Toby Jones and more
Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer are starring on “The English,” a high-octane epic Western series at Amazon, BBC One, which has just begun production in Spain.
Set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890, “The English” follows Cornelia Locke (Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history that must be defeated at all costs, if either of them is to survive.
“The English” is written and directed by Hugo Blick and consists of six, hourlong episodes.
Along with Blunt and Spencer, the cast for the Western includes Rafe Spall (“The Salisbury Poisonings,...
Emily Blunt and Chaske Spencer are starring on “The English,” a high-octane epic Western series at Amazon, BBC One, which has just begun production in Spain.
Set in the mythic mid-American landscape in the year of 1890, “The English” follows Cornelia Locke (Blunt), an Englishwoman who arrives into the new and wild landscape of the West to wreak revenge on the man she sees as responsible for the death of her son. Upon meeting Eli Whipp (Spencer), an ex-cavalry scout and member of the Pawnee Nation by birth, they join together and discover a shared history that must be defeated at all costs, if either of them is to survive.
“The English” is written and directed by Hugo Blick and consists of six, hourlong episodes.
Along with Blunt and Spencer, the cast for the Western includes Rafe Spall (“The Salisbury Poisonings,...
- 5/11/2021
- by Jennifer Maas
- The Wrap
Don’t confuse this movie with “The Yin-Yang Master: Dream of Eternity” directed by Guo Jingming, although they’re both adapted from the same Japanese novel series “Onmyoji” written by Baku Yumemakura. This novel was so popular that the Chinese game developer NetEase Games decided to further adapt it into “Onmyoji”, a 3D role-playing video game set in Japan and it also became a massive hit. An adaptation of this video game into a feature was soon on the drawing board resulting in “The Yinyang Master”, nonetheless, with collaboration between the Huayi Brothers Media, Ckf Pictures and NetEase Games.
In the fantasy world of ancient China, humans and demons live in harmony until Xiang Liu, an evil demon emperor, a serpent with nine heads decides to take control. However, the humans manage to defeat him and all demons are driven out to live in the Monster Realm while humans remain in Ping Jing city.
In the fantasy world of ancient China, humans and demons live in harmony until Xiang Liu, an evil demon emperor, a serpent with nine heads decides to take control. However, the humans manage to defeat him and all demons are driven out to live in the Monster Realm while humans remain in Ping Jing city.
- 4/10/2021
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
Global streaming service Netflix has acquired multi-territory streaming rights to upcoming Chinese fantasy film “Super Me.” The story is an aspirational tale, combining lucid dreaming and a rags to riches plot about a struggling screenwriter.
It was directed by Chong Zhang (“Fourth Wall”) and has a cast that is headed by Taiwan’s Darren Wang, along with Cao Bingkun, Song Jia and Wu Gang.
The film had its world premiere in the panorama section of the 2019 edition of the Sitges International Film Festival, known for its genre and fantasy leanings. It was also selected for the competition section of the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival in 2019 and for competition at the 2020 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
But its hometown theatrical release, scheduled for 2019, was canceled by the distributor. “Super Me” finally enjoyed its mainland China premiere last week and will now reach commercial screens in China on Friday.
Netflix, which...
It was directed by Chong Zhang (“Fourth Wall”) and has a cast that is headed by Taiwan’s Darren Wang, along with Cao Bingkun, Song Jia and Wu Gang.
The film had its world premiere in the panorama section of the 2019 edition of the Sitges International Film Festival, known for its genre and fantasy leanings. It was also selected for the competition section of the Paris International Fantastic Film Festival in 2019 and for competition at the 2020 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival.
But its hometown theatrical release, scheduled for 2019, was canceled by the distributor. “Super Me” finally enjoyed its mainland China premiere last week and will now reach commercial screens in China on Friday.
Netflix, which...
- 4/6/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The Beijing Culture-backed tear-jerking comedy “Hi, Mom” grossed $134 million this weekend to finally surpass Wanda Film’s record-breaking Chinese New Year holiday frontrunner “Detective Chinatown 3” in overall box office, having led the latter in single-day returns since Monday.
It is now only the sixth film to ever have grossed more than RMB400 million ($62 million) in China, a feat achieved by “Detective Chinatown 3,” “Avengers: Endgame” and four other local titles.
The upset shows just how important strong word of mouth is these days in the world’s largest film market. With its 2020 debut delayed due to Covid-19, “Detective Chinatown 3” had a year-long head start over its competitors. While its aggressive promotional campaigns and the strength of its franchise pulled in audiences initially to generate a world record-breaking debut weekend, they have proven no match for the grassroots support that has emerged for the comedy that has organically captured hearts across the country.
It is now only the sixth film to ever have grossed more than RMB400 million ($62 million) in China, a feat achieved by “Detective Chinatown 3,” “Avengers: Endgame” and four other local titles.
The upset shows just how important strong word of mouth is these days in the world’s largest film market. With its 2020 debut delayed due to Covid-19, “Detective Chinatown 3” had a year-long head start over its competitors. While its aggressive promotional campaigns and the strength of its franchise pulled in audiences initially to generate a world record-breaking debut weekend, they have proven no match for the grassroots support that has emerged for the comedy that has organically captured hearts across the country.
- 2/21/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The third ‘Detective Chinatown’ film took $397m in China.
Detective Chinatown 3 stuns with $397m China debut
Wanda Pictures’ Detective Chinatown 3 has delivered the biggest ever opening weekend number in a single territory thanks to its $397m debut in China over the new year holiday weekend. That beats the Avengers: Endgame’s $357m North America launch in April 2019 – previously the biggest opening in a single market.
Detective Chinatown 3 has already overtaken the total box office for the first film in the series ($122m in 2015) and is well on the way to passing Detective Chinatown 2’s total haul...
Detective Chinatown 3 stuns with $397m China debut
Wanda Pictures’ Detective Chinatown 3 has delivered the biggest ever opening weekend number in a single territory thanks to its $397m debut in China over the new year holiday weekend. That beats the Avengers: Endgame’s $357m North America launch in April 2019 – previously the biggest opening in a single market.
Detective Chinatown 3 has already overtaken the total box office for the first film in the series ($122m in 2015) and is well on the way to passing Detective Chinatown 2’s total haul...
- 2/15/2021
- by Charles Gant
- ScreenDaily
China made history this weekend with record ticket sales of nearly $775 million (RMB5.0 billion) within the first three days of the Chinese New Year holiday, led by an incredible $424 million (RMB2.74 billion) debut from “Detective Chinatown 3.”
This marked the first time the country’s national box office has ever broken RMB1 billion ($155 million) a day for three consecutive days, a feat achieved despite caps on max theater capacity at 75% in most of the country and 50% in areas particularly at risk for Covid-19, such as the Beijing-adjacent Hebei province.
More than 55 million individual tickets were purchased at an average price of $7.74 (RMB50) for director Chen Sicheng’s long-awaited third installment to the “Detective Chinatown” franchise — with ticket prices much higher than the average $5.40 (RMB35) seen at other times of year reflecting the high demand. It accounted for an average of 42% of all screenings in the country over the weekend.
To...
This marked the first time the country’s national box office has ever broken RMB1 billion ($155 million) a day for three consecutive days, a feat achieved despite caps on max theater capacity at 75% in most of the country and 50% in areas particularly at risk for Covid-19, such as the Beijing-adjacent Hebei province.
More than 55 million individual tickets were purchased at an average price of $7.74 (RMB50) for director Chen Sicheng’s long-awaited third installment to the “Detective Chinatown” franchise — with ticket prices much higher than the average $5.40 (RMB35) seen at other times of year reflecting the high demand. It accounted for an average of 42% of all screenings in the country over the weekend.
To...
- 2/14/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
The world’s largest film market is living up to its title with world-record-setting sales. “Detective Chinatown 3” shot past strong competition, as predicted, on its Chinese New Year opening day on Friday, notching a record-breaking $163 million (RMB1.05 billion) in sales despite poor word of mouth.
The sum marks the highest ever opening day tally for a film in a single market, beating out former title-holder “Avengers: Endgame,” which grossed $157 million in North America on its first day in 2019.
“Detective Chinatown” sales on Friday accounted for more than 60% of China’s total new year’s day box office nationwide, which surpassed that of 2019 at $268 million (RMB1.73 billion).
The massive commercial success of director Chen Sicheng’s comedic mystery also propelled Imax to new heights. As of Friday evening local time, the firm “very confidently” projected full-day China earnings of $7.7 million from three films, 18% more than on Chinese New Year’s...
The sum marks the highest ever opening day tally for a film in a single market, beating out former title-holder “Avengers: Endgame,” which grossed $157 million in North America on its first day in 2019.
“Detective Chinatown” sales on Friday accounted for more than 60% of China’s total new year’s day box office nationwide, which surpassed that of 2019 at $268 million (RMB1.73 billion).
The massive commercial success of director Chen Sicheng’s comedic mystery also propelled Imax to new heights. As of Friday evening local time, the firm “very confidently” projected full-day China earnings of $7.7 million from three films, 18% more than on Chinese New Year’s...
- 2/12/2021
- by Rebecca Davis
- Variety Film + TV
More than 80% of movie tickets in China are sold online or via mobile device, one of the world’s highest penetration rates. That gives the country’s ticketing agencies unusually accurate insight into audience behavior and film tracking.
After the early part of last year was wiped out by the coronavirus, how strong is the theatrical industry’s recovery?
Liu Zhenfei, analyst at leading ticketing agency Maoyan ran his slide rule over the upcoming Chinese New Year peak season and shared his analysis with Variety.
Variety: What is Maoyan’s overall forecast for the Chinese New Year week’s box office? Higher or lower than in 2019?
Liu: The data from Maoyan “Want to Watch” reflects audience expectations for the upcoming films during the week-long Chinese New Year holiday. And it is encouraging. “Want to Watch” numbers for “Detective Chinatown 3” exceeded 4 million. No other film has generated more than 2 million “Want to Watch” clicks before.
After the early part of last year was wiped out by the coronavirus, how strong is the theatrical industry’s recovery?
Liu Zhenfei, analyst at leading ticketing agency Maoyan ran his slide rule over the upcoming Chinese New Year peak season and shared his analysis with Variety.
Variety: What is Maoyan’s overall forecast for the Chinese New Year week’s box office? Higher or lower than in 2019?
Liu: The data from Maoyan “Want to Watch” reflects audience expectations for the upcoming films during the week-long Chinese New Year holiday. And it is encouraging. “Want to Watch” numbers for “Detective Chinatown 3” exceeded 4 million. No other film has generated more than 2 million “Want to Watch” clicks before.
- 2/10/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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