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The 15th Beijing International Film Festival is set to spotlight the growing global reach of Chinese cinema with its “Overseas Distribution and Promotion of Chinese Films” initiative, featuring awards and a high-profile industry forum.

The event will recognize key players who have championed Chinese films in international markets, with industry veteran Arun Kapoor scheduled for a separate award presentation acknowledging his pioneering contributions spanning over five decades.

Kapoor, whose passion for film was inherited from his father O.P. Kapoor – one of India’s first film exhibitors in the 1960s – began distributing films in Latin America at age 20, using Peru as his operational base. Over his career, he has produced more than 30 films and expanded over 150 movie screens. His distribution portfolio includes more than 50 Chinese titles such as “High Forces,” “The Rescue,” “Come Back Home,” “Ride On,” and “The Climbers.”

The Kapoor family legacy continues through his son, Aman Kapoor,...

Animated movies have long been crowd-pleasers, working with audiences of all ages. This can, perhaps, be attributed to the freedom that comes with the medium. With the genre’s history dating back to the late 1800s, it’s fascinating to see how animation has evolved from short, silent films to this billion-dollar culture machine.

A still from 2009’s Up | Credits: Walt Disney

While box office data began to be tracked in the 1920s, it wasn’t until the late 20th and early 21st centuries that animated films began breaking financial records. Today, a select group of these films has achieved rather extraordinary success, capturing the hearts (and wallets) of millions worldwide.

Let’s count down the animated movies that have made history, starting at number thirteen and working our way to the champion of the billion-dollar club. (You never know who overtakes them next).

Zootopia (2016)

Zootopia is a funny film with a big message.

Hong Kong’s Pccw Media and Sk Global, the company behind Crazy Rich Asians and Delhi Crime, have teamed up for the big-budget Hong Kong-set drama series The Season.

The show is created and executive produced by writer and producer Yalun Tu, known for his work on NCIS: Hawaii and Wu Assassins. Chilean filmmaker Marialy Rivas (The Jetty) serves as lead director and executive producer.

The series has a buzzy, White Lotus-like premise set amidst Hong Kong high society.

The official logline reads: “Set against the opulence and striking contrasts of Hong Kong, The Season follows a privileged group of friends gathering for a summer of sun-drenched luxury as boating season begins. What starts as a glamorous escape soon spirals into a web of deception, power struggles, and life-altering consequences.”

The ensemble cast features a mix of acclaimed regional talent, led by Jessie Mei Li (Shadow and Bone), three-time Golden Horse winner Karena Lam,...

Hong Kong’s Pccw Media is linking up with independent film and TV studio Sk Global Entertainment (“Crazy Rich Asians”) to produce the drama series, “The Season.”

The six-part series is set in Hong Kong and tells of a group of friends gathering for a summer of fun in the sun as boating season begins but which spirals into a web of deception and power struggles. The show was unveiled at a special presentation at Hong Kong FilMart.

“We believe “The Season” is a story that will connect with audiences everywhere through the characters’ personal journeys, relationships and conflicts at times,” said Janice Lee, managing director of Pccw Media Group and CEO of Viu, the company’s multi-territory video streamer.

The show’s cast is led by Jessie Mei Li (“Shadow and Bone”), three-time Golden Horse winner Karena Lam, Justin Chien (“The Brothers Sun”), Yvonne Chapman (“Avatar: The Last Airbender...

Pccw Media and Crazy Rich Asians producer Sk Global are joining forces on Hong Kong-set premium series The Season, created and executive produced by Yalun Tu.

The English-language series features an ensemble cast of international talent including Jessie Mei Li (Shadow And Bone), award-winning Hong Kong actress Karena Lam, Justin Chien (The Brothers Sun), Yvonne Chapman (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Celina Jade (Wolf Warrior 2) and Toby Stephens (Percy Jackson And The Olympians).

Chilean director Marialy Rivas (The Jetty) serves as the show’s lead director and executive producer. Agatha Lo will executive produce for Pccw Media and Chloe Dan, Matt Aragachi and Dylan Tarason for Sk Global, with Aaron Shershow (Expats) as producer. Production is expected to start in Hong Kong soon.

Yalun Tu is known for writing and producing credits on NCIS: Hawaii and Wu Assassins, as well as My Undead Yokai Girlfriend for Prime Video Japan.

The...

An action icon is all set to return to screens after being away for five years. Despite announcing his retirement, the martial arts legend and star of such action classics as Once Upon a Time in China, Fist of Legend, Kiss of the Dragon, Fearless, The Expendables franchise, and many, many more, Jet Li is all set to once again demonstrate his particular set of skills in the upcoming live-action adaptation of the comic, Blades of the Guardians.

After rumors began circulating, it has now been confirmed by Chinese Entertainment News that Jet Li will make a triumphant return to screens in Blades of the Guardians, which will adapt the Chinese manhua "Biao Ren," which in turn was given the anime treatment in 2023. Not only will the historical, fantasy, martial arts, action movie feature Li’s return, it is also being helmed by renowned Hong Kong filmmaker and action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping,...

Ne Zha 2 Box Office Update (Photo Credit – Instagram)

The Chinese big-screen epic, Ne Zha 2, has become a hot topic of discussion among box office enthusiasts worldwide. Out of nowhere, the film grabbed the headlines and amassed an unbelievable sum, backed by China’s strong market. Overall, it has already reached the mega milestone of $2 billion already, and expectedly, it has now slowed down. Despite the pace going down, it created history yesterday, on day 37. Keep reading for a detailed collection report!

Historic run in China

The Chinese animated fantasy film has created history in its home ground, China. Being a sequel to a blockbuster, Ne Zha (2019), it enjoyed the franchise hype, and further, with positive word-of-mouth coming into play, it had a crazy ride in theatres. Reportedly, since 1990, it has emerged as the most-watched film in China in terms of footfalls.

It is learned that Ne Zha 2...

Ne Zha 2 Box Office: Becomes Most-Watched Film In China! (Photo Credit – Prime Video/Instagram)

2025 Chinese animated fantasy adventure drama Ne Zha 2 is achieving milestones at the worldwide box office. Jiaozi’s directorial will soon surpass the global lifetime of Avengers: Infinity War. It has now broken a 35-year-old record in China with its staggering footfalls. Scroll below for the exciting update!

Creates history!

In 36 days of its theatrical run in China, the animated sequel has registered massive footfalls of 300 million. Ne Zha 2 is now the most-watched film in China since 1990. In fact, no other film in the country has been able to cross 200 million footfalls, even in its lifetime.

Check out the 5 most-watched films in China based on footfalls since 1990 below:

Ne Zha 2: 300 million (36 days) Wolf Warrior 2: 160 million Ne Zha: 140 million The Battle at Lake Changjin: 125 million Hi, Mom: 121 million Trending...

Box office history has somewhat quietly been made. That is, for anyone who lives outside of China. The Chinese animated blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" has been on a tear in its native country all year, and has been easily the biggest movie of 2025 globally since early February. Amazingly enough, there's a good chance it will hold the crown for the rest of the calendar year too. That's because director Yu Yang's breakout sequel just passed the $2 billion mark a little over a month into its theatrical run.

As of Tuesday, March 4, "Ne Zha 2" had collected $2 billion globally, passing 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" ($1.95 billion) on the all-time worldwide charts. It is now just the seventh film ever to cross the $2 billion mark, joining "Avengers: Infinity War" ($2.05 billion), "The Force Awakens" ($2.07 billion), "Titanic" ($2.26 billion), "Avatar: The Way of Water" ($2.32 billion), "Avengers: Endgame" ($2.79 billion), and "Avatar" ($2.92 billion). When all's said and done,...

On the last weekend of August 2024, “Inside Out 2” surpassed the 2019 remake of “The Lion King” to become the highest grossing animated film of all time, landing just shy of $1.7 billion worldwide. Less than six months later, its reign has come to an unexpected end at the hands of “Ne Zha 2,” the biggest film hit in Chinese history.

In just three weeks, the animated sequel from director Jiao Zi and the studio Chengdu Coco Cartoon has outgrossed its Pixar counterpart almost entirely from audiences in China, turning out to the tune of more than 250 million tickets sold over the course of the Lunar New Year holidays. With more than 12 billion yuan grossed, or $1.7 billion U.S., “Ne Zha 2” has become the first non-Hollywood production in history to rank among the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time.

While its anticipated that box office returns for the movie will drop...

An unexpected movie has seemingly come out of nowhere to make history at the box office. "Seemingly" is doing a fair amount of work there because, for movie fans living in China, the animated sequel "Ne Zha 2" has become a cultural cinematic event like no other. Not just in China, mind you, but it's become bigger in some respects than any other movie in history. Yes, really.

Over the weekend, director Yu Yang's blockbuster "Ne Zha 2" added $250.6 million to its already staggering total, bringing its haul to $1.08 billion as of Monday morning. Keep in mind that the movie was only released on January 29, meaning it has done all of this in about two weeks. It has become the first movie ever to make more than $1 billion in a single country, and passed "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" ($936.6 million) to become the biggest movie ever in a single marketplace.

Box office history has been made in China, as the animated sequel “Ne Zha 2” has become the first film ever to gross $1 billion in a single country.

Released on Jan. 29 for the start of the Lunar New Year festivities, “Ne Zha 2” has grossed an incredible $1.1 billion after just 12 days of release, passing the $935 million grossed by “The Force Awakens” in the U.S. in 2015-16 for the single market record.

The film has already broken every Chinese industry record, passing “The Battle of Lake Changjin” for all-time grosses and “Wolf Warrior 2” for ticket sales. And with its theatrical run only two weekends in, the sequel has plenty of legs to reach $1.5 billion, which would surpass the global totals of recent Hollywood hits “Top Gun: Maverick” and “Barbie.” It is also within reach of the $1.66 billion global total of the “Lion King” remake, which would make it the...

Ne Zha 2 Box Office Breakthrough (Photo Credit – Instagram)

It’s happening! After years of toying with box office analysts and causing Hollywood to clench its teeth in sour, the Chinese film industry is about to deliver the world’s first billion-dollar movie that is neither made in English nor dominated by U.S. dollar earnings.

The latest animated spectacle, Ne Zha 2, has defied all expectations, soaring to unparalleled heights during the country’s Lunar New Year festivities. The result is cataclysmic and inevitable to shatter at least half the records; this adaptation of ‘Investiture of the Gods’ is moving at a pace unseen outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Released solely in China on January 29, the sequel has already collected a staggering $756.66 million in just eight days—an unprecedented feat for any January release, surpassing American Sniper and the fastest for an animated feature.

Trending When Kevin Feige Paid Tribute...

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It's still pretty early into 2025, but January is in the books and we have at least a few new movies out in the world. All things considered, it was a pretty quiet month at the box office, with movies like "Wolf Man" falling short of expectations. That's in North America though. Elsewhere in the world, namely China, theaters are overflowing with patrons who are eager to see what wonders await them in the cinema. In particular, an animated sequel now stands as by far the biggest movie of the year overall -- and it's not even remotely close.

"Ne Zha 2," the sequel to 2019's blockbuster "Ne Zha," debuted this past weekend in China. To say that it had a big opening would be a dramatic understatement. Over the Lunar New Year holiday in the country, the animated film opened...

Stars: Abm Sumon, Frank Grillo, Matt Passmore, Michael Jai White, Niko Foster, Oleg Prudius, Kelly Greyson | Written by Asif Akbar, Nazim Ud Daula, Abdul Aziz | Directed by Asif Akbar

Mr-9: Do or Die is based on the first of a long-running series of mostly ghost-written novels chronicling the adventures of Masud Rana, Bangladesh’s answer to James Bond. Somewhat surprisingly given there are 500 or so novels in the franchise, this is only the second attempt at bringing them to the screen, the first being Masud Rana in 1974. Fifty years later, will the world be more receptive to the Bangladeshi Bond?

The film certainly starts on a familiar note with Rana running unnoticed across wide open lawns in broad daylight without being noticed. Despite his best efforts and his leaving a trail of bodies behind him, his target gets away and the two agents he was supposed to rescued are killed.

Stars: Scott Adkins, Waleed Elgadi, Tom Berenger, Meena Rayann, Michael Jai White, Aaron Toney | Written by Jamie Russell | Directed by James Nunn

Not only is One More Shot filmed with the illusion of being one long take like its predecessor 2021’s One Shot, it does something more important. It reunites director James Nunn and writer Jamie Russell with the previous film’s leads, Scott Adkins as Navy Seal Jake Harris and Waleed Elgadi as terrorist Amin Mansur.

Following the events of the first film, Harris is escorting Mansur back to the US where they plan to get him to reveal the whereabouts of a dirty bomb set to explode during the State of the Union Address, which the President, of course, refuses to postpone. For leverage, CIA Agent Marshall has brought Mansur’s pregnant wife Niesha to meet his plane. But they’re not the only ones there to meet the flight.

Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” adventure The Meg (watch it at This Link), has racked up almost $400 million at the global box office since reaching theatres at the start of August. Now the film, which has been available on PVOD since the end of August, is ready to start streaming. Variety reports that Meg 2 will be available to watch on the Max streaming service as of next Friday, September 29th.

Variety notes that, “In order to stream the film, you’ll have to sign up for a Max account, with subscriptions starting at $9.99/Month. You can also access Max through Prime Video’s add-on, which offers a 7-day free trial.”

You can read our review of Meg 2: The Trench at This Link and read our interview with Wheatley Here.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench...

Just three weeks after reaching theatres, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” adventure The Meg (watch it at This Link) is now set to reach home screens. IGN reports that Meg 2: The Trench is set to receive a PVOD digital release on Friday, August 25th… yes, tomorrow! The film will be available to purchase for $24.99 or to rent for 48 hours at the price of $19.99 on participating digital platforms, which will include Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Vudu, and others.

You can read our review of Meg 2: The Trench at This Link and read our interview with Wheatley Here.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench was written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired by a series of novels written by Steve Alten.

The top-earning film at the box office this weekend wasn’t “Barbie,” but rather “The Meg 2: The Trench.” The Warner Bros. Discovery/Cmc Pictures shark tale earned $142 million worldwide in its global debut, including a robust $53.3 million in China.

That opening weekend was already 11% higher than “Jurassic World Dominion,” 41% above “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” and more than double “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One.” It is also higher than the $50 million first weekend posted by “The Meg” in China back in August 2018.

It’s a big deal that “The Meg 2: The Trench” is performing anything like a pre-covid business-as-usual Hollywood tentpole. The key advantage might be old-fashioned star power.

The earlier Jason Statham/Li Bingbing-led actioner eventually earned $153 million of its $530 million total in the Middle Kingdom. If the sequel, which swaps Li for Wu Jing, legs out accordingly, we could see a $162 million Chinese total.

Where to Watch Powered by Meg 2: The Trench surprises by surpassing Oppenheimer at the weekend box office, despite negative reviews and a press tour cut short. The sequel's success lies in its international audience, with a domestic gross of $30 million and a worldwide tally of $142 million. The appeal of international stars like Wu Jing, paired with Jason Statham, contributes to the film's popularity overseas.

Meg 2: The Trench manages to surpass Oppenheimer at the box office this weekend in a surprising upset. Despite mixed reviews, 2018's The Meg was a commercial success, grossing over $530.2 million worldwide. With the "Barbenheimer" box office battle still going strong, the assumption was that Meg 2: The Trench wouldn't open as strongly as the first film, especially because this installment received overwhelmingly negative reviews a day before it was released in theaters.

Now, Warner Bros. has revealed the official box office numbers for Meg 2: The Trench,...

Where to Watch Powered by "Meg 2: The Trench" has a lackluster opening weekend compared to its predecessor, with a domestic box office result of about $28 million. Although meeting initial projections, the opening weekend falls significantly short of the original film's $45.4 million debut. The sequel follows Jonas and Jiuming as they team up to battle another dangerous Meg, but fails to attract the same level of audience as the first movie.

Meg 2: The Trench has an opening weekend that pales in comparison to the original movie. The franchise began in 2018 with the release of The Meg, which was inspired by the 1997 Steve Alten novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror and followed rescue diver Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) as he and a team of experts attempted to stop a prehistoric megalodon that was accidentally unleashed from a deep-sea trench. Meg 2, which opened on August 4, sees Jonas returning to team...

Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 movie The Meg (watch it at This Link) delivered on its promise of being a “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” adventure – and now director Ben Wheatley’s sequel Meg 2: The Trench is set to reach theatres on August 4th. In a newly released featurette, which you can watch in the embed above, Wheatley says his intention with this film was to make a supercharged sequel with bigger creatures and bigger action… and judging by the footage on display in the featurette, it definitely looks like this follow-up has a change of being better and more exciting than its predecessor.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired by a series of novels written by Steve Alten.

Jason Statham is back in...

Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link), is set to reach theatres on August 4th – and while this sequel will feature multiple giant sharks, those aren’t the only prehistoric creatures that will be rampaging across the screen. In fact, a newly released promo, which you can check out in the embed above, says that this time “the Megs are just the beginning”. One of the other giant creatures we’ll be seeing in Meg 2: The Trench is an octopus, and you can get a glimpse of some giant octopus action in this promo, including a moment where the octopus gets in a fight with a Meg! A moment that brings to mind the 2009 classic Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris,...

The Dolby Cinema poster for Meg 2: The Trench highlights the size of the megalodon, promising an even bigger installment than the original. The sequel will feature multiple megalodons and elevated set pieces, including one eating a T-Rex, adding more over-the-top action. The addition of Chinese actor Wu Jing could make Meg 2: The Trench a massive commercial hit in China, following his success in The Wandering Earth 2.

The Dolby Cinema poster for Meg 2: The Trench showcases how big the titular megalodon will be. Directed by Ben Wheatley and written by John Hoeber, Erich Hoeber and Dean Georgaris, the movie will see Jason Statham reprise his role as Jonas Taylor as he faces an even bigger megalodon than he did in the 2018 original. The Jon Turteltaub-directed Meg was a box office success, grossing over $530.2 million globally, with a sequel being confirmed in 2020.

On Twitter, Dolby posted their...

Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link), is set to reach theatres on August 4th – and with that date right around the corner, Warner Bros. has unveiled a new poster for the film… one that features multiple sea creatures lurking beneath unsuspecting swimmers. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.

And if that one doesn’t handle your craving for new Meg 2 promotional art, maybe one of these new posters will:

#Meg2 Meg 2 releases posters for IMAX、Cinity、中国巨幕、Dolby、MX4D and Wanos pic.twitter.com/hNu7MXFPvp

— Meg 2: the trench (@Latteeaaee) July 17, 2023

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired...

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny” is the latest big Hollywood movie to bomb in China, earning just $2.3 million over its opening weekend. It comes on the heels of “The Flash” earning just $25 million since opening three weekends ago as well as “The Little Mermaid” earning just $3.7 million after a month in theaters.

Like “Solo: A Star Wars Story” in 2018, it would appear that “Indiana Jones 5” was a domestic-skewing IP sell, especially with the brand mostly dormant since “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” in 2008, with a less-than-hoped overseas appeal. None of the previous “Indiana Jones” films played in China, which means there’s no generational nostalgia for the brand or Harrison Ford’s marquee character.

It’s one more costly example of how Chinese audiences are showing a preference for homegrown movies over Hollywood tentpoles, a conundrum for studios that spent the 2010s counting on China as a growth market.

The Expendables collects a big ensemble of action heroes, but there are many that the series has overlooked. The Expendables franchise follows a team of mercenaries led by Sylvester Stallone's Barney Ross, with the team being deployed on high-stakes and often explosive missions across the globe. Stallone's crew for The Expendables movies has long included Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Bruce Willis, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, with other big action stars like Jean-Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins, and Mel Gibson joining the series along the way.

The cast of The Expendables 4 adds new blood to the franchise's roster with Tony Jaa and Iko Uwais, though Li, Willis, Schwarzenegger, and Terry Crews do not appear in the fourth installment of the series. However, despite bringing together so many action stars with each entry, there are also quite a few who would add more explosive energy to The Expendables franchise...

Last week, Warner Bros. unveiled the trailer for Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link). If that trailer left you wondering if the sea creature mayhem of this film was going to boost it into the R rating territory, you can stop wondering. Because it hasn’t. Just like The Meg, Meg 2: The Trench has earned a PG-13 rating. The Motion Picture Association ratings board has given it a PG-13 for action/violence, some bloody images, language and brief suggestive material.

The screenplay for Meg 2: The Trench has been written by Dean Georgaris, Jon Hoeber, and Erich Hoeber, the same writing team that was on the first film. These films are inspired by a series of novels written by Steve Alten.

Jason Statham is back in the lead...

Warner Bros. Discovery’s potential summer sleeper “The Meg 2: Trench” dropped its first teaser trailer, essentially the same mouth-watering footage audiences saw at last month’s CinemaCon presentation.

As noted last month, the trailer’s tagline is “They’re back… for seconds,” mimicking the refreshingly cheeky marketing that helped turn “The Meg” into a surprise super-smash. The trailer opens with two land-bound prehistoric monsters eating a large bug, with onscreen text warning that for 65 million years one species ruled the world. The answer is not the tyrannosaurus rex, but rather a megalodon which is introduced eating a T-rex.

That was actually the prologue of Steve Alton’s first novel which didn’t make it into the first movie. One may recall that “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic Park III” included setpieces and ideas from Michael Crichton’s “Jurassic Park” novel that didn’t make it into Steven Spielberg’s first dino blockbuster.

The Warner Bros. presentation at CinemaCon, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, is currently in progress, and as part of the presentation they showed attendees the first trailer for Meg 2: The Trench, director Ben Wheatley’s sequel to Jon Turteltaub’s 2018 “Jason Statham vs. a giant shark” movie The Meg (watch it at This Link).

JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray was in attendance to see the trailer, and this is what he had to say about it: “First trailer: We see footage of The Meg killing dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Looks much more expensive than the last movie. Jonas (Jason Statham) is sent into the trench the deal with whatever creature is down there – which of course is The Meg! Wu Jing, from Wolf Warrior, is a co-star. This version of The Meg is bigger because it’s an Apex predator. It escapes The Trench and starts eating people.

“The Meg 2: The Trench” is one of the more under-the-radar tentpoles this summer, even though it may end up being one of the biggest global grossers. Why is that?

Well, “The Meg” earned $155 million in North America and $155 million in China toward a $530 million global total. That cume was bigger than any giant monster movie save for “Kong: Skull Island” ($569 million in 2017) and the various “Jurassic” movies. It was the first and thus-far only big-budget Hollywood/Chinese co-production that qualified as a success on both shores. And now “The Meg 2” will try and repeat that performance.

“They’re back for seconds,” the trailer eventually declares, echoing the tongue-in-cheek tone of the first film’s marketing campaign. The trailer opens with two land-bound prehistoric monsters eating a large bug, with onscreen text warning that for 65 million years one species ruled the world. The T-rex? No, the Meg which eats a T-rex.

When casting the hottest action stars for John Wick: Chapter 4, Scott Adkins was a natural choice. Director Chad Stahelski has tried to get Adkins into all the John Wick movies, but due to scheduling conflicts it hasn’t worked out until now. Cast as Fat Killa in the new movie, Adkins is almost unrecognizable under the heavy makeup, gold grill, and fat suit. In real life, Adkins is devilishly handsome, so much so he often plays villains. He’s also built like Adonis but even more yoked. It’s a body he’s earned through a lifetime of martial arts practice.

In real life, the Adkins family are butchers by trade. Adkins was born and raised in England, and his first exposure to martial arts began at age 10 with Judo. When he was 13, he was the victim of a robbery, and that experience hardened his resolve. After that, he dedicated his life to training,...

Stars: Wu Jing, Wang Zhi, Andy Lau, Zina Blahusova, Clara Lee, Liya Tong, Matias Lorieri, Jeremiah Blakely, Temur Mamisashvili, Yanmanzi Zhu | Written by Gong Geer, Frant Gwo, Cixin Liu, Hongwei Wang, Ruchang Ye, Yang Zhixue | Directed by Frant Gwo

Released in 2019 The Wandering Earth became one of the largest grossing non-English language films in history, mostly on the strength of its performance in its native China. Of course, that made The Wandering Earth II inevitable. The only surprises are that rather than a sequel it’s a prequel, telling the story of the Moving Mountain Project that turned Earth into a giant spaceship and that it manages to be even longer than the original, coming in at just under three hours.

At the film’s start, The United Earth Government (Ueg) has been established and work on the first of the thousands of giant engines needed to move Earth out...

A minor player in the Chinese film scene, “Hi, mom” has turned incredibly quickly into a box office superstar, propelling its co-writer, director and star Jia Ling into directors’ heaven. To give you an idea, the film is, as we speak, the second highest ever grossing film in China – just behind “Wolf Warrior 2,” – and its director, writer and star Jia Ling is the world’s (!!) highest-grossing female director. It has been calculated that the film has cashed more than the entirety of Zhang Yimou’s body of work, or Feng Xiaogang in his whole career. But is the film any good? It is with great curiosity and a touch of scepticism that I prepared to watch it.

“Hi, Mom” is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival

Xiaoling is a likeable ordinary girl who, in her opinion, never managed to make her mother Ying (Liu Jia), feel proud. She...

Wu Jing, the highest-grossing male actor of all time in China, will join British action star Jason Statham in Warner Bros.’s “Meg 2: The Trench,” sources close to the production have confirmed to Variety.

The giant shark actioner, however, will be without Li Bingbing (“Transformers: Age of Extinction”). The Chinese actor, who played a female oceanographer, embodying both brains and beauty in Jon Turteltaub’s testosterone-fueled 2018 “The Meg,” is not returning to the franchise at this point.

With Ben Wheatley in the directing chair, production on “Meg 2: The Trench” began at the end of January at the Warner-owned Leavesden Studios outside London. It will continue there until May before switching to outdoor locations, likely to be in Asia.

The 47-year-old Wu is a former martial artist who has successfully parlayed a career as both actor and director in film and in TV. A protégé of the iconic action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping,...

Exclusive: LA-based Brightburn producer The H Collective Films has formed a pact with Saudi Arabia’s Inqisam Studios to co-invest in and co-produce movies and TV with a focus on the Arabic-speaking market.

The co-pro deal is one of the first to be announced between a Saudi and Hollywood production company. Inqisam is a new division of Riyadh-based investment and production company Nowaar Entertainment.

Upcoming projects for the Hollywood and Ksa pair include the family-adventure movie Prince Of The Seas, which is based on the story and legend of Ahmad Ibn Majid, a famous navigator in Arabian Peninsula history.

The English-language live action project will follow a fearless young explorer on his quest to right an ancient wrong. To do so he must first solve the greatest mystery of his time and vanquish forces of uncanny power. Cast is expected to be a combination of U.S. and Middle Eastern actors.

The Battle At Lake Changjin has now become China’s highest-grossing film of all time.

Local comedy thriller Be Somebody retained its lead at the top of the China box office over the weekend (November 26-28), grossing a further $21.9m, according to figures from Artisan Gateway. The next three films in the weekend chart also kept the same ranking as the previous week.

Produced by Maoyan Pictures, Be Somebody revolves around a group of filmmakers trapped in a mansion where they are attempting to make a crime drama for a wealthy investor. The film has grossed a cumulative total of...

Happy Friday International Insiders, Tom Grater here delivering your post-Thanksgiving rundown of the week’s top headlines. To get this sent to your inbox every Friday, sign up here.

UK Broadcasters In The Crosshairs

License fee drama: BBC Chair Richard Sharp wasn’t mincing words this week when talking about the future of the UK’s primary public broadcaster, stating that “there will be consequences” for program budgets if the license fee stops rising with inflation from next year. Delivering the keynote at the Voice of the Listener & Viewer conference, Sharp suggested that less commercial programming such as local news was likely to take the biggest hit.

Negative culture: The Chair also warned that BBC staff have been left “beleaguered” after “persistent attacks from the press and other sources. His comments came after the Royal Family criticized BBC2 documentary The Princes and the Press for containing “unfounded claims”. “We’ve...

“The Battle at Lake Changjin” has become the highest grossing film of all time in China, after nearly two months of release. Co-directed by a trio of major helmers, Dante Lam, Chen Kaige and Tsui Hark, it is also the top earning film in the world this year.

The Chinese record was achieved on Wednesday evening local time when the film passed the RMB5.69 billion total achieved in 2017 by “Wolf Warrior II,” another patriotic war film. By midday on Thursday “Changjin” had advanced to RMB5.70 billion or $892 million at current rates of exchange, according to data from Ent Group.

The feat was confirmed by state-controlled media which had long predicted the achievement. Chinese media also reported that Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian sent congratulations to Wu Jing, the actor who played leading roles in both “Wolf Warrior” and “Changjin.”

The film is set during the early part of the 1950-1953 Korean War,...

Already the top film of 2021 globally, Chinese war epic The Battle At Lake Changjin is taking over the title of highest grossing movie ever in China, edging the previous leader, 2017’s Wolf Warrior 2. Through Wednesday evening local time, Lake Changjin had reached an estimated Rmb 5.693B ($890M) after 56 days in release. Wolf Warrior 2 finaled at Rmb 5,694.5M according to ticketing platform Maoyan. Presales alone for Thursday narrow the gap to a difference of about $2,000 making Lake Changjin‘s ascendance imminent. Maoyan is predicting an Rmb 5.75B ($900M) finish for the full run which is due to end December 30.

The news, which had been expected, is making headlines in China where local outlets are including the presales to claim the crown for the patriotic Lake Changjin. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian praised the achievement on social media today, offering his “congratulations” to actor Wu Jing “for surpassing himself.

Trinity Cine Asia is releasing on Friday 19th of November, The Battle At Lake Changjin, the biggest worldwide box office hit of 2021, with more than $878 million in ticket sales to date, far ahead of No Time To Die, making it the second-biggest Chinese grossing film, only behind Wolf Warrior II (also released by Trinity Cine Asia). The UK will mark the first international territory release of the film outside of Asia in over 25 cities.

Billed as the most expensive Chinese film ever made, with a reported $200m budget, The Battle at Lake Changjin stars Wolf Warrior I & II and Better Days leading men Wu Jing and Jackson Yee, respectively; and is co-directed by three leading, acclaimed directors Chen Kaige (Farewell My Concubine), Tsui Hark (Once Upon a Time in China) and Dante Lam (Operation Red Sea).

Trinity Cine Asia co-founder and director Cedric Behrel says: “The Battle at Lake Changjin...

Trinity Cine Asia has acquired “The Battle at Lake Changjin” from Taipei-based sales firm Distribution Workshop and is set to release the war epic in the U.K. and Ireland on Nov. 19.

The film is currently the highest-grossing title in the world and in China so far in 2021, having earned $881 million in its home market alone — good news for the movie billed as China’s most expensive production of all time.

The U.K. and Ireland outings will occur in 25 cities. They will hit after the film’s Thursday’s release in Singapore, but day-and-date with North America and ahead of Australia (Dec. 2), where the movie is being distributed by China’s Cmc Pictures.

“It’s a privilege for us to be able to release the biggest box office story of 2021, when cinemas are just seeing the first real shoots of recovery,” said Trinity Cine Asia co-founder and director Cedric Behrel,...

Chinese distributor Cmc Pictures said Wednesday that it will release jingoistic Chinese war film “The Battle at Lake Changjin” in North America next week.

The film is currently the highest grossing title in the world and in China so far in 2021, having already earned RMB5.60 billion ($877 million) in its home market alone. It is currently the second-highest grossing film in China of all time, trailing only slightly behind “Wolf Warrior 2,” which earned RMB5.69 billion ($891 million at today’s exchange rate).

The film will arrive on screens in the U.S. and Canada on Nov. 19, and then Australia on Dec. 2. It is set to debut this week in Singapore, and has confirmed outings, but not dates yet in the U.K., Ireland and Malaysia.

Sales in overseas territories will help it push past “Wolf Warrior 2’s” record-setting cume — a development closely watched by the local state press. Both films star Wu Jing,...

James Bond franchise film “No Time to Die” dropped by 59% in its second weekend at the Chinese box office. But it still held on to the top spot in the Middle Kingdom.

Data from Artisan Gateway showed that “No Time to Die” scored $11.4 million between Friday and Sunday. That kept it ahead of patriotic Chinese title “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” which took a further $8.7 million in second place.

“No Time to Die” has now accumulated $49.2 million after 10 days on release in China. Local ticketing agency and analysis firm Maoyan has slightly increased its forecast for the Bond title’s likely lifetime total from a previous RMB402 million ($63 million) to RMB420 million ($65.6 million).

That leaves “No Time to Die” significantly short of franchise predecessor “Spectre,” which earned $84 million in China in 2015.

In contrast, “Lake Changjin” has now reached $874 million since its Sept. 30, 2021 release. That cumulative means that “Lake Changjin” has...

Update, writethru: Powered by the international box office, and in a continued sign that overseas audiences are eager to return to cinemas for event fare, this was yet another weekend of milestones. MGM/Eon/Universal’s No Time To Die, as projected, crossed the $600M global mark this session, leading offshore play with an additional $51.9M from 72 combined Universal and MGM markets. That lifts the offshore cume to $472.4M and worldwide to $605.8M.

The bulk of the weekend’s business came from China where 007 debuted to an estimated $28.2M, repping the third best start for a Hollywood title in the market this year. While this is slightly lower than projections coming into the weekend, a contributing factor has been the Covid escalation over the past several days. As previously noted, social scores are the best on this Bond of any prior film in the franchise, and we’ve seen...

“Dune” didn’t quite manage to spice up its China open after a middling $6 million first day in the country on Friday. The film grossed just $21.6 million in its debut three-day weekend, according to studio estimates.

The result is more or less in the ballpark of its $41 million weekend tally in North America, where it released day-and-date simultaneously on HBO Max. It is nevertheless a disappointing one considering the enormity of the world’s largest film market, which has delivered much more spectacular openings in recent weeks.

As a dense, cerebral sci-fi epic, however, “Dune” is a hard sell for viewers in China’s lower-tier cities, who have recently proven their spending power by coming out in droves for National Day propaganda movies earlier this month.

The film is currently projected to earn just $35.2 million in China according to estimates from the Maoyan database, which would mean it has already...

Roy Horan III, the U.S.-born actor and film executive whose martial arts career flourished in Hong Kong’s Golden Era, has died. The father of Hong Kong-based actor Celina Jade, Horan was 71.

Horan (also known as “Sandy” and sometimes credited as Roy Haron) died on Oct. 12 after hiking and meditating in the hills near Los Angeles. A memorial ceremony will be held in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

After graduation from the University of Rhode Island, Horan began his career as a martial arts student of renowned Korean taekwondo master and popular Hong Kong movie super-villain Hwang Jang-Lee (aka “lord of the super kickers”). He emigrated initially to Taiwan and later to Hong Kong.

In 1975, with Hwang’s help, he broke into Hong Kong film acting with roles in “Bruce Lee’s Deadly Kung Fu” (1977), “Snuff Bottle Connection” (1977) and “The Ring of Death” (1980).

While he missed Bruce Lee, who...

“The Battle at Lake Changjin” is on course to become one of the top three films of all time in China after dominating proceedings at the mainland Chinese box office for a third successive weekend.

A patriotic war film, “Changjin” earned $73 million between Friday and Sunday to extend its cumulative total to $769 million since being released on Sept. 30, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway.

In second place, “My Country, My Parents” earned $14.6 million, to extend its running total past $200 million to $210 million.

The film is already the fourth biggest film in Chinese history. Giant screen theater supplier, Imax said that the $2.7 million earned on its screens this weekend extended its Imax cumulative to $34.6 million, the fourth highest score by a non-English-language film.

Forecasts from Chinese ticketing agency Maoyan point to “Changjin” reaching RMB5.43 billon or $843 million (at current exchange rates) over its lifetime. If it were to achieve that total,...

The Battle of Lake Changjin rages on. The Chinese war epic earned $73 million over the weekend, taking its China box-office total to $768.8 million — a phenomenal sum unmatched by any Hollywood film released since the start of the pandemic.

The Battle of Lake Changjin is now China’s second-biggest movie of 2021, trailing only the Chinese New Year comedy hit Hi, Mom ($821 million). In the all-time China box office charts, the war film now ranks third, in U.S. dollar terms, behind Wolf Warrior 2 ($854 million) and Hi, Mom. Chinese ticket app Maoyan forecasts Battle of Lake Changjin to finish its ...

The Battle of Lake Changjin rages on. The Chinese war epic earned $73 million over the weekend, taking its China box-office total to $768.8 million — a phenomenal sum unmatched by any Hollywood film released since the start of the pandemic.

The Battle of Lake Changjin is now China’s second-biggest movie of 2021, trailing only the Chinese New Year comedy hit Hi, Mom ($821 million). In the all-time China box office charts, the war film now ranks third, in U.S. dollar terms, behind Wolf Warrior 2 ($854 million) and Hi, Mom. Chinese ticket app Maoyan forecasts Battle of Lake Changjin to finish its ...