Box of old pots thought to be worth £30 sells for £100,000 at auction

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The highly-anticipated Japanese animated feature film “The First Slam Dunk” dominated the mainland China cinema box office in its opening weekend. It broke multiple records as it did so. The film scored $38.5 million (RMB266 million) over the Friday to Sunday weekend, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. However, it opened on Thursday, a day earlier than is the norm in China, and has accumulated $55.2 million over the opening four-day frame. The film is based on IP that is well-known to a generation of comic book fans and TV audiences in China (early middle-aged men were reported to have been particularly interested) and has already proved a hit in other parts of Asia. (Comscore estimates that the film has grossed $211 million worldwide.)

Revising its projection from December last year, Gower Street Analytics has increased its estimate for global box office across 2023. The London-based firm now expects worldwide receipts to hit $32B for the year. The updated projection comes as the industry gathers in Las Vegas on the eve of CinemaCon and as The Super Mario Bros Movie is poised to be the first $1B global grosser of 2023.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Global cinema box office recovered strongly in the first three months of the year, driven by the performance of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” in many territories and a bumper Chinese New Year season in mainland China. The upbeat news was delivered on the eve of CinemaCon Las Vegas by specialist research firm Gower Street Analytics, which has now increased its forecast of the cinema industry’s full year. The firm now projects that 2023 gross revenues will reach $32 billion, a 10% increase on its earlier estimate of $29 billion. “A $32 billion global box office in 2023 would represent an approximate +23% improvement on 2022. It remains 20% behind an average of the last three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019), but it shows how post-pandemic recovery of our business continues to improve,” said Gower Street.

Refresh for latest…: Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie continues its global domination, now with an estimated $871.8M through Sunday. Of that, $437.5M is from the international box office. The next worldwide benchmark of $900M will hit in the next days. It is only a matter of time for the Bros to get to $1B, particularly as Korea and Japan are due to release this week.

King Charles is understood to have been "on the phone to Barry Humphries shortly before he died" at 89. The Australian comedian, who is best known for bringing the drag character Dame Edna to life, passed away on Saturday at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital, after complications from a hip replacement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has taken a strong early lead at the mainland China box office, picking up $13.8 million on its Thursday opening day. Films mostly release in China on Fridays, but the Japanese hit was given previews on Wednesday and a full court release on Thursday, starting with widespread midnight screenings. Data from local firm Ent Group reveals that the film earned $3.16 million from some 14,000 preview screenings on Wednesday, followed by $13.8 million on Thursday from 184,000 screening sessions. That gives it a $17 million cumulative and positions it at the top of the box office chart even before the conventional Friday to Sunday weekend begins.

Barry Humphries' health "worsened" over the past week before he was readmitted to St Vincent's Hospital in Sydney. The Australian comedian, 89, best known as character Dame Edna Everage, was rushed to the hospital earlier this week following ongoing complications from a hip replacement surgery and is in a "serious condition". Barry's hospital dash came after his health "worsened", according to Peter Ford, editor of entertainment at Sunrise.

The family of Barry Humphries have given a health update on the Dame Edna Everage star as he remains in hospital in a 'serious' condition.

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor Abacus Media Rights has pre-sold a documentary feature with the working title “We Need to Talk About Kanye” to several territories. The film, which was ordered by the BBC in February, explores the rollercoaster life and career of Kanye West, A.K.A. Ye. Its producer Jeremy Lee spoke to Variety, ahead of MipTV, the TV market and conference, which kicks off Monday in Cannes. A number of high-profile broadcasters and platforms have already acquired the film, which is fronted by the investigative journalist Mobeen Azhar, including Foxtel in Australia, NPO in the Netherlands, TV4 in Sweden and Finland, NRK in Norway, TV2 in Denmark, and VRT in Flemish Belgium.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Jackie Chan-starring nostalgic stuntman comedy film “Ride On” trotted to a second weekend atop the mainland Chinese box office. “The Super Mario” Bros. Movie” remained in fourth place. “Ride On” earned $6.0 million (RMB41.5 million) between Friday and Sunday, a 48% week-on week drop, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That took it to a $22.6 million total since release on April 7. Below it, Japanese animation “Suzume” and Chinese shaggy dog story “Hachiko” swapped places. “Hachiko,” on its third weekend outing, earned $4.9 million, for a cumulative of $35.1 million. “Suzume” earned $4.5 million in its fourth weekend on release in China, giving it a $109 million cumulative.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Montana would become the first state in America to fully ban TikTok starting in 2024, after the state’s legislature on Friday passed a bill banning the short-form app. The bill now goes to the desk of Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte before it becomes law. Under the Montana legislation, TikTok would face fines if it continued to operate in the state. In addition, the state could impose penalties on Apple and Google if they allowed users in Montana to download the app. TikTok blasted the passage of the bill as an attempt to “censor American voices.” “The bill’s champions have admitted that they have no feasible plan for operationalizing this attempt to censor American voices and that the bill’s constitutionality will be decided by the courts,” TikTok said in a statement. “We will continue to fight for TikTok users and creators in Montana whose livelihoods and First Amendment rights are threatened by this egregious government overreach.”

Sylvester Stallone, his wife Jenn and daughters Sophie, Sistine and Scarlet seem quite comfortable being on camera in the first trailer for the reality series “The Family Stallone,” which premieres May 17 on Paramount+ in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Brazil and on Thursday, May 18 in the U.K., Australia and Italy.“I can’t believe you guys are doing a reality show,” the “Tulsa King” star tells his family in in the first trailer, which was released on Tuesday. “It’s quite ironic that he’s the last person who wanted to do this show, but he sees a camera and he’s like, ‘Am I in frame?'” teases daughter Sistine, while Stallone laughingly admits, “That’s the truth.” Al Pacino and Dolph Lundgren also hang out with the action star and share a few laughs.

Here are your latest Manchester United evening headlines on Monday, April 10.

Warner Bros Television has acquired rights to Jesse Q. Sutanto’s latest novel Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Oprah Winfrey’s Harpo Films will develop the book for television with Mindy Kaling’s production company Kaling International, which is under an overall deal at WBTV.

BreAnna Bell Warner Bros. TV has acquired the book rights to Jesse Q. Sutanto’s novel, “Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers,” the studio announced on Monday. Mindy Kaling’s Kaling International, which is currently under an overall deal with WBTV, is attached to produce alongside Harpo Films. The novel follows Vera Wong, a lonely widow living in San Francisco’s Chinatown who wakes up one morning to find a dead body on the floor of her struggling tea shop. “No one is more curious than a suspicious Chinese mother with time on her hands, so Vera decides to start her own investigation,” reads the description. The book was published by Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and HQ, a division of HarperCollins UK.

Meghan Markle found royal life “very difficult” because of the Queen Mother’s “well-worn mantra”, an expert said. The Duchess of Sussex, 41, rose to fame playing Rachel Zane in US legal drama Suits and her celebrity background meant she had freedom to express herself as she wished - often through her now defunct social media blog, The Tig.

The action is heating up again for Tyler Rake.

A new teaser trailer for Extraction 2, the sequel to Netflix’s action hit, answers at least one big question for fans of the original: Chris Hemsworth’s mercenary Tyler Rake is alive and well and ready for another black ops mission.

Chris Hemsworth is back as Tyler Rake in the action-packed teaser trailer for Extraction 2!

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” an adaptation of the popular role-playing game, ignited at the international box office with $33 million from 60 markets. Paramount and eOne’s film also opened in North America with $38.5 million, bringing its global tally to $71 million. It’s a good start, especially considering Hollywood’s track record in adapting games for the big screen. But “Dungeons and Dragons” needs to keep playing in theaters to justify its $150 million price tag before marketing. Overseas audiences will be key to the success of “D&D.” The film, directed Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley and starring Chris Pine and Regé-Jean Page, enjoyed the biggest start in China with $5 million, followed by the U.K. with $4.3 million, Mexico with $2.4 million, Australia with $2.4 million, and Germany with $2 million.