India, Papua New Guinea Co-Production ‘Papa Buka’ Sets July Shoot – Global Bulletin

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” is stalling at the international box office with $33.3 million from 75 territories. The fifth entry in director George Miller’s post-apocalyptic series has generated $58.9 million globally in its first weekend of release, a rough start given its $168 million production budget. Domestically, the Warner Bros.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Director Francesca Archibugi, whose feminist fascist-era saga “La Storia” was Italy’s biggest TV event of 2023, is set to return behind camera on World War II drama “The Italian Chapel” set in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Inspired by a true story, “Italian Chapel” is centered on a clash between the local Orkney community and prisoners of war who are confined there. Against this backdrop, a secret romance springs up between an Italian prisoner and a Scottish islander.

EXCLUSIVE: After a 12-year run, Rory Aitken, co-founder of London- and Los Angeles-based management and production company 42, is exiting the firm, which will undergo a restructure.

Katcy Stephan Indian Paintbrush founder Steven Rales has purchased Criterion and Janus Films. The mission and leadership of the companies will not change following the private transaction.

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” conquered the international box office again with $40.6 million in its second weekend of release. So far, the fourth chapter in the “Apes” reboot franchise has generated $136 million overseas and $237 million globally. It currently stands as the fourth-highest grossing movie of the year, behind “Kung Fu Panda 4” ($533 million), “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” ($561 million) and “Dune: Part Two” ($710 million).

Denmark was a world power in the Middle Ages, conquering parts of the British Isles and Normandy, and holding sway in Norway into the 19th century. Today, the Nordic country bordering the Baltic and North seas is prosperous if smaller, with a population of fewer than 6 million people. But it has become a world power in a new arena — documentary filmmaking. Denmark’s flourishing doc scene has become the envy of the nonfiction community.

Prime Video’s German series Maxton Hall – The World Between Us has been handed a swift recommission after becoming the streamer’s most-watched international show of all time in its first week.

Ben Croll Mediawan Rights, the distribution arm of the wider media group, manages scripted, unscripted, format and feature documentary sales, keying European content onto international airwaves. And if initially heritage titles, foreign-language fare and time-tested perennials made up much of the catalogue, the group’s expanding footprint and well-capitalized partnerships promise a new yield of premium fare developed in-house and marked by global ambitions.

Naman Ramachandran India is making a concerted push to become a global production hub with enhanced incentives, diverse locations and a strong presence at Cannes. It is a record year for India at Cannes, with its first title in competition in 30 years, Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light,” and seven more Indian or Indian-themed films across the festival’s various strands. In addition, the country has a strong Cannes Film Market presence, while the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, on behalf of India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), has organized a range of events aimed at global content co-producers, sales agents and distributors at the India Pavilion on the Croisette.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Female stunt performer Wiriya Caesar will step up into the lead performer role in upcoming Thai action film “The 24.” The film project is being launched this week in the Cannes Market by new international sales firm Boz Pictures. Wiriya (aka Porntip Wiriya, aka “Fan”) has previously been a stunt double for Mary-Elizabeth Winstead in “Kate” and Golshifteh Farahani in “Extraction,” and has other credits on “Thirteen Lives” and “Hidden Strike.” In “The 24” she will star as an assassin who wakes up with a time bomb strapped to her body. She has clear instructions to kill a hit list of 24 members of the Bangkok underground, with each successful hit buying her more time alive. Caesar is joined in the cast by Japan’s Sakaguchi Tak (“Re:Born,” “One Percenter,” “Versus”), Dan Chupong (“Ong Bak 1 &2,” “Born to Fight”), Sunny Pang (“The Night Comes for Us,” “Headshot” and Gareth Evans’ upcoming “Havoc”) and Simon Kook (“Ip Man 3,” “Mayhem”). The film, which will shoot in the fourth quarter of this year, is written and directed by Lee Thongkham (“The Maid,” “The Lake,” “Kitty the Killer”).

Leo Barraclough International Features Editor As Cannes Film Festival kicks off, the Paris-based international sales company MK2 Films has revealed it has acquired three films and made substantial investments in new restorations, set against the backdrop of a strong presence at Cannes Classics. MK2 Films has entered into a collaboration with the Niki Charitable Art Foundation on the global rights (excluding the U.S.) for two films directed by artist Niki de Saint Phalle: “Un Rêve plus long que la nuit” (1976) and “Daddy” (1973).

EXCLUSIVE: Veteran producers Frida Torresblanco (Pan’s Labyrinth) and Frank Murray (First Reformed) have teamed up to launch Hangtime International Pictures, a new transatlantic production company headquartered in London and New York.

Naman Ramachandran Animation studio Toonz Media Group has unveiled an eclectic slate for the Cannes Film Market. Drawing stories from popular Indian ancient fables and retelling them with a contemporary flavor, “Return of the Jungle” is set in present-day India and revolves around a group of classmates from junior school who must outwit the biggest, meanest bully in the school. A cool and loveable grandpa by their side peps the fourth graders with inspiring stories from the jungle.

‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Joins Sky In Wide-Ranging AMC Pact

Rebecca Rubin Senior Film and Media Reporter Disney and 20th Century’s “Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes” climbed to $72.5 million at the international box office in its first weekend of release. The newest film in the long-running “Apes” series also notched No. 1 in North America with $56.5 million, bringing its initial global tally to a promising $129 million.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Century Studios/Disney’s Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is beating its chest towards a $125M global bow this weekend. At the international box office, we understand the Wes Ball-directed installment is at around $31M through Friday. As Anthony has reported, domestic is looking at a $52M-$55M start for the full frame.

A brand new private terminal delivering a ‘premium sanctuary’ is coming to Manchester Airport, with food curated by one of the city's most acclaimed chefs. Guests will be able to book a BMW to whisk them to their flight at the new "state of the art facility".

Siddhant Adlakha Nishtha Jain‘s “Farming the Revolution” — winner of the best international feature documentary prize at Hot Docs — captures the vast emotional scope of revolutionary movements. Chronicling the lengthy stand-off between Indian farmers and the Modi government, during which tens of thousands of Sikh and Punjabi farm workers occupied highways and state borders, the film is remarkable in its audio-visual inquiry into protest as a cultural movement, and in its excavation of the emotional highs and lows involved in making lasting change.

Rising Riyadh-based independent studio Telfaz11 and newly launched UK distribution label Metis Films are partnering to release Saudi hit Mandoob in the UK and Ireland.

Alex Ritman With vibrant green carpets no doubt already having been sourced for its various global premieres, “Wicked” is expected to be one of the biggest movie events this winter. It certainly ticks all the necessary boxes — a major musical adaptation of one of the world’s most successful stage shows and featuring an all-star cast led by the almost-EGOT Cynthia Erivo and, in her first feature-film lead role, pop princess Ariana Grande.