Japan’s Kodansha Broadens U.S. Digital Releasing With K Manga Web Platform

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief NBCUniversal is to expand its One Platform advertising, technology, data and measurement system further into global markets through an alliance with international broadcast and tech partners. The move was announced on Tuesday at the Cannes Lions advertising convention in Cannes, France.International partners include Atresmedia from Spain, Bell Media from Canada, Channel 4 from the U.K., Mediaset from Italy, Seven West Media from Australia, Sky Media from the U.K., Italy and Germany, and Talpa from the Netherlands, TF1 Pub of France, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting Systems and Omnicom Media Group. “By bringing together leading local broadcasters and publishers across the world, NBCUniversal seeks to enhance the premium video ecosystem and build the foundation for greater industry advancement and collaboration at an international level, across data and identity, activation and automation, ad innovation, and measurement,” NBCUniversal explained in a statement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Korean blockbuster “The Roundup: No Way Out” suffered a 50% week-on-week decline, but it was still strong enough to see a pair of Hollywood newcomers. The third part of the Don Lee-starring Roundup franchise, “No Way Out” earned $5.16 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. It accounted for a 42% share of the market and attracted 650,000 additional spectators.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese drama feature “Yoko” won the Golden Goblet best picture award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. The jury Grand Prix was awarded to Spain’s “Muyeres” with China’s Liu Jin winning the best director prize.The trio also collected additional prizes making them the only multiple winners in a ceremony that sprinkled its awards widely. “Yoko,” directed by Kumakiri Kazuyoshi, who earlier this year saw melodramatic “#Manhole” play in Berlin, takes the structure of a road-movie and is a journey of self-discovery of a woman who had been socially isolated in her apartment for many years. Portrayed by global star Rinko Kikuchi (”Babel,” “47 Ronin”), the woman is forced to confront the real world, and herself, when she takes a 658 kilometre cross-country journey to her father’s funeral. Without a cell phone or the money for public transport, she finds herself having to hitch hike. Kikuchi also earned the best actress award.

EXCLUSIVE: TikTok star Jack Wright and Jesse Leigh (Rutherford Falls) are set to make their feature film acting debuts in the indie drama Ctrl Alt Del, marking the feature directorial debut of Eastsiders‘ Kit Williamson. The pair joins an ensemble that also includes Jason Priestley, Laurel Marsden, Elsie Fisher, Mena Suvari, Cheyenne Jackson, Angel Parker, Shiv Pai and Navia Robinson, as previously announced.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Disney is to close its six remaining linear TV channels in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea as the conglomerate puts a greater emphasis on direct-to-consumer streaming. The channels concerned are National Geographic, National Geographic Wild, Star Chinese Movies, Star Chinese Channel, Star Movies and Star World. Linear services will end from September in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Korea, and by December in Taiwan. The group expects to retain a streamlined television portfolio with channels in Japan, China, Australia and New Zealand for the time being.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading K-pop acts including Ateez, Cravity and (G)-Idle are set to perform at this year’s K-CON convention and concert series in Los Angeles. The convention returned as a live event in 2022 and attracted some 90,000 attendees to the Los Angeles Convention Center with two nights of concerts held at the adjacent Crypto.com Arena. The convention will again run for three days (Aug. 18-20), but the concert series will be expanded to run multi-act performances on all three nights. The performer full line-up will include: Ateez, Cravity, Everglow, (G) Idle, INI, Itzy, Ive, J01, Kep1er, Lapillus, Nmixx, Shownu x Hyungwon (Monsta X), Stray Kids, Taemin, Taemin, Taeyong, The Boyz, WayV, xikers, and Zerobaseone.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Skip City International D-Cinema Festival, in Saitama, on the outskirts of Tokyo, will hold its 2023 edition with both in-person and online components, long after COVID, which necessitated such hybrid formats, has retreated. The festival, which sees itself as a gateway for emerging talent, and has operated since 2004, will hold its physical edition July 15-23 and its online from July 22- 26, organizers said on Wednesday. This year, the festival will begin with the world premiere of “Confetti,” which was produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the festival as well as the 90th anniversary of its Kawaguchi City base.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Hong Kong icon Johnnie To will head the jury of the sixth edition of the Malaysia International Film Festival (MIFFest) next month. Other jurors include: Truong Ngoc Anh from Vietnam, Ryuichi Hiroki from Japan, Zizan Razak from Malaysia, and Eric Khoo from Singapore. The event will open with the world premiere of “Eraser,” directed by Mark Lee See Teck. The Malaysian film features the final on-screen appearance of the late Adibah Noor, a beloved Malaysian gem known for her timeless charisma. MIFFest will play “See You at the Rally,” directed by Taiwanese filmmaker Kanny Chang as its closing title. The festival is set to take place at LaLaport BBCC from July 23-29 and will play a total of 42 films from 15 countries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief German filmmaker Wim Wenders is to be the president of the jury that decides the main competition prizes later this year at the Tokyo International Film Festival. Wenders has frequent connections with the Japanese capital and last year shot his “Perfect Days” film in the city. The film recently appeared in competition in Cannes and earned Yakusho Koji the best actor prize. The Tokyo festival confirmed plans to host a celebration of Japanese director Ozu Yasujiro, who was born 120 years ago and died exactly 60 years later. Wenders previously shot 1985 documentary “Tokyo-ga” as a tribute to Ozu.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.S. film and television content captures 30% of viewing time in key Asia-Pacific territories, according to a new research report by consultancy Media Partners Asia. Korean product takes 40%. The study “U.S. Content in the Asia Pacific” tracked the video consumption behavior between January and March this year of some 40,000 consumers in ten Asia-Pacific markets: Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Australia, a $2.2 billion SVOD market, exhibits the highest reliance on US entertainment with 72% of measured SVOD viewership, followed by Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines where U.S. content accounts for 40-50% of viewership on average, with Indonesia close behind at 35%.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After a few pandemic-addled years, the global box office is finally ready to feel the warmth of the studios’ tentpole releases. Though the swing-back to pre-pandemic release schedules is happening at different speeds in each market, the quartet of “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Fast X,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” — not to mention “The Super Mario Bros Movie” before them — have announced the arrival of Hollywood’s version of summer across much of the planet. France saw admissions climb by 33% in the first five months of 2023, compared with the equivalent period last year, according to data from the CNC (National Film Board). Compared with an average figure for 2017 to 2019, the performance of the 2023 box office is (only) 12% behind. France’s recovery has been powered by a string of successful local films including “Asterix and Obelix: The Middle Kingdom,” “Alibi.com 2,” “The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan,” “The Crime Is Mine” and Cannes opener “Jeanne du Barry.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Park Chan-wook, the Korean filmmaker behind “Oldboy” and last year’s “Decision to Leave,” has joined as producer and co-writer of historical drama film “War and Revolt.” The film is Park’s first collaboration with Netflix, the global streaming platform that is market leader in Korea and which has been instrumental in the global success of Korean contemporary culture. “War and Revolt” tells the story of two childhood friends, portrayed by Gang Dong-won and Park Jeong-min, who become adversaries. It is directed by Kim Sang-man (“Midnight F.M.”) from a script by Shin Chul and Park Chan-wook.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Crime action film “The Roundup: No Way Out” dominated the South Korean box office on its official opening weekend with a thumping $21.9 million performance. The film, the third in a franchise that pits a heavy-fisted cop, portrayed by Ma Dong-seok (aka Don Lee), against colorfully devious rogues, crushed all competing titles by taking an 88% market share. In terms of admissions, it attracted 2.82 million into cinemas between Friday and Sunday. The film’s official opening was on Wednesday (May 31). But it also enjoyed wide previews through much of the preceding week. Adding in the weekday takings and the preview activity, “The Roundup: No Way Out” has a current aggregate of $34.1 million and has sold a total of 4.51 million tickets, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” grabbed top place at the mainland China box office over the weekend with an opening $17.2 million (RMB122 million) score. Giant screen company, Imax reports that $2.7 million, or more than 16% of the film’s China total, came from its Middle Kingdom venues. Chinese online ticketing agency Maoyan forecasts that “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” will earn a total of RMB241 million or $34 million at current exchange rates. “Fast X,” which had driven off with the spoils for the past two weekends, was overtaken on its third lap and achieved $7.7 million in second place, according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway. After 17 days in Chinese cinemas, “Fast X” has accumulated $124 million, making it the highest-grossing imported titled released this year in China ahead of Japanese animation “Suzume.”

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Netflix is to launch a new Japanese reality show “Is She the Wolf?” which was developed with broadcaster Abema and adapted from the original show “Who Is the Wolf” which previously ran for 13 seasons. The show follows five men and five women on a quest for love through dates and a group project. However, some female participants are “lying wolves” who cannot fall in love. They must navigate the entire season without being discovered or accepting any declarations of love. It includes a diverse group of participants aged 22 to 32, including actors, artists, models, and athletes. “Is She the Wolf?” streams exclusively on Netflix in Japan beginning June 11, with new episodes streaming each Sunday. Outside Japan, all episodes will be released on Netflix in September 2023.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Aniplex, a Sony business unit best known as a major producer and distributor of anime films and series including the hit “Demon Slayer,” is to acquire Japanese IP development and talent management firm Origamix Partners. The firm will be expanded into live-action production. The deal was announced Wednesday and will become effective from June 1. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed other than Aniplex obtaining “a full share” of the company. Sony said that Origamix, which has previously been behind the “Kingdom” film franchise and the “Alice in Borderland” series, now in its second season at Netflix,” will be renamed Myragion Studio.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The 25th Shanghai International Film Festival, June 9 to 18, has unveiled the titles in contention for awards in its four main feature-length sections: main competition, Asian New Talent, Animation film and documentary. These are eligible for the festival’s prestigious Golden Goblet Awards, winners of which will be announced at the Shanghai Grand Theater on the evening of June 17. While SIFF remains the only mainland China festival to be accredited as a so-called A-list event by the International Federation of Film Producers (FIAPF), its selections are largely separate and distinct from those at other major international festivals.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief China’s NetEase Games has established PinCool, a Tokyo-based game studio focused on developing titles for game consoles. That is a significant diversification, considering that PC and mobile are the major formats for games play in China. And the company says the company it will also be involved in planning and producing a range of additional forms of entertainment. The new company is headed by representative director and president Ichimura Ryutaro, a 20-year veteran of the games industry and long-time producer of the “Dragon Quest” games franchise. Beyond serving as lead producer for games such as “Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King” and “Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies,” Ichimura also led other areas of the Dragon Quest IP franchise including live events and exhibitions.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Fast X” predictably won a second weekend on top of the mainland China box office, driving its total past the $100 million mark. But the disappointing start for Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” was the bigger talking point. “Fast X” earned $17.6 million in China according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. That was a 66% drop compared with its opening weekend, but still gave the film a $110 million cumulative after 12 days and has caused estimates to be further revised upwards. Ticketing agency Maoyan is now forecasting that the film will finish with RMB880 million ($126 million), having previously predicted RMB728 million ($104 million), and then RMB840 million.

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