South Korea and Japan Emerge as Key Battlegrounds in the Streaming Wars

Chloé Zhao’s history-making Oscars sweep, winning best director and best picture, is being met with a muted response in her country of birth, and even censorship.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefNew release title “Recalled” injected a little excitement into the South Korean box office over the weekend, deposing last week’s winner “Seobok.” But the nationwide aggregate remained moribund.The indie film is a mystery thriller that features a woman suffering from disturbing visions of accidents, post traumatic stress and her fight to find the truth despite the partially-remembered images.

Japan is calling for strict restrictions just ahead of the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Mark Schilling Japan CorrespondentNational-holiday-studded Golden Week, which runs from April 29 to May 5, has long been a peak movie-going period, especially for vacationing schoolkids and their families.

TWICE have released the official music video for their latest Japanese single, ‘Kura Kura’.The dreamy, cinematic video features the girl group performing on a set filled with floral motifs, encapsulating the season of spring. The members are also featured in individual scenes, from a dimly lit car to bathtub filled with water and more.

ViacomCBS is joining hands with Tokyo-based internet giant Rakuten to launch the Nick+ kids streaming service in Japan. The partnership was unveiled Tuesday at APOS, the Asia's leading media and entertainment summit.

BAFTA Names TV Awards Hosts Richard Ayoade is returning to host the BAFTA Television Awards for the second year, while actor, writer, and director Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam) has been named as the host of the British Television Craft Awards. The main TV awards have been scheduled for June 6 on BBC One, while the craft ceremony will take place on May 24. Nominations will be announced on April 28 at 7:30AM local time in the UK.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefViacomCBS International has partnered with the Rakuten Group to launch the Nick Plus streaming service on RakutenTV in Japan. The deal is explained as an example of the U.S.

After breaking all-time box office records in Japan late last year, the anime adaptation Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train hits North American cinemas on Friday via Aniplex of America and Funimation. Based on the Shonen Jump manga and Ufotable/Aniplex 2019 anime TV series, it picks up where the first season left off and takes place chiefly on a train — although an Inception-flavored plotline gives added dream action. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefHotly-anticipated thriller “Seobok” opened on top of the box office in South Korea over the weekend, despite also premiering on streaming video.

In Lee Isaac Chung’s Minari, actress Yuh-Jung Youn plays the grandmother who swoops in from South Korea to the small Arkansas town where her Korean-American family have made their home, delightfully disrupting their lives. With her abundant charm and unfiltered ways, she makes a significant impact in this heartwarming story of the American dream.

Maggie Lee Chief Asia Film CriticIn the spirit of “Thelma and Louise,” a lesbian fugitive and the woman she’d kill for hit the road with three stilettos and a blood-red BMW in “Ride or Die.” A glammed up, erotically-charged cocktail of amour fou and true romance directed by Ryuichi Hiroki and written by Nami Kikkawa, the Netflix production gives agency to full-blooded female protagonists.

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Netflix provided a rare snapshot of its business fundamentals in South Korea this week —a new requirement for all large companies based there under local law. The results show the global streaming giant building a robust business in the East Asian country despite steadily escalating content spending.

Streaming platform Content Wavve has established itself as the leading local player in South Korea through a smart strategy of commissioning buzzy originals, programming a varied spread of content, including hit Korean web dramas and comedies as well as non-scripted shows and linear channels, and offering attractive, discounted subscription packages.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefGlobal streaming giant Netflix is on course for profitability in South Korea, a market that it has identified as key.Local unit Netflix Services Korea revealed 2020 sales of $356 million (KRW416 billion) and operating profits of $7.54 million (KRW8.82 billion). Both figures are sharply up compared with 2019.