Indonesia Showbiz Latest News and Updates

aespa have announced their upcoming 2024 ‘SYNK: Parallel Line’ world tour, featuring concerts in Asia, Australia and more.Today (February 19), the K-pop girl group announced their new tour, titled ‘SYNK: Parallel Line’, on their official Weverse artist page. aespa’s 2024 tour currently features 19 concerts across 13 different cities in Asia and Australia from June to September 2024.The tour will kick off at the end of June with a two-night concert in Seoul, South Korea.

EXCLUSIVE: Singapore’s Momo Film Co has boarded Indonesian filmmaker Wregas Bhanuteja‘s third feature film, Levitating (working title).

Claudia Sanchez’s documentary Transmexico took the Audience Choice Award on Saturday at the Santa Barbara Film Festival, which revealed winners in its juried categories as it wraps its 39th edition.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor “TransMexico,” “Edge of Everything” and Andragogy” are among the winners of the 39th annual Santa Barbara International Film Festival. The SBIFF, whose mission is to discover and showcase the “best in independent and international cinema,” has become one of the leading film festivals in the United States – attracting roughly 100,000 attendees for a packed week slatted with screenings of over 200+ films. A panel of jury members selected the winners, which included Lesley Chilcott, Alex Keledjian, Chris Landon, Lael Loewenstein, Jacqueline Lyanga, David Magdael, Gail Mancuso, Greg Nava, Pituka Ortega Heilbron, Carla Renata, Gil Robertson, Ondi Timoner, Clay Tweel and Ali Wolfe.

Naman Ramachandran Streaming subscription growth in the Southeast Asia region slowed dramatically in 2023, but revenue from those subscriptions grew at a robust rate, a new study has found. The report from data analytics company AMPD, that is part of consultancy and research firm Media Partners Asia, shows that the region – that includes Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – added only 1.3 million net new SVOD subscribers in 2023, compared with 11 million in 2022. But subscription revenues grew at 12.5% to $1.4 billion.

Naman Ramachandran Film and media company Buffalo 8 has acquired worldwide distribution rights to “Dig Me No Grave” from Djonny Chen’s prolific U.K.-based outfit Silent D Pictures. The deal was revealed at the Berlin European Film Market (EFM). “Dig Me No Grave” follows the harrowing journey of an ageing hunter who embarks on a final quest for an elusive elk.

BTS‘ Jungkook during a solo concert.Over the weekend, Ahn Hyo-seop held a show in Tokyo, Japan as part of his ‘The Present Show – here and now’ Asia tour. The trek had also featured shows in Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines from 2023 to 2024.During the show, he showcased his singing skills with a cover of ‘Standing Next to You’ by BTS’ Jungkook.

Parasite producer Barunson E&A has a new CEO.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Choi Yoonhee has been named as the new CEO of Barunson E&A, the Korean sales and production firm that is making a splash at the European Film Market in Berlin this week. Choi, who joined the firm in 2021 from CJ ENM, takes over from Gene Hong (Brian) Park and Kwak Sin Ae.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Taiwanese streamer Catchplay has added its original series “Not a Murder Story” to its available lineup in Indonesia. The eight-part series combines a gripping criminal thriller narrative with an exploration of greed and deception. The story revolves around Dong, an aspiring actor who finally gets an opportunity to become famous and successful, but wakes up one day next to a dead woman.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Three Japanese films enjoying their world premieres, along with festival favorites “City of Wind” and “Solids by the Seashore,” are set to appear in the 13-title competition section of the Osaka Asian Film Festival in March. The event will be held March 1-10 at venues including ABC Hall, Cine Libre Umeda, T-Joy Umeda and the Nakanoshima Museum of Art. The opening and closing films will be announced in early February. The 19th edition of the festival, which will eventually contain 55 feature and short films, is set to also include three special programs – a “Thai Cinema Kaleidoscope,” “Taiwan: Movies on the Move,” and “Special Focus on Hong Kong” – as well as its regular Spotlight Section on underrated Asian films and the Indie Forum of more challenging and innovative works. The competition titles are: “City of Wind,” by Mongolia’s Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir; “Fire on Water,” by Malaysia’s Sun-J Perumal; “Hyphen,” by The Philippines Joy Arnaldo; “The Lyricist Wannabe,” by Hong Kong’s Norris Wong; “The Missing,” by The Philippines’ Carl Joseph E.

Naman Ramachandran Top Indonesian star Laura Basuki headlines auteur Razka Robby Ertanto’s “Yohanna,” which has its world premiere in competition at International Film Festival Rotterdam. The film follows young nun Yohanna, whose encounter with the underworld of child labor in the eastern island of Sumba, one of the poorest places in Indonesia, restores her sense of purpose in life.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The CinemAsia Film Festival in Amsterdam has unveiled titles from seven different Asian countries for its competition section. The festival will play at the Studio/K, Rialto De Pijp and Rialto VU venues March 5-10, 2024. The event will close with the out-of-competition screening of “Gaga,” a drama about indigenous communities in Taiwan, directed by Laha Mebow. “Gaga” documents the challenges faced by a commune after the death of a respected tribal elder who, while alive, had held things together.

Naman Ramachandran Indonesian film star Arifin Putra (“The Raid 2”) and emerging actor Eloise Lovell Anderson (“Villain”) have wrapped principal photography on Sean Cronin’s vampire road movie “Bogieville.” Written by Henry P. Gravelle (“The Over Easy Courthouse Cafe”), the film follows a couple on the run who come across a derelict trailer park, Bogieville. Convinced to stay by the sinister caretaker, they soon learn that he is a guardian to the residents of Bogieville, a pack of vampires.

Ed Sheeran will be flying between Asia and the UK every week during the Asian leg of his tour.Sheeran is set to kick off the Asian leg of his ‘+ – = ÷ x’ tour later this month. The first two shows will take place in Japan, before heading to Taiwan and Southeast Asia in February.

Naman Ramachandran Arabella Burfitt-Dons’ dark coming-of-age music drama film “Finding My Voice” has completed principal photography and is currently in post. Debutant Anais Garness is in the lead role of teenage aspiring singer-songwriter Melanie Kendall, raised in a North London council apartment by her mother Lisa, portrayed by “Bionic Woman” star Michelle Ryan.

EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Prime Video Southeast Asia is cutting its originals team in Singapore and moving to a “leaner operating model,” as part of the globe wave of redundancies announced earlier this week.

SEVENTEEN and NewJeans taking home the grand prizes for the night – view the full list of winners below.On January 6, the 38th Golden Disc Awards was held at the Jakarta International Stadium in Indonesia. Hosted by Sung Si-kyung and Cha Eun-woo, the awards ceremony honoured the best South Korean music released from mid-November 2022 to early-November 2023.SEVENTEEN and NewJeans took home the grand prizes for album and song of the year respectively, making them the biggest winners of the night.

The 2024 Golden Disc Awards just wrapped in Jakarta!

Love Island star Chloe Burrows' incredible Bali trip soon turned disastrous after she was struck down with the infamous 'Bali belly' illness during her luxury getaway. The reality TV star, who rose to fame after starring on Love Island in 2021, jetted off to Indonesia, for an exotic winter adventure to ring in the New Year but she was soon hit with a disaster after falling ill.

Indonesia’s cinema admissions grew by 14.5% year-on-year to reach 114.5 million in 2023, compared to 100 million the previous year, according to local box office analyst Bicara Box Office. That figure puts the market around 24% below the pre-pandemic figure of 152 million admissions in 2019. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Asia’s video industry is set to grow by an annual 2.6% over the next five years to reach $165 billion by 2028, says a new study from research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia. That follows 5.5% growth in 2023. The firm’s “Asia Pacific Video & Broadband Industry 2024” report spans a widely-defined cluster of free TV, pay-TV, SVOD, premium AVOD and user-generated content and social video in 14 Asia-Pacific countries and territories.

Former Coronation Street star Helen Flanagan had a bit of a holiday hiccup on her first day in Bali with her three kids. After being apart for the first time on Christmas Day, she jetted off to the Indonesian island with Matilda, Delilah and Charlie. Helen shares her children with ex-fiance Scott Sinclair, and this year's co-parenting arrangement meant the Bristol Rovers footballer was with their kids over Christmas.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” opened to $80 million at the international box office, which isn’t all that super considering those ticket sales are on par with eventual big-budget superhero disappointments like “The Flash,” “The Marvels” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.” The comic book sequel, starring Jason Momoa as the king of Atlantis and directed by James Wan, has generated $120 million globally to start, including a weak $40 million in North America. The Warner Bros.

Warner Bros/DC’s Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom began offshore rollout on Wednesday, and with numbers through Friday included has grossed $40.9M in 73 international box office markets. This portends a full overseas opening in the $70M range. With domestic’s three- and four-day, the global start will top $100M.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Mark Francis, a veteran TV and streaming executive in Asia, has joined Indonesia’s Vidio streaming platform as its chief content officer and strategy officer. The appointment comes as the platform repasses 4 million subscribers and reclaims a lead in the Indonesian streaming market. Based in Jakarta and reporting directly to CEO Sutanto Harton, Francis is expected to oversee the freemium streamer’s content strategy and programming.

Naman Ramachandran An in conversation event with Paramount Global executives Pam Kaufman, president and CEO of international markets and global consumer products and experiences, and Lisa Kramer, president of international TV licensing, Paramount Global Content Distribution, has been added to the NATPE Global conference. Jens Richter, Fremantle’s CEO of commercial and international and Paulo Koelle, head of Prime Video Latin America, Amazon Studios have also joined the speaker lineup. Other executives who have recently been confirmed include Jeff Sagansky, Sky’s group director of acquisitions, Katie Keenan, ACF Investment Bank’s Richard Gray, Satmohan Panesar, commissioner, factual, ITV Studios, Michael Schmidt, president, Sipur and Ilan Arboleda, co-founder and producer, CreativeChaos vmg.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Australian streamer Stan has acquired rights to both seasons, totaling 20 episodes, of the Malaysian adaptation of Scandinavian crime series “The Bridge.” The agreement, brokered by Lyle Bettson-Barker, SVP Australia and New Zealand from Banijay Rights, represents the first time that Stan has acquired a Malaysian drama series. The Asian version of “The Bridge” was initially commissioned by Viu and HBO Asia in 2018, after Double Vision, part of the Vision New Media group, introduced Viu to the format. It broadcast to across 23 territories in the combined footprints of Viu and HBO Asia and was also shown on Viu in South Africa.The title has garnered more than 20 regional awards and nominations across its two seasons, making it the most awarded drama in Malaysian history. Season one faithfully follows the original show, and sees a dead body found on the border between Malaysia and Singapore, necessitating an investigator from each country to work together to solve the crime.

Beginning as a simple two-hander in which a young working-class caretaker comes under the spell of his returning boss — a charismatic military man who has designs on getting into local politics — Makbul Mubarak’s debut film Autobiography soon develops into a tense psychological thriller about the way populist leaders groom and abuse their people. It works on its own terms, as a simple yet dark father-son allegory set within Indonesia’s military culture, but there’s a universality here that’s hard to miss.