Japan Showbiz Latest News and Updates

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animation film “The Boy and the Heron” earned a chart-topping $34.9 million between Friday and Sunday at the mainland China box office. Over its full five-day opening run, it took an even more spectacular $73 million. China was the last major territory to play the Studio Ghibli-produced fantasy in cinemas – it released in its native Japan in July and is imminently headed to streaming in many other territories – but that did not stop Chinese audiences from lapping it up. While most films release in China on a Friday, “The Boy and the Heron” was given a Wednesday outing in order to capture momentum from the Thursday-to-Saturday Qingming public holiday. Consultancy firm Artisan reports that it earned RMB248 million ($34.9 million) over the conventional Friday-to-Sunday weekend.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Without significant new challengers, spooky Korean drama “Exhuma” held on at the top of the South Korea box office chart for the seventh consecutive weekend. Its cumulative passed the symbolic $80 million mark. The lack of strong new release titles also meant that aggregate weekend box office in Korea slipped to a lowly $5.59 million. The Choi Min-sik-starring “Exhuma” dropped roughly 50% week-on-week to record $1.59 million between Friday and Sunday, and a 28% market share, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Refresh for latest…: A busy holdover weekend for wide studio releases was led by the trio of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Kung Fu Panda 4 and Dune: Part Two. And, in a soaring performance, Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar winner The Boy and the Heron swooped into China helping the market set a new Qingming holiday record. 

Freddy Knatchbull was reportedly the target of a terrifying kidnap plot last year.The Made In Chelsea star, who is distantly related to King Charles III, was filming in Corsica when he was allegedly locked in a 4x4 by the plotters. Freddy, who is the great-grandson of Lord Mountbatten, Prince Philip’s uncle, was filming for Made In Chelsea: Corsica at the time of the horrifying kidnapping attempt. And it's believed that while the cast were left terrified following this, show bosses were not made aware of the ordeal at the time.

Arlo Parks appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon last night (April 6), where she performed ‘Devotion’ – check it out below.The singer has just wrapped up a tour of North America and while she was in the States, she stopped by to perform the final single from her second album ‘My Soft Machine’.“‘Devotion’ to me is a song about feeling so in love it’s almost like being ripped apart, there’s an intensity, a wildness and a tenderness,” Parks previously said of the track in a statement, adding the track “draws from the bands that made me fall in love with music from Deftones to Yo La Tengo to Smashing Pumpkins to My Bloody Valentine.”Check out the performance below:Meanwhile, Parks also said she had co-written the track ‘Ya Ya’ from Beyoncé’s new album ‘Cowboy Carter’.“Being a part of this rich, culture shifting record truly feels like a dream come true…thank you Mariel for the trust, @Beyonce,” Parks wrote on X/Twitter. “You are truly a FORCE – this is SPECIAL.”Parks is set to play this year’s edition of All Things Go festival at the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Washington, D.C.

With the popularity of women’s basketball on the rise, Prime Video and the WNBA have reached an extension of their current rights deal through the next two seasons.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Women’s pro hoops are coming back to Amazon‘s Prime Video for at least two more years. Prime Video and the WNBA on Friday announced a rights renewal deal under which Prime Video will continue to be the exclusive U.S. streaming partner for a package of 21 games each season, including the Championship Game of the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Kep1er have been confirmed to be gearing up for their final album as a group, and are also currently in talks to extend their contracts.The K-pop girl group’s contracts as a temporary project are due to officially expire this year on July 3. This was a condition set by the survival show that formed Kep1er, Girls Planet 999, which stipulated that the winning line-up would embark on a two-and-a-half-year contract when the show concluded in October 2021.

Diego Ramos Bechara editor SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers for the Season 2 finale of “Tokyo Vice,” now streaming on Max. Season 2 of “Tokyo Vice,” the neo-noir crime drama set in Tokyo, Japan, and loosely based on a memoir written by journalist Jake Adelstein, has come to a close in an explosive finale that both sent off (or rather, killed off) the series’ main, two-season running antagonist — and laid the foundation for what could potentially come from the Max thriller if a third season were to be greenlit.

, well the powder versions are a step up in terms of effectiveness and damage control. If you’re looking for a way to extend the vibrancy of your recent dye job, cut back on shampooing daily, or like to have a quick-fix hair solution for any last-minute plans—we’ve put together a list of the best dry shampoo powders available so you’re only ever minutes away from achieving an Along with all the Glamour editor’s favorite tried and tested options, we spoke with several hairstylists to get their expert recommendations for every hair type, color, and budget.All products featured on Glamour are independently selected by our editors.

Liberal talk show host Jimmy Kimmel spoke on his show about how surprisingly clean Japan is in comparison to the U.S. and even Europe, joking that Japanese people associate Americans with garbage.While American cities struggling with rampant homelessness, crumbling infrastructure and crime is a popular point of discussion in American politics, Kimmel gave a monologue Monday on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” about how a recent trip to Japan shattered his image of what a modern society could look like.“Here in America, we know we have our faults. We know we have areas for improvement.

Jem Aswad Executive Editor, Music Considering the vast number of books published every year about David Bowie — or, for that matter, the Beatles, Bob Dylan and Prince — a new one had better have either fresh info or fresh insights. Thankfully, Suzi Ronson’s “Me and Mr.

Uniqlo has officially confirmed when it will be opening the doors its first ever store in Scotland later this month.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animation “The Boy and the Heron” opened its wings in mainland Chinese theaters in midweek and soared to the top of the box office. Data from multiple local tracking sources show the Miyazaki Hayao-directed fantasy-adventure accounting for more than half of all cinema revenues on both Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday it garnered $13.8 million, according to estimates from Ent Group. By 6.30pm on Thursday, ticket sales firm Maoyan was showing the title as having grown its two-day running total to RMB254 million or $35.2 million. While films mostly open on Fridays in China, “The Boy and the Heron” was given a Wednesday outing in order to play into the three-day Qingming public holiday.

EXCLUSIVE: House of Ninjas creator Dave Boyle and the star and co-EP of the Netflix series, Kento Kaku, are opening the doors to their new production company, Signal181.

Euphoria.She is also known for voicing the English dubbed version of Japanese animated sci-fi movie Belle, and more recently for playing Tigris Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes.Now, Schafer reveals that she doesn’t want to play any more transgender characters.Speaking with GQ, she said: “I worked so hard to get to where I am, past these really hard points in my transition, and now I just want to be a girl and finally move on.”“I’ve gotten offered tonnes of trans roles, and I just don’t want to do it. I don’t want to talk about it.”She explained how she sometimes feels guilty given her responsibility in the trans community: “I know for a fact that I’m one of the most famous trans people in media right now, and I do feel a sense of responsibility, and maybe a little bit of guilt, for not being more of a spokesperson.”However, she added that she feels continuing to play transgender roles may not be the most effective way to help the community.“But ultimately, I really do believe that not making it the centrepiece to what I’m doing will allow me to get further.

A famous psychic has made some predictions for 2024 that have already come true.

Big Bang star G-Dragon will be releasing new music sometime in the second half of the year, his label has confirmed.His label Galaxy Corporation announced that G-Dragon would be making his long-awaited comeback “in the second half of this year”, in a statement to South Korean news outlet News1 earlier today (April 3).“After making his comeback, he will be carrying out global activities, and activities in Japan are also planned as part of them,” Galaxy Corporation added in its statement, via Soompi. G-dragon’s forthcoming comeback will be his first solo release in about seven years, since he released his self-titled EP ‘Kwon Ji-yong’ in 2017.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief YG Entertainment, the firm behind K-pop sensation Blackpink, has appointed Yang Min-seok as its new, sole CEO. The younger brother of company founder Yang Hyun-sun, he was previously joint CEO with Hwang Bo-kyun. The announcement was made shortly after YG’s annual shareholder meeting that closed the books on a year in which revenues climbed 65% to $430 million. The firm, which recently denied that it had paid $30 million to retain its position with Blackpink (but saw the girl group’s individual members sign personal representation contracts with other agencies) is busily launching BabyMonster, another all-female act that is seen in some circles as a successor to Blackpink. BabyMonster, which was formed late last year through reality TV show “Last Evaluation 2023,” is a seven part group with members from Korea, Thailand and Japan.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Japanese broadcaster TV Tokyo and Taiwan-based LGBT streaming platform GagaOOLala will this month release “At 25.00 in Akasaka,” a live-action drama series in the popular Boys Love (BL) genre. Based on a popular manga by Natsuno Hiroko, the underlying comic has sold over 1.2 million copies. The series explores the romance between a renowned actor and an aspiring talent, cast as leads in a BL drama that wins the hearts of audiences worldwide.

SEVENTEEN have announced their first-ever compilation album, titled ’17 Is Right Here’, due out later this month.The K-pop boyband first announce ’17 Is Right Here’ at the end of their ‘Follow Again’ encore concerts in Incheon this past weekend (March 30 and 31) to fans in attendance. Teaser for the upcoming album was shared by their label Pledis Entertainment shortly after.The teaser was designed and animated by artist Max Dalton, and included re-creations and illustrations of SEVENTEEN’s past albums as a callback to their discography.

My Hero Academia is almost back!

botty. There’s no business like show business — and now robots are getting their big break thanks to Alba Renai.

Shōgun episode seven aired today (April 2), but with a tragic death ending the episode, where does this leave central character Lord Toranaga? Read on for all the information.Shōgun depicts Japan in the year 1600, and some have labelled the series as the “new Game of Thrones”. In it, Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada) is fighting for his life as his enemies unite against him, when a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby village, where the character of John Blackthorne (Jarvis) is introduced.The historical drama is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by James Clavell, which had previously been adapted into a 1980 American miniseries.

NME also previously spotted social media accounts for a potential Waterbomb Festival Singapore back in March.

BBC Studios Launches First Kids Streamer In Korea

B.I has announced the Asia dates for the concerts on his upcoming 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour.Over the weekend on March 30, B.I revealed the first batch of dates for his upcoming 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour, which will kick off this May with concerts across six Asian cities.B.I will embark on his newly announced tour on May 24 with a show in Hong Kong. Thereafter, the singer will perform concerts in Bangkok, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta in June, followed by a Macau show in July.According to the poster for the 2024 ‘Hype Up’ tour, more cities and dates will be announced soon.

Predator: The Secret Scandal of J-Pop uncovered an alleged history of sexual abuse by Johnny Kitagawa, arguably the most influential figure in Japan’s entertainment industry. Kitagawa’s agency held a near-monopoly on Japanese boy bands for decades, and as set out in the documentary, he faced allegations of sexual misconduct while he was alive. While some were proven in a civil court, he never faced charges.

Finnair is expanding its services from Manchester Airport to Helsinki as it celebrates 30 years of direct flights from the Finnish capital to Manchester. The airline will increase capacity to 12 weekly flights this summer, with plans to launch double daily flights by winter 2024.

is the biggest thing to happen to country music in quite some time, and the same can be said of Beyoncé's to this year's Western style .During a recent album signing in Tokyo, Japan, Beyoncé somehow made a skin-tight latex dress feel like the obvious choice for a . Instead of pairing her latest cowboy hat with a pair of “Levii's Jeans” or another look from Louis Vuitton's , the went out of the box with an all-brown look made up of a shiny bodycon dress, matching opera gloves, and a dramatic snakeskin trench coat.She gave the monochrome look that Texas flair by simply adding a brown cowboy hat and western-style leather belt with a large gold buckle.