Japan Showbiz Latest News and Updates

The Gospel Of The Beast, directed by the Philippines’ Sheron Dayoc, picked up the Golden Star Award for Best Southeast Asian Film at the first edition of the Ho Chi Minh City International Film Festival (HIFF) in Vietnam. 

The Formula 1 schedule for the 2025 season has already been revealed!

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Oscar-winning Japanese animated fantasy “The Boy and the Heron” held on to top spot at the mainland China box office to record a second weekend win. The film, which opened triumphantly on April 3, in time for a family-oriented long weekend, fell steeply in its second, non-holiday, frame. It earned $12.8 million (RMB90.6 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Kung Fu Panda 4” took top spot at the South Korean box office becoming the film that finally pushed aside local champion “Exhuma,” which had dominated for seven consecutive weeks. But it was an understated victory, rather than a triumphant one, and the exhibition industry’s $5.6 million nationwide haul was among the lowest scoring weekends this year. “Kung Fu Panda 4” earned $2.81 million between Friday and Sunday with a 50.1% market share. Over its full five day run since a Wednesday opening, it enjoyed a $5.96 million total. “Exhuma” slipped to second place in its eight weekend of release.

Led by Dune: Part Two and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Warner Bros has crossed the $1B mark at the international box office, becoming the first studio to reach the milestone this year. Getting there in just 15 weeks, this also sets a new speed record for WB, besting the 17 weeks it took in 2018. The full international estimate through today is $1.04B.

Coachella 2024 have reportedly responded to calls for a change in the rule over alcohol consumption at the festival.In previous years, alcohol was only allowed to be consumed in certain fenced-off areas.But footage has been shared this year by dance music publication GDE showing bars spread around the festival site, accessible to anyone with a 21+ wristband.

Coachella 2024‘s first weekend has wrapped, but not without controversy as fans have been taking to social media to voice their disdain for the sound quality at this year’s festival.Throughout the course of day one (April 12), several artists faced sound and technical issues, especially on the main stage – known as the Coachella Stage. Some of these acts include headlining Lana Del Rey, Sabrina Carpenter and The Japanese House.The Japanese House were one of the first bands to take to the Mojave stage.

The world's oldest conjoined twins have died at the age of 62.

Brendan Rodgers has revealed he’s playing a major role in reshaping Celtic behind the scenes with a revamp to the recruitment set up underway.

So many stars stepped out to celebrate the opening of Tiffany & Co.‘s new Tiffany Wonder exhibition at the TOKYO NODE gallery in Tokyo, Japan this week!

Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar will be re-released in cinemas later this year in honour of the film’s 10th anniversary.The film, starring Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain and Matt Damon is set in a dystopian future and sees a group of astronauts travelling into outer space to find a new planet for humans to colonise.Paramount Pictures announced the re-release during its presentation to cinema owners and executives at CinemaCon in Las Vegas this week.Interstellar will arrive in cinemas on September 27 and will be shown in 70mm IMAX prints, as well as on digital screens.Nolan filmed Interstellar with a combination of 35mm anamorphic film and 65mm IMAX. At the time of release, he encouraged cinema goers to see the movie in 70mm IMAX – something that led to weeks of sold-out showings.Warner Bros., who co-produced the movie, will work with Paramount on the revival screenings (as per Variety).Meanwhile, Nolan’s Oppenheimer continues to break records around the world, and this week became Nolan’s biggest Box Office hit overseas.The biopic profiles Robert J.

Taylor Swift has been on the road with her mega popular Eras Tour for well over a year now, playing to tens of thousands of fans each night across the continents in North and south America, Australia and Japan, so far. Luckily for British Swifities, the queen of pop will be making the UK and Ireland her home for the next leg of the Eras tour in a matter of weeks.

Charles Leclerc holds a pint of his brand new ice cream LEC on Thursday (April 11) in Milan, Italy.

88rising will return to Coachella over the next two Sundays with a new ‘Futures’ set that will shine a light on four Japanese artists – find out more in NME’s interview with 88rising founder and CEO Sean Miyashiro.First announced April 8, the line-up for 88rising Futures includes viral sensations and NME Cover artists Yoasobi, rapper Awich, J-pop boyband Number_i, and the label’s own boundary-breaking group, Atarashii Gakko!. The set will also include appearances from Korean hip-hop legends Tiger JK and Yoonmirae, plus Chinese singer and dancer Xin Liu, 88rising’s newest signing.The programming reflects Miyashiro’s observations of widespread growth and appreciation of Japanese artists in today’s music landscape, he told NME, and 88rising’s efforts to celebrate and spotlight Japanese music “on what is the world’s most influential, prestigious music festival stage”.“There’s so much music coming out of Japan of all genres, and there’s so many people wanting to make music and be artists,” he said.

Lauren Sanchez isn’t afraid to make a fashion statement. The journalist, pilot, author and philanthropist wore a stunning corset dress for a dinner at the White House, which she attended with her fiancé Jeff Bezos. Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos embrace family time in Japan’s cherry blossom wonderlandLauren Sánchez’s Style Guide: How she incorporates red into her looksSanchez wore an off the shoulder red gown that was form fitting, with some details at the top that gave it a corset-like look.

Jeff Bezos and his future wife Lauren Sanchez hold hands as they arrive at the State Dinner on Wednesday (April 10) at the White House in Washington, DC.

Shōgun are noticing a striking resemblance between one of its characters and a certain actor.The series, which is available to watch on Disney+, features a Japanese actor called Hitoshi Masaki, who some have noticed looks similar to Rob McElhenney.A post on X containing a screenshot from the show went viral, as the user wrote: “This guy in Shōgun looks like Japanese Mac,” referring to McElhenney’s character in the US sitcom It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Ronald ‘Mac’ McDonald.McElhenney, who also famously co-owns Wrexham football club with Ryan Reynolds, replied to the post saying: “Great find. Time to do some research on my family history…”I gotta find this guy.

After a year of waiting, Race Across the World returned to screens on Wednesday, 10 April. Five teams are taking part in the race that spans across 10,000 miles across Asia.The teams began in Sapporo, in Hokkaido one of the main islands of Japan all the way to Lombok, an island of Indonesia.

Robert De Niro and Tiffany Chen are making a special public appearance at the White House!

A magnet-fishing dad and his young son have uncovered a chilling haul of deadly weapons in Scotland's rivers and canals.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are making a return visit to the White House as guests at tonight’s White House State Dinner for Japan‘s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio and Kishida Yuko.

Ice Spice is headed to the big screen!

Race Across the World is back on BBC One, and among the five teams of two are Londoner Eugenie and her daughter Isabel.The contestants will be pushed to their physical and emotional limits as they leave behind smartphones, internet access and bank cards to cross six seas and eight borders from northernmost Japan.The first team to reach the final destination bags a £20,000 cash prize. Eugenie, 60, hails from Barking and is a teacher, while her daughter Isabel, 25, from Birmingham, is a trainee clinical scientist.They hope that the experience will bring them closer together, despite admitting that their relationship can be fiery at times.

Warner Bros is getting back in business with The Color Purple director Blitz Bazawule, with the studio landing rights to the tentatively titled Black Samurai with Bazawule directing. He wrote the pic on spec and will also produce under his Inward Gaze banner.

Angelique Jackson In a competitive situation, Warner Bros. has landed “The Color Purple” director Blitz Bazawule’s next project, which takes on the legendary Yasuke, an African warrior who became the first Black samurai.

Well Go USA has landed North American rights for Dutch action thriller Invasion about a daring military operation in the wake of a hostile attack on the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Curacao.

TV’s biggest globetrotting adventure is back with 10 brand new contestants taking on the once-in-a-lifetime challenge. In pairs, the Race Across the World competitors are tasked with navigating their way through East Asia with limited resources, no credit cards and no phones. Over 50 days, they must travel from Japan to Indonesia, with only what they can carry, in an attempt to get their hands on a cash prize of £20,000.This year’s youngest duo, Alfie and Owen, both 20 years old, are best friends and confessed they weren’t exactly fans of the show before agreeing to participate.

Crunchyroll has acquired North American and select EMEA and Latin America theatrical rights to the highly anticipated feature anime spinoff Blue Lock The Movie – Episode Nagi. Crunchyroll and Sony have set a North American release for June 28, 2024 with the international dates still to be confirmed. The buzzy title is currently dated for April 19 in Japan.

So, Sony was here at CinemaCon after all. In a way. Sony domestic distribution chief Adrian Smith took the stage to introduce the first ever Crunchyroll presentation at the Las Vegas exhibitor and studio confab. Smith beamed that the label “has exceeded all our expectations and everyone at Sony is excited about the future and what’s coming.” 

Korean auteur Park Chan-wook (“Old Boy”) is moving along at a nice clip. On the way is his HBO period spy series “The Sympathizer,” which comes out later this month, and potentially next is his long-gestating remake of the dark comedy “The Ax.” And while that’s undoubtedly an abundance of great projects in the works, there are even more on the horizon.