Gu Xiaogang knows firsthand the impact that international film festivals can have.
Gu turned to the Beijing International Film Festival back in 2018 in an effort to get his breakthrough feature, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, made. He took his film to Bjiff’s project market and he walked away with the funds he needed after impressing investors with his story — an intimate look at a family’s life as it evolves across one year — along with his languid style.
The international film world has since felt much the same. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains went on to become the first Chinese-language film to close Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2019, was selected among the top 10 films of the year by the leading French film magazine Cahier du Cinema in 2020 and led directly to Gu being named a co-winner of the Akira Kurosawa Award at last year’s 36th Tokyo International Film Festival,...
Gu turned to the Beijing International Film Festival back in 2018 in an effort to get his breakthrough feature, Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains, made. He took his film to Bjiff’s project market and he walked away with the funds he needed after impressing investors with his story — an intimate look at a family’s life as it evolves across one year — along with his languid style.
The international film world has since felt much the same. Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains went on to become the first Chinese-language film to close Critics’ Week at Cannes in 2019, was selected among the top 10 films of the year by the leading French film magazine Cahier du Cinema in 2020 and led directly to Gu being named a co-winner of the Akira Kurosawa Award at last year’s 36th Tokyo International Film Festival,...
- 4/18/2024
- by Mathew Scott
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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. That gives it a running total of $93.8 million (RMB666) after 12 days on release in China. And, despite a release that trailed months after most other territories, that total makes China far and away the film’s highest-grossing territory.
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” powered by Legendary Entertainment’s China wing Legendary East, helped itself to a further $10.7 million over its third weekend. That gives it a $110 million cumulative.
(The film is playing well on Imax screens. Imax reports that $1.1 million of its China weekend score came from its venues...
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. That gives it a running total of $93.8 million (RMB666) after 12 days on release in China. And, despite a release that trailed months after most other territories, that total makes China far and away the film’s highest-grossing territory.
“Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” powered by Legendary Entertainment’s China wing Legendary East, helped itself to a further $10.7 million over its third weekend. That gives it a $110 million cumulative.
(The film is playing well on Imax screens. Imax reports that $1.1 million of its China weekend score came from its venues...
- 4/15/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Worldwide box office April 5-7 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1. Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire (Warner Bros) $91m $361m $59.3m $226m 70 2. Kung Fu Panda 4 (Universal) $35.3m $410.4m $27.4m $244.4m 77 3. The Boy And The Heron (various) $34m $273.2m $34m $226.6m 23 4. Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros) $18.4m $660.7m $11.2m $395.8m 74 5. The First Omen (Disney) $17.5m $17.5m $9.1m $9.1m 44 6. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire (Sony) $16.1m $138.2m $7.1m $49.3m 32 7. Monkey Man (Universal) $12.7m $12.7m $2.6m $2.6m 28 8. Chantal im Marchenland (various) $4.8m $13.3m $4.8m $13.3m 2 9. Dwelling By The West Lake (various) $4.2m $8.4m $4.2m $8.4m...
- 4/8/2024
- ScreenDaily
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. But including some RMB270 million ($38.1 million) of business from Wednesday and Thursday, it set the biggest opening of the year by a non-mainland Chinese movie.
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. But including some RMB270 million ($38.1 million) of business from Wednesday and Thursday, it set the biggest opening of the year by a non-mainland Chinese movie.
- 4/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Japanese anime master Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning swan song The Boy and the Heron has taken flight at China’s box office in a major way.
The enigmatic Studio Ghibli hit opened in China on Wednesday and soared to $13.7 million (Rmb 99.1 million), nudging aside Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s prior box office champ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which brought in $5.2 million for the day, according to data from regional consultancy Artisan Gateway.
The Miyazaki masterpiece then set a new record Thursday for the biggest single-day performance ever by a non-Chinese animated film, earning $23.7 million (Rmb 171.5 million). Disney Animation’s Frozen 2 was the former record holder with Rmb 167.6 million in ticket sales Nov. 23, 2019.
The Boy and the Heron released midweek to take advantage of China’s Qingming public holiday, which fell on Thursday this year. Traditionally an occasion for paying respects to one’s ancestors, the Qingming...
The enigmatic Studio Ghibli hit opened in China on Wednesday and soared to $13.7 million (Rmb 99.1 million), nudging aside Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment’s prior box office champ Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which brought in $5.2 million for the day, according to data from regional consultancy Artisan Gateway.
The Miyazaki masterpiece then set a new record Thursday for the biggest single-day performance ever by a non-Chinese animated film, earning $23.7 million (Rmb 171.5 million). Disney Animation’s Frozen 2 was the former record holder with Rmb 167.6 million in ticket sales Nov. 23, 2019.
The Boy and the Heron released midweek to take advantage of China’s Qingming public holiday, which fell on Thursday this year. Traditionally an occasion for paying respects to one’s ancestors, the Qingming...
- 4/5/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s formalist arthouse drama Evil Does Not Exist won the best film prize Sunday night at the Asia Film Awards in Hong Kong.
The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.
In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...
The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.
In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...
- 3/10/2024
- by Patrick Brzeski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” was Sunday evening named as the best picture at the Asian Film Awards.
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...
The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.
While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.
Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.
Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...
- 3/10/2024
- by Patrick Frater and Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist won Best Film at the Asian Film Awards (AFAs) this evening in Hong Kong. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
This is the second year running that a film helmed by Hamaguchi has picked up the award. He won the top prize last year with Drive My Car. This year, however, the director was not in attendance to accept the award due to what he described as “work commitments” in a video message played at the top of the ceremony.
Evil Does Not Exist, which also picked up an award for original music, debuted at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
This is the second year running that a film helmed by Hamaguchi has picked up the award. He won the top prize last year with Drive My Car. This year, however, the director was not in attendance to accept the award due to what he described as “work commitments” in a video message played at the top of the ceremony.
Evil Does Not Exist, which also picked up an award for original music, debuted at the 2023 Venice Film Festival. The film follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live in Mizubiki Village close to Tokyo. Like generations before them, they live a modest life according to the cycles and order of nature. A plan to construct a glamping site near Takumi’s house,...
- 3/10/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
A total of 35 films from 24 countries and regions have been shortlisted to compete for 16 awards at this year's Asian Film Awards.
Renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi will serve as the Jury President for this year's Awards. As the first Japanese director to hold this position, Kurosawa Kiyoshi is deeply honored. He will lead the Jury and over 200 Voting Members in selecting the winners for this year's Asian Film Awards.
The winners of other Afa awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, Afa Next Generation Award, and Rising Star Award, will be announced later.
The 17th Asian Film Awards Nomination List
Best Film
12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Paradise
Perfect Days (Japan)
Snow Leopard (Mainland China)
Best Director
Kim Sung-soo | 12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Gu Xiaogang | Dwelling by the West Lake (Mainland China)
Hamaguchi Ryusuke | Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Kore-eda Hirokazu...
Renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi will serve as the Jury President for this year's Awards. As the first Japanese director to hold this position, Kurosawa Kiyoshi is deeply honored. He will lead the Jury and over 200 Voting Members in selecting the winners for this year's Asian Film Awards.
The winners of other Afa awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, Afa Next Generation Award, and Rising Star Award, will be announced later.
The 17th Asian Film Awards Nomination List
Best Film
12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Paradise
Perfect Days (Japan)
Snow Leopard (Mainland China)
Best Director
Kim Sung-soo | 12.12: The Day (South Korea)
Gu Xiaogang | Dwelling by the West Lake (Mainland China)
Hamaguchi Ryusuke | Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)
Kore-eda Hirokazu...
- 1/12/2024
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
‘Snow Leopard’, ‘Paradise’, ‘The Goldfinger’ and ‘Godzilla Minus One’ also land multiple nods.
South Korean box office hit 12.12: The Day and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist lead the nominations for the 17th Asian Film Awards, with six nods each including best film.
Also up for best film is Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise from Sri Lanka-India, Wim Wenders Perfect Days from Japan and Chinese feature Snow Leopard by the late Pema Tseden.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong on March 10 and will be decided by a...
South Korean box office hit 12.12: The Day and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist lead the nominations for the 17th Asian Film Awards, with six nods each including best film.
Also up for best film is Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise from Sri Lanka-India, Wim Wenders Perfect Days from Japan and Chinese feature Snow Leopard by the late Pema Tseden.
Scroll down for full list of nominations
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong on March 10 and will be decided by a...
- 1/12/2024
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, and the period action pic 12.12: The Day, from Korea, lead the nominations at this year’s Asian Film Awards.
Both films received six nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. Directed by Kim Sung-soo, whose credits include Asura: The City Of Madness and The Flu, 12.12: The Day is set against the backdrop of the real-life military coup of 1979, which resulted in an eight-year military junta in South Korea. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing), Jung Woo-sung (Asura: The City Of Madness), and Lee Sung-min (The Spy Gone North). Released on November 22, the film sailed past the 12 million admissions mark at the Korean box office over the Christmas holiday period, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023 in the market.
Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist — which debuted out of Venice — follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live...
Both films received six nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. Directed by Kim Sung-soo, whose credits include Asura: The City Of Madness and The Flu, 12.12: The Day is set against the backdrop of the real-life military coup of 1979, which resulted in an eight-year military junta in South Korea. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing), Jung Woo-sung (Asura: The City Of Madness), and Lee Sung-min (The Spy Gone North). Released on November 22, the film sailed past the 12 million admissions mark at the Korean box office over the Christmas holiday period, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023 in the market.
Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist — which debuted out of Venice — follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live...
- 1/12/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
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