BY SACNILK

Mumbai, March 19 - Warner Bros.' one of the most talked-about films, "The Batman" debuted in the biggest movie market in the world, China, on March 18. ## With the Robert Pattinson-fronted superhero film ruling the worldwide box office, the studio had hoped for the same in China as well, but that was not the case this time. From the last few days, China is witnessing a sudden rise in the covid-19 cases, forcing the closure of some cinema halls. ## While it is true that Hollywood films have struggled at the box office of late in China, "The Batman" was still expected to take a decent to a good start. However, contrary to the huge expectations, the film opened to a worryingly slow start on Friday, grossing $3.7 million, as per Hollywood trade expert Luiz Fernando. ## The opening of "The Batman" in China is low compared to "A Quiet Place" ($3.9M), and "Free Guy" ($5.2M), which were released in 2021. The movie, however, did surpass "Avatar's" re-release last year with a $3.5M opening. "The Batman" also outscored Tom Holland's recently released "Uncharted" ($2M). ## China is one of the key markets for the "Batman" franchise. The previous Batman films have reasonably done well in China. Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises" earned $53 million in 2012 while "Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice" scored $97 million in 2016. Even "Justice League", which was not received well by the critics, grossed $106 million in China in 2017. ## According to Variety, "The Batman" will struggle to even come close to these aforementioned films with the film is currently tracking an RMB215 million ($34 million) lifetime total in China. The film showed improvement on Saturday, but it is unlikely to make any change in the lifetime forcast. ## Keeping aside China, "The Batman" is going very well in other domestic and international markets. It has grossed $516 million after two weeks at the box office. Domestically (North America), the Matt Reeves-directed grossed $263 million while overseas, it has minted $253 million. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Chennai, February 26 - The 2018 women-centric Tamil movie, "Kanaa", starring Aishwarya Rajesh is all set to release in China. Directed by Arunraja Kamaraj, the sports drama will be released in Chinese theaters on March 18.## Aishwarya Rajesh took to Twitter and announced the news along with the official poster. "Thrilled and delighted to announce that one of my favourites, #Kanaa, is to release in China on March 18". ## Thrilled and delighted to announce that one of my favourites, #Kanaa, is to release in China on March 18 @Arunrajakamaraj @Siva_Kartikeyan @SKProdOffl @dhibuofficial @dineshkrishnanb @Darshan_Offl pic.twitter.com/8q6xrnpWBn— aishwarya rajesh (@aishu_dil) February 25, 2022 ## The actress plays the role of a woman who aspires to become an international cricketer so she can put a smile on her cricket-loving father's face by helping the country win. ## The film, which was a critically acclaimed and commercial success, was produced by actor Sivakarthikeyan under his newly established Sivakarthikeyan Productions. He also plays the supporting role in the film along with Sathyaraj in the prominent role. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, February 17 - "Spider-Man: No Way Home" might not have set a release date in China yet, another Tom Holland-fronted movie is going to release in the biggest movie market in the world. ## Sony Pictures' "Uncharted", starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg has been dated for a March 14 release in China. The studio's Weibo account shared the news today with a video message from Holland and Wahlberg and a subtitled trailer, as well as a new poster, according to Deadline. ## Based on Sony's video game series of the same name developed by Naughty Dog, "Uncharted" won't be a day-and-date release with domestic, but it is surely a great sign as Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is facing trouble to get released in China, owing to what amounted to an unofficial ban on Marvel throughout the past year. ## Apart from "Uncharted", the other Hollywood title that gets a release date in China is Warner Bros./DC's "The Batman", starring Robert Pattinson. The superhero film will be released four days after "Uncharted" on March 18. It also becomes the first superhero flick since "Wonder Woman 1984" to get a release in China. ## Hollywood movies are having a tough time in getting a release date in China, but things are looking positive with "Uncharted", and "The Batman". Disney/20th Century's murder mystery "Death On The Nile", headed by Gal Gadot has also a confirmed release date in China on February 19. The aforementioned titles are the only Hollywood movies to have fixed dates in China, as of now.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, February 7 - The sequel to China's highest-grossing film of all time, "The Battle At Lake Changjin", has topped China's highly lucrative Lunar New Year weekend 2022, which kicked off last Tuesday (February 6), at the box office.## With $398 million across 6-days, "The Battle At Lake Changjin 2" contributed 42% of the total estimated RMB 6B ($943M) across the six-day period of Lunar New Year. That's just slightly above 2019 and is the second-biggest ever for the holiday, but is not ahead of 2021 which is still tops in the books at RMB 7.8B ($1.2B). ## The lower than expected box office numbers on China's this year's Lunar New Year is because there are around 20% of cinemas are closed throughout the market due to the covid-19 outbreak, thanks to the Omicron variant, plus, the Winter Olympics is also playing a part in diverting the attention of Chinese audiences. ## "The Battle At Lake Changjin II" has a strong 9.6 social score on Maoyan. It is the sequel to the highest-grossing local title of all time in China, which was released just in September last year, and went on to gross $913 million.## The sequel, which is also directed by the original directors Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, and Dante Lam, had taken a strong start at the box office, grossing over $105 million on the first day at the box office. The Chinese State media has forecast that the film may finish over $1 billion at the end of its box office run, which will make it the biggest Chinese movie ever. ## The film glorifies China's victory over U.S. forces during a key battle in the Korean War (known in China as the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea"). The new installment focuses on the Chinese military's mission to take out the Water Gate Bridge, an important path of retreat for American troops.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, February 1 - China's war film "Battle of Lake Changjin 2" has taken a storming start at the Chinese box office, surging to $105 million (RMB667 million) on the first day. The film has taken a commanding early lead at China's highly lucrative Lunar New Year box office race. ## "Battle of Lake Changjin" aka "Watergate Bridge" is the sequel to China's highest-grossing film of the same title. The first "Battle of Lake Changjin", which opened last year during China's October 1, National Day holiday, went on to score $913 million, becoming the biggest Chinese movie and the non-English film of all time. ## The sequel, which is also directed by the original directors Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam, had grossed RMB487 million ($76.5 million) by 1.30 pm on Tuesday (Feb. 1), according to online ticketing agency Maoyan and Alibaba's Beacon data service (via Variety). By 10 pm, its total had passed RMB667 million ($105 million). ## "Battle of Lake Changjin" sequel, however, fell way short of breaking China's single-day box office record of RMB 1.05 billion (or $163 million at the time) set by Wanda's "Detective Chinatown 3" last year. However, the sequel has much better social scores than those of Detective Chinatown 3, with 9.6 on ticketing service Maoyan, 9.6 on Alibaba's Taopiaopiao ticketing platform, and 7.4 on popular reviews site Douban. ## According to Variety, Chinese State media has forecast that the film may finish over $1 billion at the end of its box office run. If the forecast turns out true, the "Battle of Lake Changjin 2" will become China's new all-time box office champion by surpassing its predecessor, which was also the second-highest-grossing film of 2021 worldwide, behind "Spider-Man: No Way Home".## The film glorifies China's victory over U.S. forces during a key battle in the Korean War (known in China as the "War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea"). The new installment focuses on the Chinese military's mission to take out the Water Gate Bridge, an important path of retreat for American troops.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, Dec 10, 2021: China had become cash-counters for Bollywood films when Aamir khan's fronted Dangal did gargantuan business at the Chinese Box office and competed with Hollywood biggies. ## The mind-boggling business of Dangal sent shockwaves to the industry people as they were not able to understand that how can a Bollywood film do business like a Hollywood film in China. ## However, some producers got it right as they knew that it was content that worked hugely in china for Indian films. Later many films which catered to the Chinese audiences were released and a few of them also managed to do huge business such as Salman khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan, Rani Mukherji's Hichki, Ayushmaan Khurrana's Andhadhun, Irrfan Khan's Hindi Medium, and another Aamir khan film through this was more like an extended cameo, Secret Superstar. But none repeated the phenomenon that Dangal created in china. ## Also Read: Top 10 Indian Movies Box Office Collection in China ## Now we have learned that late Sushant Singh Rajput starrer Chhichhore which did superhit level business in India with collections of over 150cr, is all set to release in China. Chhichhore was directed by Nitesh Tiwari and the film also starred Shraddha Kapoor. ## The last Hindi film which was released in the neighboring nation was the Akshaye Khanna, Sidharth Malhotra, Sonakshi Sinha starrer Ittefaq, on October 25, 2019. ## Chhichhore is all set to release in China on 7th January 2022. ## For more and the latest news about Bollywood, stay tuned to us.

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, November 9 - The makers of Kangana Ranaut-fronted "Dhaakad" are joining hands for a new film. While "Dhaakad" is months away from the release, producer Sohel Maklai, and director Razneesh 'Razy' Ghai have confirmed that they are teaming up for a war film that will be based on the story of Rezang La’s battle that was the sole high point for India in 1962 Indo-China war. ## Talking about the new film, Razneesh said, "It's a classic David-versus-Goliath story. The war story teaches young people the true value of the Army. The story of 120 soldiers fighting against all odds demands to be told sincerely on the big screen. It's set in the 60s, so recreating that era will take some time". ## The movie will be produced by Sohel Maklai and Razneesh 'Razy' Ghai's new company Ikigai Motion Pictures while Rajiv G Menon will pen the screenplay. The casting of the film will be announced soon as Razneesh Ghai revealed that he is in talks with an A-list star to play the main role. Shooting will begin in the second half of 2022.## "Just a good story doesn't cut it anymore. A film has to offer scale, performances, and action that matches the international standards", added the director. "War films in India usually aren’t mounted on a [grand canvas]. But I believe in Razy's vision", said producer Maklai. ## Meanwhile, "Dhaakad", which features Kangana Ranaut in the lead role, is scheduled to release on 8 April 2022. It also stars Arjun Rampal and Divya Dutta in prominent roles. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, November 9 - Tom Holland's third Spider-Man flick, "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is set to be the first Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase Four film to get a release in the world's biggest movie market, China. While the official release date in China is yet to be set, a new Chinese poster of "No Way Home" indicated that it could soon hit Chinese screens. ## "Spider-Man: No Way Home" is looked at as the highest worldwide grosser film of the pandemic era. And with the news of China's release, it has consolidated its position to be a top-grossing film during the entire pandemic. The previous Spider-Man film, "Far From Home" grossed $199 million in China, by far its strongest overseas market.## Also Read: The Official 'Spider-Man: No Way Home' Poster Teases 4 Major Super-Villains## Marvel Studios' Phase 4 films are finding it difficult to get a release date in China due to various reasons. The latest Marvel picture, "Eternals" from China-born director Chloe Zhao, has offered no indication that it will ever release in China. "Black Widow" and "Shang-Chi" also failed to make the cut for China's release. Sony's "Venom: Let There Be Carnage", however, indicates China release, but there are still no signs when it will be released there. ## Starring Tom Holland as Peter Parker and directed by Jon Watts, "No Way Home" tells the story of what happens when the superhero is unmasked and can no longer keep his normal life separate from his masked one. It also features Zendaya, Benedict Cumberbatch, Jacob Batalon, Jon Favreau, Marisa Tomei, Benedict Wong, Alfred Molina, and Jamie Foxx in prominent roles. ## The superhero film is slated to release on December 17 in North America and in India among other markets. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, October 27 - China's war epic film "The Battle at Lake Changjin" has become the highest-grossing film of 2021 worldwide. It surpassed fellow Chinese film "Hi, Mom" ($848 million or 5.41 billion yuan) to reach the top spot with $883 million or 5.64 billion yuan at the Chinese box office. ## "The Battle at Lake Changjin" also becomes the second highest-grossing Chinses film and also the 2nd highest-grossing non-English film of all time after "Wolf Warrior 2" (2017), which grossed 5.69 billion yuan. Released on September 30, the box office monster is inching towards becoming the top-grossing non-English film ever.## Among the top 5 highest-grossing films of 2021, 3 films are Chinese while two are Hollywood films. "Hi, Mom" is at number 2 with $848 million followed by "Fast & Furious 9" (F9) at 3 with $716 million, "Detective Chinatown 3" with $686 million, and James Bond "No Time To Die" with $526 million. ## "The Battle at Lake Changjin" is reportedly China's most expensive film ever made with a production budget of approx $200 million. It is directed by A-list Chinese filmmakers Chen Kaige, Hark Tsui, and Dante Lam and produced by Bona Film Group and state-backed film companies Shanghai Film Group and Huaxia.## The film, which stars China's most-in-demand actors Wu Jing, Jackson Yee, Zhu Yawen, Li Chen, Hu Jun, and Duan Yihong, glorifies Chinese sacrifices and heroism during the real-life battle in 1950 that took place at the eastern front in the second battle of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea.## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Mumbai, September 19, 2021: Legendary / Warner Bros.' epic sci-fi movie "Dune" has been released in some of the key international markets and is off to a great start with over $35 million in the first four days. ## Now, the movie gets a major boost as it has been confirmed to release in the biggest movie market, China, and will be opening day-and-date with the U.S. on October 22. Legendary East is handling the release of Dune in the PRC and it will release everywhere in China. ## On the other hand, Universal Pictures' "No Time To Die" starring Daniel Craig as James Bond for the last time, has also set China release date on October 29. China being an important market for Bond movies, the movie studios intentionally waited to rebound in the throes of the pandemic. ## Both the movies are confirmed by the Maoyan website as upcoming releases in China. Dune and No Time to Die are the only two Hollywood movies that had recently been granted certificates and we were waiting on release dates in China. The last Bond film, Spectre, did earn $83.5M in the PRC. ## Meanwhile, it looks like the recent Marvel movies "Black Widow" and "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings" won't get a Chinese release date and will end their entire run without getting a China release. Dune and No Time to Die will be the first big Hollywood movies to release in China since Ryan Raynolds' "Free Guy". ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Los Angeles, May 25, 2021: Hollywood actor and wrestler, John Cena posted a video on Tuesday (May 25) in which he apologized to fans in China for calling Taiwan a country. The "Fast & Furious 9" star referred to Taiwan as a country during a promotional interview of the F9 movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter. ## Cena made the Taiwan comment in an interview with the Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS where he reportedly said, "Taiwan is the first country that can watch F9". ICYDK, Beijing considers Taiwan as part of China. Referring to it as a country is often an offensive assertion in China, where matters of sovereignty and territory are passionate issues driven by a strong sense of nationalism.## John Cena joins the long list of celebrities and companies who have previously faced a similar kind of situation and had to apologize for the same. The professional wrestler, Cena posted a video apology in Mandarin on Weibo, a Chinese social network. ## "I made a mistake", Cena said in the video, according to The New York Times (via THR). "Now I have to say one thing which is very, very, very important: I love and respect China and Chinese people. I'm very sorry for my mistakes. Sorry. Sorry. I'm really sorry. You have to understand that I love and respect China and Chinese people".## His remark came when Universal's "Fast & Furious 9" doing wonders in China where it takes the biggest opening for a Hollywood movie during the pandemic era. F9 is directed by Justin Lin and also stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron. ## Stay tuned...

BY SACNILK

Ayushmann Khurrana starring Article 15 which is a crime drama film based on Article 15 of the Constitution of India will be screened in The 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF) which is scheduled to begin this week from July 25 in Shanghai, China. Article 15 is the second Indian film after Section 375 which will be screened in one of the largest film festivals in East Asia. ## Article 15 will be screened on the dates of 25, 26 July, and 1, 2 August.## Another Indian Movie "Article 15" will be screened in 23rd Shanghai International Film Festival. It will be screened on 25 ,26 July and 1,2 August. pic.twitter.com/vQYziE9Xm0— China Box Office (@ChinaBox_Office) July 21, 2020 ## Directed and co-produced by Anubhav Sinha, Article 15 was theatrically released in India on 28 June 2019. The movie is based on true events including the 2014 Badaun gang-rape allegations, and the 2016 Una flogging incident. It deals with Article 15 of the Constitution of India, which prohibits discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. ## Along with Ayushmann Khurrana, the movie also starred Nassar, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra, Isha Talwar, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, and Sayani Gupta in the important roles. Along with co-producing the film with Zee Studios, Anubhav Sinha jointly written the movie with Gaurav Solanki. ## On the business front, the movie received positive reviews from both critics and audiences. It grossed ₹94 Crores worldwide and was declared super hit at the box office. ## The movie won the Filmfare award in the category of Critics Award for Best Film while Ayushmann Khurrana won the Critics Award for Best Actor. ## Stay tuned...