Frater Asia: Last News

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief It is close to a decade since “Baahubali – The Beginning” shifted the paradigm for how a South Indian film should have been made and might normally have performed – the Telugu and Tamil-language fantasy actioner achieved nationwide distribution, broke records for international performance, supercharged the stardom of its leads and, naturally, sparked a sequel – but its producer Shobu Yarlagadda and his Arka Mediaworks are now thinking on an even grander, international scale. Yarlagadda is using the platform of this week’s Film Bazaar in Goa to test the market for his upcoming, upscale TV show “The Age of Deccan.” He pitches it as boasting “a protagonist of African origin and a world set in medieval India, that thematically unites two continents and makes it a compelling Indian original series destined for a global audience.” “The Age of Deccan” will focus on the reality and brutality of the history, exploring these through: war, politics, vice, vengeance and sex; the protocols and hierarchies of the royal court; strategies and measures of medieval warfare; indulgence and abuse of ultimate power; territorial pride and assimilation.” The fact-based story tracks Ambar, a man of African origin who was trafficked as a slave to India in the early 16th century. He managed to pull himself out of serfdom first as a fighter, then as a military strategist and later as a government minister who sought to push back the Mughal influence and unify Deccan India.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Star Wars: Visions,” a Lucasfilm anthology series of animated shorts from around the world celebrating the mythology of Star Wars through different cultural perspectives, will return for a third season, Marvel Studios’ president Kevin Feige said on Wednesday. Feige was a surprise guest at the annual Walt Disney Company Asia Pacific Showcase held in Singapore.“Star Wars: Visions Volume 3” will debut in 2025 on the Disney+ streaming service. The upcoming series will feature both new and returning anime studios, and return to Japan to celebrate the world of anime through the elements and mythos of Star Wars. The event, which also featured Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment and continues Thursday local time, also saw the unveiling of several previews and sneak peeks not previously shown to Asia Pacific consumers or business media.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Poised to be one of the biggest blockbusters of an uneven year for Korean cinema, “Harbin” is finally confirmed to release on Christmas Day (Dec. 25).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Drama film “To Gather Around” topped the mainland China box office over the weekend and deposed “Venom: The Last Dance.” The film, which also goes by the title “Brave New World,” is directed by Liu Xunximo and stars Deng Chao and Deng Jiajia in a tale of an internet company employee who is caught up in workplace dispute. He joins forces with others in order to defend his rights, but ends up in a bigger spiral of trouble. According to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway, “To Gather Around” earned RMB63.8 million ($9.0 million) over the weekend from Friday to Sunday. “Venom: The Last Dance,” in its fifth weekend of release in China, earned $4.9 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief “Gladiator II” topped the box office in South Korea through its opening sessions. But it did little to transform the recent dismal trend in Korean cinemas. The Ridley Scott-directed sequel earned $2.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Over its full five-day opening, the film earned $3.19 million. Its opening weekend figure was below that of several other Hollywood spectacles released in Korea this year, including “Wonka,” “Kung Fu Panda 4,” “Furiosa: A Mad Max Story,” “Deadpool and Wolverine” “Alien” Romulus” and “Venom: The Last Dance.” But it was stronger than the recent “Red One,” which fell to 18th place in its second weekend of release in Korea.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief After a strategic launch in Japan in September and an end-of October debut in the much smaller New Zealand market, Warner Bros, Discovery’s Max streaming platform gets a much bigger rollout in seven more East Asian territories from Tuesday. “Asia Pacific is probably our single biggest region in terms of opportunity for growth, largely because of Max,” JB Perrette, president of streaming at WBD tells Variety. In five Southeast Asian territories (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand) as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan, Max will be switched on in place of a low-tech stopgap service HBO Go. That predecessor has operated since 2010 and was long ago technologically superseded both by rival services and by WBD’s own Max. Max, which emerged from the 2022 combination of Warner Bros., with its historic movie studio and its HBO pay-TV service, and Discovery with its software architecture and a vault of unscripted programming, began operating in the U.S.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Dinosaurs and Vietnam War jungle action are both on the agenda in the first footage from “Primitive War” released by producers Sparke Films. The survival thriller stars “Entourage” star Jeremy Piven, Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica,” “Lucifer”), Ryan Kwanten (“True Blood,” “Red Hill”) and Nick Wechsler (“Revenge,” “The Boys”). Written and directed by Luke Sparke (“Occupation Rainfall,” “Bring Him To Me”), “Primitive War” is adapted from the cult novel of the same name by Ethan Pettus.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief ‘ “Her Story,” a Mainland Chinese comedy-drama film told from a largely female perspective, is set for a release in major international territories later this month that are coordinated with its wide opening in China. The film is directed by Shao Yihui, who previously made a mark with her 2021 picture “B For Busy.” Its fast-paced story focuses on two women – one a recently unemployed single mom, the other a new neighbor who is more troubled than she appears – who become friends. Together they face up to various relationship challenges, including an abusive ex-husband and new romantic possibilities. The cast is headed by Song Jia, Elaine Zhong, Zhang Yu, Mark Chao, Ren Bin, Zeng Mumei, Zhang Chi and Zhou Yemang. Production is by Maxtimes Pictures. Rights outside mainland China have been picked up by Tiger Pictures Entertainment, which will operate a split strategy of itself handling the picture’s release in some territories while licensing it in others. Following a wide release in China on Nov.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Sometimes described as the world’s largest games company in revenue terms, China’s Tencent increased its net profits by 47% in the three months from July to September. Gains were driven by both its domestic and international games businesses.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Due to fan demand, British rock band Coldplay has announced a fourth show in India for its “Music of the Spheres” world tour. The band will perform at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on Jan. 25, 2025, for a potential audience of 100,000 fans, making it the biggest stadium show of their career.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief South Korean actor Song Jae-lim was found dead at his home in Seoul on Tuesday. He was 39. Police sources said that Song’s body was found in Seoul’s Seongdong Ward at around 12:30 p.m.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Prime Video has launched a raft of add-on subscriptions and its Prime Video Store in New Zealand. These expand the selection of content available with the aim of making the platform into a one-stop entertainment destination for Amazon customers and for non-subscribing members. For a monthly subscription fee, payable directly to Prime Video, subscribing members can buy an additional 14 premium services.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Tencent Music Entertainment, China’s largest digital music conglomerate, managed nearly 7% revenue growth in the July-September quarter as streaming services more than compensated for the continuing retreat of the group’s high-value ‘social entertainment activities. Net profits in the third quarter of its financial and calendar year, climbed by 35% to RMB1.71 billion ($244 million) on revenue of RMB7.02 billion ($1 billion). For nine months, revenues were an unchanged RMB20.9 billion ($2.98 billion) and net profits RMB5.03 billion ($717 million), a 32% gain in local currency terms. Streaming music services managed the double whammy of increasing the number of paying subscribers (by two million quarter-on-quarter to 119 million) and increasing average revenues per subscriber, to RMB10.8.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief 88 Pictures, a successful animation and VFX studio from India, has launched a new gaming division 88Games. It aims to craft world-class indie games for PC and console audiences, by blending high-quality visuals with storytelling rooted in Indian rich and diverse history and culture. The multicultural studio has assembled a team of industry veterans, led by Milind D. Shinde and Shiben Bhattacharjee.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Ace Japanese film director Kore-eda Hirokazu is in advanced post-production on “Asura,” a family drama series that marks his second show for global streaming giant Netflix. “Asura,” which will premiere on Jan. 9, 2025, is a modern take on “Like Asura” a 1979 family drama series that was originally based on a Mukoda Kuniko novel of the same title.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Japanese multimedia franchise “Hypnosismic” is to expand and include an interactive feature film “Hypnosis Mic – Division Rap Battle” that will release in February next year. The franchise was developed at King Records in 2017 and involves a world where weapons have been banned and men must fight for supremacy through rap battles. The “Hypnosismic” universe has already diversified into music, radio dramas, manga, stage productions, games and a TV animation (anime) series.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Leading Malaysian director Adrian Teh has begun filming thriller “Magik Rompak,” a high-stakes heist thriller. The narrative follows a leading magician who assembles a reluctant crew for an audacious and daring heist to steal a priceless gem. As their pasts intertwine and the stakes rise, the team must perfect the art of illusion, confront their own vulnerabilities, and orchestrate the ultimate vanishing act to protect their futures. “Magik Rompak” is structured as a co-production and hails from ACT 2 Pictures (Malaysia) and Clover Films (Singapore).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Chinese melodrama film “The Untold Story” opened on top of the mainland China box office on its debut weekend, despite playing for only two days. It earned RMB80.8 million ($11.4 million), according to data from consultancy firm Artisan Gateway.Adapted from a novel, the film tells the story of an undercover drugs cop, who sometimes goes undercover as a taxi driver, and restorer of cultural relics. The film (aka “That Untold Story”) stars Roy Chiu and Lang Yue-ting and is directed by Zhang Yan. In second place was “Venom: The Last Dance,” playing its third weekend in China.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The South Korean theatrical box office sunk to its lowest-earning weekend of the year, despite the release of new films including “Hear Me: Our Summer,” “Red One” and “Anora.” “Venom: The Last Dance” and “Hear Me: Our Summer” were essentially tied for first place. “Venom: The Last Dance” held on to the top place in revenue terms with $1.19 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council. But local charts are ranked according to admissions and showed it in second place, due to its 168,000 ticket sales total. “Hear Me: Our Summer” took $1.17 million but sold 169,000 tickets.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Recent Asian feature films including Makbul Mubarak’s “Autobiography,” Lan Pham Ngoc’s “Cu Li Never Cries,” Nelson Yeo’s “Dreaming & Dying,” Jeremias Nyangoen’s “The Women of Rote Island” and Lyda Leak’s “The Night Curse of Reatrei” adorn the non-competitive lineup of the 2024 edition of the Blue Chair film festival in Luang Prabang, Laos. Previously known as the Luang Prabang Film Festival, the festival counts 24 features and 40 shorts in its 2024 festival. It will run Dec.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Governments and agencies across Asia are taking steps to expand and extend the cross-border film coproduction movement. A seminar called ‘From Eurasia to Global Collaboration’ on Thursday, the third day of the Taiwan Creative Content Fest, represented a handy recap of funding and structural developments from four countries: The Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia and Turkey. Alex Sihar, from Indonesia’s directorate of culture, part of the ministry of education, described an ongoing process intended to put the industry on a more professional footing. “While we have a long history of filmmaking and a very diverse culture, our films until recently have had very little international exposure, there has been little knowledge transfer and no incentives for location shooting or co-production.” Film policy was previously stretched across multiple ministries, but is now to be overseen by a film department under the education ministry, which is newly separated from educational matters.Co-productions are to be further encouraged and the country’s matching fund (which doubles up on funding available from the likes of the World Cinema Fund, TAICCA and Purin Pictures) is likely to be expanded. Indonesia is also a founder member of the Asian Film Alliance Network (AFAN, alongside Mongolia, Singapore, Taiwan, The Philippines, South Korea and Malaysia). Marylo Christine H.