Latest news with #NeZha2
Bloomberg
14 hours ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Imax China CEO on Tariffs, Ne Zha 2 Impact
Imax China is aggressively adding screens across the country, betting on big local and US productions to boost its sales. Partner Wanda Film, China's largest movie exhibitor, is planning to replace 27 premium format screens with Imax's larger high-tech jumbo screens. In a wide-ranging conversation, Bloomberg's Stephen Engle discusses the impact of the trade war and Ne Zha 2 with CEO Daniel Manwaring. (Source: Bloomberg)
Time Out
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Get ready for 'Minecraft': one of 2025's biggest movies is now streaming
Parents, get the tarps, because it's about to start raining popcorn all over your living room floor. A Minecraft Movie, the big-screen adaptation of the crazy-popular block-stacking video game, is streaming on HBO Max starting Friday, June 20. When the film hit theaters back in April, it flummoxed many observers by becoming the first true box-office sensation of 2025. It's the highest-grossing US domestic release of the year, earning $423.8 million in the US and $953.5 million globally, good for second-place worldwide, behind China's Ne Zha 2. Not only that, the now-famous 'Chicken Jockey' scene sparked a TikTok trend, while the Jack Black-sung jingle 'Steve's Lava Chicken' became the shortest song to ever chart in the Billboard Hot 100, clocking in at 34 seconds long. So what the heck is A Minecraft Movie about? Well, it stars Jason Momoa as a former video game champion, who, along with some kids from their tiny Idaho town, travel into the colourful world of the game and find themselves at war with an army of porcine Piglins – with an assist from a guy named Steve (Black), who's been trapped in the cube-shaped world for years. Maybe that sounds headache-inducing for adults, but it's really pretty fun. TimeOut put it this way: '[A]t heart what [director Jared Hess] has crafted is a goofy and genuinely quite loveable homage to the '80s 'quest' movie. Think Willow, think Labyrinth, think The NeverEnding Story, think Legend.' In any case, it doesn't really matter what you think: A Minecraft Movie might qualify as the first true Gen Z event movie. And if you've got a kid and an HBO Max subscription, prepare to find it on your TV a lot in the near future. Stream it here starting June 20.
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Imax adds China screens with Wanda, betting on blockbusters
Imax Corp.'s Chinese arm is aggressively adding screens across the country, betting on big local and US productions to boost its sales in the world's second-largest film market. Partner Wanda Film Holding Co., China's largest movie exhibitor, is planning to replace 27 premium format screens with Imax's larger high-tech jumbo screens in cities from Beijing to Xi'an, the companies said Monday. Imax China Holding Inc., which currently runs about 800 screens in China, drew a record 22 million moviegoers from January to May, up 106% from a year earlier, largely thanks to fantasy film 'Ne Zha 2.' The overall movie attendance in China rose about 27% in the same period, the firm said. Wanda operates more than 50% of China's Imax screens, Li Jinbo, assistant president of Wanda Film and general manager of Wanda's cinema chain, said at a corporate event in Shanghai. The cinema chain is seeking to boost the number of premium format auditoriums across the country, he said. Shares of Wanda Film rose 3.6%, while Imax China advanced 4.6%. China's movie industry has been facing a boom-and-bust cycle as many new titles produced during the pandemic years weren't released until 2023, raising box office sales to $7.7 billion. The following year, box office sales fell by 23%. While 'Ne Zha 2' has boosted ticket sales this year, film executives have raised concerns that other new titles may be hit by waning demand. Imax, however, is projecting that its attendance will keep growing as consumers seek larger screens to watch big productions with friends and family. 'If people choose to go to movie theaters, they're going to have to have a clear reason why,' Daniel Manwaring, head of Imax China, said in Shanghai. 'Is this a movie that deserves my time and money? Imax is the only company that is answering that question head-on. We guarantee the experience.' This summer, Imax is counting on Chinese and Hollywood titles such as the war epic 'Dongji Rescue,' directed by Guan Hu and Fei Zhenxiang, Universal Pictures' 'Jurassic World Rebirth' and Apple Inc.'s 'F1.' Walt Disney Co.'s 'Avatar: Fire and Ash' is expected to be released on Imax screens late this year. Imax China is also planning to release five local films shot on Imax cameras. Out of 73 films released on Imax screens in China last year, 34 were local, including at least two movies shot for Imax, according to the company. The company is seeking to maintain the balance between local and foreign films being released on its screens, Manwaring said. 'The film business needs to make movies sensational and big,' he said. 'At least in China, I am very optimistic about the long-term moviegoing audience.' Kim writes for Bloomberg.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Ne Zha 2' Director: China's Animation Boom Must Lead to Creative Risk, Not Repetition
The director of Ne Zha 2, the highest-grossing animated film in Chinese box office history, is urging his peers to embrace greater diversity in storytelling, as the industry grapples with the unprecedented $2.2 billion global haul of his record-breaking sequel. As recently as a decade ago, the Chinese animation industry was still taking baby steps but a recent boom has been led by talents such as Yang Yu (aka Jiaozi), responsible for both Ne Zha and the sequel that went ballistic. While the world has warmed to the tale of the little demon boy struggling along his quest for immortality, Yang urged caution when it came to other Chinese filmmakers looking – or even dreaming – of replicating that success. More from The Hollywood Reporter Shanghai: Women Filmmakers Speak Out on Challenges and Triumphs at Kering Seminar How Tennis Icon Andy Murray Is Moving From Centre Court to Center Stage on the Road to Wimbledon Karen Gillan Doesn't Fear Imposter Syndrome 'I think in the next five to 10 years, as more and more young people transition from animation enthusiasts to creators, they will have more space to experiment with diverse content,' said Yang. 'I am optimistic because the animation industry in China actually does not have very large numbers of directors and creators. If you look at the credits behind a film like Ne Zha, there might be around one to two thousand people. At the moment, that's basically everyone in the Chinese animation industry.' Yang is this week serving on the jury for the Golden Goblet award for animation at the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival — China's largest annual industry gathering — and spoke alongside fellow jury members: Oscar-nominated Irish filmmaker Nora Twomey (The Secret of Kells) and Japan's Koji Yamamura (Mt. Head). The festival has long supported animation, as has the city that hosts it, given that Shanghai was where the first-ever Asian animated feature (Princess Iron Fan) was produced way back in 1941. There are five international productions in the running for the Golden Goblet, with markets represented including Japan (Make a Girl from Gensho Yasuda), France-Switzerland-Belgium (Antoine Lanciaux's The Songbirds' Secret) and Australia (Magic Beach from Robert Connolly) China has two films involved, and they showcase just how far the genre reaches these days, given there's the IP-driven U.S.-coproduction Tom and Jerry: Forbidden Compass (Zhang Gang directing) the Li Wei, Weng Ming, Shinichiro Watanabe, Shuhei Morita-directed, war-shadowed fantasy Edge of Time. 'If you look back at the last 10 years, from the success of the big productions from White Snake (2019) and now to Ne Zha, each movie is based on very classic Chinese traditional IP as a starting point,' said Yang. 'It's not that these creators only want to do this, it's because in the past decade, if they don't do this, the film may not sell. 'More global audiences are also eagerly looking forward to seeing more excellent Chinese animation works, which are also a reimagining of traditional Chinese mythology,' he continued. 'So I think this has injected a new power into the industry. Over the years, more and more audiences have started to believe that China can also produce excellent animated films and, gradually, different types of content will begin to emerge.' For her part, Twomey welcomed the 'inspiration' Ne Zha 2 had provided for the global animation industry. 'I believe that now is a very special time,' she said. 'We currently have many interesting situations, but also face many challenges. For example, the popularization of AI and the audience's high expectations for animation have become very high. So, we hope that our imagination will not be constrained and that with endless creativity, we can bring audiences works worth looking forward to.' Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Bloomberg
4 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Imax Adds Screens in China With Wanda, Betting on Blockbusters
Imax Corp. 's Chinese arm is aggressively adding screens across the country, betting on big local and US productions to boost its sales in the world's second-largest film market. Imax China Holdings said Monday it plans to replace 27 premium format screens with its larger high-tech jumbo screens in partnership with Wanda Film Holding Co., the country's top cinema exhibitor. Imax, which currently runs about 800 screens in China, drew a record 22 million moviegoers from January to May, up 106% from a year earlier, largely thanks to fantasy film Ne Zha 2. The overall movie attendance in China rose about 27% in the same period, the firm said.
