Asia Pacific: News on Asia Pacific from The Hollywood Reporter

Filmart: Pegasus Readies Lee’s ‘Hunter’ (Exclusive)

Produced by HongKong’s Pegasus Motion Pictures, China’s Shanghai Xinyi Media, and South Korea’s Union Investment Partners, ‘Bounty Hunter’ is scheduled for a 2016 summer release.

‘Kalo Pothi, the Black Hen’: Filmart/Hong Kong Review

Nepalese filmmaker Min Bahadur Bham’s first feature revolves around two boys’ mission to relocate their missing hen as civil war rages around them.

China’s Huayi Brothers to Launch Animation Unit Led by Hollywood Veteran

The Chinese studio, which has an 18-picture financing and distribution deal with STX Entertainment, has hired former DreamWorks Animation and Fox executive Joe Aguilar to lead the new division.

U.S. Ex-Reporter for Japan’s NHK Arrested for Sex Video With Underage Girl

The now 30-year-old fled Japan in 2013 after the video was discovered by police.

Filmart: Malaysia’s Animasia Teams with China’s Zero One on ‘Chuck Chicken’

Malaysia’s Film Kingdom Group is also collaborating with Hong Kong’s Pegasus Motion Pictures and Eunice and Tonia Entertainment for ‘Miss Sunshine

China’s Wanda to Consolidate Film Units

The Chinese conglomerate will inject its film production units, including Legendary Entertainment, into movie theater unit Wanda Cinema Line, whose stock trades on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

India’s Viacom18 to Launch Video Streaming Service Voot

The latest digital video player in India will take on competitors such as Fox’s Star India-backed hotstar and the recently launched Netflix, among others.

Filmart: Andy Lau Boards Action Thriller ‘Shock Wave’

Lau’s new production company, Infinitus Films, will be involved in the production.

Filmart: Fox Unites Departments to Produce Chinese-Language Content

The joint venture will include developments of new scripts and remakes of existing Fox titles into Chinese.

Filmart: Leading Japanese Directors Join ‘Roman Porno’ Reboot (Exclusive)

Nikkatsu’s big screen soft porn productions are to be relaunched with five Japanese helmers taking charge of the first slate of releases.

Russo Brothers Launch Studio to Produce Chinese-Language Films (Exclusive)

The directing team behind Marvel’s ‘Captain America’ franchise and the upcoming ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ films are planting their flag in the booming Chinese market.

What Does Wanda Want? Weighing the Chinese Conglom’s Global Movie Theater Buying Spree

With AMC Entertainment’s acquisition of Carmike for $1.1 billion, Wanda will own an unprecedented 11,500 movie screens worldwide, shaping the global entertainment industry for years to come.

Filmart: Jet Tone Unveils ‘Europe Raiders’ (Exclusive)

The third installment in director Jingle Ma’s ‘Tokyo Raiders’ and ‘Seoul Raiders’ series, which had a combined box office of $4.6 million in Hong Kong.

China Grants Hollywood Films More Favorable Spring Release Schedule

Warner Bros.’ ‘Batman v Superman’ and Disney’s ‘The Jungle Book’ are both getting day-and-date releases in the country, while ‘Gods of Egypt,’ ‘The Revenant’ and ‘London Has Fallen’ have secured Friday openings.

Alfonso Cuaron to Speak at China-U.S. Motion Picture Summit

The inaugural film industry confab, to be held near Beijing on March 25, will also include talks given by Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and Bill Borden, producer of ‘The Mermaid,’ China’s top-grossing film ever.

What Hollywood Can Learn From China’s $510M Box Office Hit ‘Mermaid’

Hong Kong filmmakers have had spectacular success tailoring recent releases to the nuances of the Chinese market.

China Box Office: ‘Ip Man 3’ Opens to $75M Amid Fraud Allegations, ‘The Mermaid’ First to Cross $500M

Zootopia, meanwhile, gave Disney Animation its highest China debut to date, pulling in $23.5 million and earning rave local reviews.

Universal Studios Japan Sets New Attendance Record, On Course for 14 Million Visitors

The Osaka theme park, taken over by Comcast for $1.5 billion last year, also attracted more than a million overseas visitors for the first time, with its Harry Potter attraction continuing to pack them in.

L.A.’s Mystery Banker Behind Hollywood’s China Money

Dominic Ng is already fielding calls from Chinese investors interested in Paramount, as the low-profile chairman/CEO of East West Bank is one of the few financial connectors between U.S. studios (Universal, Fox, Lionsgate) and the emerging power.

China Box Office: ‘The Mermaid’ Becomes First Film to Gross $500M

Stephen Chow’s romantic eco-comedy is the first Chinese film and the seventh movie ever to cross the half-billion mark in a single territory.

Japan Box Office: ‘The Hateful Eight’ Opens at No. 8 in Limited Release

Elsewhere, ‘The Finest Hours’ bows at No. 4 and ‘The Martian’ takes its total to $23 million after four weekends at No. 1.

Takeshi Kitano Joins Scarlett Johansson in ‘Ghost in the Shell’

Rupert Sanders is directing the live-action adaptation of the Japanese manga.

‘Old Stone’ (‘Lao Shi’): Berlin Review

Canadian-Chinese director Johnny Ma’s debut depicts a small-town cabbie’s descent into madness and crime after having his savings sucked dry in the aftermath of a traffic accident.

Fox’s Star Plus to Adapt ‘Prisoners of War,’ the Original ‘Homeland,’ for India

The Hindi remake of the Israeli show will come from Bollywood director Nikkhil Advani.

China Box Office Pulls in Massive $1B in February, Topping U.S.

The monthly haul was up 50 percent from 2015.

China Clears ‘The Revenant’ for Release, Cuts Expected

Although the details are still being hashed out, the film, which won three Oscars on Sunday, has been cleared to open in the world’s second-largest movie market in March.

‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ Becomes China’s Biggest Animated Film Ever

The record is an important milestone for Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Shanghai-based Oriental DreamWorks venture, which spared no expense in animating the film in both English and Chinese.

China’s Wanda Confirms Investment in French Entertainment Complex

The Legendary Pictures owner is also expected to participate in the bidding for Turkish cinema operator Mars Entertainment.

South Korean Lesbian Thriller ‘The Handmaiden’ Presold to 116 Countries

Amazon Studios will distribute the upcoming film by Park Chan-wook in the U.S.

China’s Wanda Offers Piece of Legendary Pictures to Local Investors (Report)

The conglomerate is looking to raise $1.5 billion for its film unit Wanda Pictures, which includes Legendary and domestic Chinese movie businesses.

Bollywood Star Sanjay Dutt Released from Jail

The actor was convicted in an illegal arms possession case which linked him to the 1993 Mumbai bombings.

Thriller ‘Trivisa,’ Chinese Comedy ‘Chongqing Hot Pot’ to Open Hong Kong Film Festival

‘Creepy,’ directed by Japan’s horror king Kurosawa Kiyoshi, will close the festival.

Imax China to Install 100 New Screens in 2016, Bullish on Growth

In an earnings report Thursday, the company’s China subsidiary reported that adjusted profit surged 66.9 percent in 2015.

Embezzlement Scandal at Japan’s NHK Leads to Public Apology, Voluntary Exec Pay Cuts

The $1.8 million fraud is the latest in a string of scandals to hit the public broadcaster and follows the firing of news anchor Kenichi Tsukamoto last week for making the drug “poppers” in his apartment.

China’s Wanda to Announce “Major Deal” This Week, Says Chairman Wang

The billionaire business leader’s remarks have sparked speculation that Wanda could be the minority buyer of Paramount Viacom is courting.

Universal Pictures, Lionsgate, MGM Buy Stakes in Hong Kong Gaming Company Fifth Journey

Universal, Lionsgate, MGM in Gaming Company Stakes

Japan Box Office: ‘Star Wars: Force Awakens’ Biggest Live-Action Hit Since ‘Alice in Wonderland’

Elsewhere, ‘The Martian’ hits $20 million, while ‘Point Break’ opens in third place.

China’s Baidu Gets $2.25B Offer for Its 80.5 Percent Stake in Online Video Giant iQiyi

The offer from the CEOs of iQiyi and Baidu values the company at $2.8 billion.

China Box Office: Stephen Chow’s ‘Mermaid’ Nears $200M at Record Pace

Two other Chinese blockbusters — ‘The Man From Macau 3’ and ‘The Monkey King 2’ — have also done huge business over the Lunar New Year holiday.

‘Trivisa’ (‘Shu Dai Jiu Fung’): Berlin Review

The criminal thriller, produced by Johnnie To and helmed by a trio of young Hong Kong directors, bowed in the Berlin Film Festival’s Forum section.

Berlin: Liam Neeson’s Korean War Film Sells to Germany, Taiwan

The actor stars as General Douglas MacArthur in ‘Operation Chromite,’ which tells the story of the secret mission X-Ray during the 1950 Korean War.

South Korea’s Polarizing Film Market: Can Mid-Budget Genre Movies Survive?

With mid-budget releases becoming virtually nonexistent in the country’s increasingly corporate film sector, independent-minded talents are taking matters into their own hands.

South Korea Film Studios Are Finding a Place for “Interesting Female Personas”

“It’s been rather tough for Korean actresses as their roles have been largely limited to supporting characters, like the lover or mother. But things are changing little by little.”

Serbian Director Emir Kusturica Named Shanghai Film Fest Jury Chief

The 19th Shanghai film fest will take place June 11-19.

Berlin: Lionsgate Takes ‘Ghost Stories’ for U.K.

The big screen adaptation of the hit stage play will be co-written and directed by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman.

Berlin: Oscar Nominee ‘Theeb’ Sells to China, France

Directed by Naji Abu Nowar, the film won a BAFTA award on Sunday night for outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer.

China Box Office Breaks World Record With $548M in One Week

The seven-day haul is more than the Chinese box office generated for the entire year a decade ago.

Marco Mueller to Head New Macau Film Festival

The first International Film Festival Macao will be held Dec. 8-14 this year.

‘Ta’ang’ (‘De’ang’): Berlin Review

Documentarian Wang Bing zeroes in on the lives of refugees living on the war-torn borderlands between Myanmar and China.

Japan Box Office: ‘The Martian’ Climbs to $14M, Stays No. 1

Elsewhere, ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ stays in the top five on its ninth weekend.

Disney’s ‘Jungle Book’ to Open Early in India

The movie, directed by Jon Favreau and based on Rudyard Kipling’s classic book, will bow a week ahead of its April 15 U.S. release.

Universal Finalizes $250M Slate Deal With China’s Perfect World, Plans To Raise Debt

The partnership will last five years or cover the co-financing of 50 films, making the Chinese video game and TV production company a major player in global entertainment.

‘Life After Life’ (‘Zhi Fan Ye Mao’): Berlin Review

Zhang Hanyi’s Jia Zhangke-produced debut bows in Berlin’s Forum sidebar.

Former CEO of Fox’s Star India Charged With Murder of Stepdaughter

Peter Mukerjea, who ran the Indian TV giant for eight years until 2007, is charged for allegedly having been a co-conspirator in the murder of Sheena Bora, the daughter of his second wife, Indrani, who is also in custody.

China Box Office: ‘Mermaid’ Becomes Top-Grossing Film Ever With $400M

The fantasy comedy from Beijing Enlight Pictures and China Film Group achieved a milestone on Friday.

China Bans Broadcasts of Hong Kong Film Awards After Indie Political Movie Scores Nomination

Nominated for best picture, ‘Ten Years’ portrays a future Hong Kong stripped of human rights and political freedoms by mainland China.

Martin Scorsese: Preservation Is “Crucial” for “Universal” Language of Film in “Time of Great Divisions”

The Film Foundation, backed by the Oscar-winning director, is teaming with India’s Film Heritage Foundation for a second time for a film preservation workshop in the country.