DAILY BRIEF

Jan 24, 2020

1
How the Wuhan Coronavirus Infected the Chinese Film Industry
Just days ago, no one would have predicted that China’s most lucrative film-going season was about to be derailed by the escalating epidemic of a novel coronavirus that is now rapidly spreading through the country and beyond. Variety
2
Shanghai Disney Resort Shuts Down as Coronavirus Spreads
The Walt Disney Co. is preparing to close its Shanghai Disney Resort in response to the growing outbreak of coronavirus currently sweeping China. The Hollywood Reporter
3
Virus outbreak to cost Chinese box office at least $210 million this weekend, data shows
Data from ticketing site Maoyan predicted at least 1.4 billion yuan in sales for the seven movies between Friday and Saturday, as of 10 p.m. Beijing time on Wednesday. CNBC
4
Tencent Bids for Control of Funcom ‘Conan’ Games Developer
China’s social media and gaming giant Tencent is bidding to buy control of Funcom, developer of the “Conan” and “Dune” games. The bid values the Norwegian company at $148 million. Variety
5
ByteDance Seeks New CEO for Its TikTok Business
In one potential scenario, the new CEO would oversee TikTok’s non-technical functions, including advertising and operations, while current TikTok chief Alex Zhu would continue to manage the majority of product and engineering out of China, one person said. Bloomberg