DAILY BRIEF: Jun 14, 2019

NEWS YOU SHOULDN’T MISS

• 1

  Shanghai Film Festival Yanks ‘The Eight Hundred’; Chinese War Epic Was Due To Open Event

  The Shanghai International Film Festival has made an abrupt and surprising change to its program, pulling Huayi Brothers’ big-budget Chinese war drama The Eight Hundred from its lineup on the eve of the event’s kick-off. The $80M epic was due to open the proceedings tomorrow and has been expected to be the 800 lb gorilla at the Middle Kingdom summer box office. Deadline

• 2

  China: Could Trump’s Trade War & Stricter Local Controls Extend Summer Hollywood Movie Blackout To October?

  The entertainment business is a tiny piece of the trillions at stake in Trump’s trade tirade, but it’s also a highly visible commodity. Will the Hollywood majors become a geopolitical pawn in the tug-of-war between D.C. and Beijing? Here are the different schools of thought as to which way the winds will blow through the rest of the summer and into September. Deadline

• 3

  Tencent launches video streaming in Thailand, eyes SE Asia expansion

  Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd launched its first overseas video streaming service in Thailand on Friday, as it ramps up its presence outside China. Yahoo Finance

• 4

  Sony's 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' Could Get A Box Office Boost From Disney's 'Avengers: Endgame'

  We are 2.5 weeks out from the domestic debut of Spider-Man: Far From Home. The Jon Watts-directed and Tom Holland-starring film will open early, on June 28, in China partially to get a head start before The Eight Hundred opens on July 5. Forbes

• 5

  Xiaohongshu testing a livestreaming feature to drive user engagement

  Chinese social media and e-commerce platform Xiaohongshu, also called RED or Little Red Book, is testing a live-streaming feature to drive user engagement and boost its e-commerce business. TechNode