DAILY BRIEF: Aug 16, 2019

1
Alibaba Quarterly Results Beat Expectations, With Entertainment Up 6%
China’s Alibaba Group posted stronger earnings than expected in its first financial quarter thanks to growth in its core e-commerce and cloud computing sectors, reporting Thursday a 42% rise in quarterly revenue. Variety
2
Hong Kong Protesters Push Boycott of Disney’s ‘Mulan’ After Star States Support for Police Crackdown
Disney’s live-action “Mulan” film has become an unlikely battleground for the fight against Beijing’s authoritarian rule after its main star, China-born Crystal Liu Yifei, retweeted a Chinese propaganda post in support of the police crackdown on mass anti-government protests in Hong Kong. Variety
3
Tencent-Backed Maoyan Turns Profit on Strong Ad Growth
Maoyan Entertainment, China’s top movie-ticketing platform backed by Tencent Holdings, recorded its first-ever half-year net profit despite sliding box-office sales. Caixin Global
4
European films are boffo in China: report
China became the largest export market for European films in terms of admissions in 2017, the European Audiovisual Observatory said in a recent report carried by the People’s Daily. Asia Times
5
Ludi Lin in Talks to Play Liu Kang in New Line’s ‘Mortal Kombat’ (EXCLUSIVE)
Chinese-Canadian actor Ludi Lin is currently in negotiations with New Line Cinema to play the role of Liu Kang in “Mortal Kombat,” its upcoming live-action version of the video game, Variety has learned. Variety