Headlines from China: Disney’s “Mulan” Liu Yifei Among Frontrunners for China’s Razzie Awards

A Still from “Once Upon A Time”

Disney’s “Mulan” Liu Yifei Among Frontrunners for China’s Golden Raspberry Awards

Golden Broom Awards, often dubbed as China’s Golden Raspberry Awards, recently opened its online poll. This year, the competition for the Most Disappointing Actress Award is much fiercer compared to previous years. Liu Yifei and Yang Mi are among frontrunners in this category. Liu Yifei was recently chosen by Disney as the lead of its upcoming live-action “Mulan.” However, her performance in fantasy drama “Once Upon A Time” disappointed many in 2017. Read more on Mtime

Monkey King Film Leads Chinese New Year Presale Box Office 

As the most lucrative season of the Chinese cinematic year, the upcoming Chinese new year holiday becomes the battleground for local films to make big bucks. This year, big-budget films, including “Monster Hunt 2,” “Detective Chinatown 2,” “The Monkey King 3,” and “Operation Red Sea,” are expected to dominate the box office. Featuring China’s most popular IP “Monkey King,” The Monkey King 3 started ticket presale recently, and has raked in 10 million yuan ($1.56 million) as of now, topping the chart of Chinese New Year presale box office. Read more on yuemu

LeEco’s Listed Unit Calls Off Restructuring Plan 

LeShi Internet Information & Technology, the listed arm of LeEco, is cancelling its plans to restructure its assets or to change its name to New LeShi, according to an official statement made by the company on January 19. This statement marks the failure of LeShi’s restructuring efforts, which have lasted two years with the goal of acquiring LeEco’s filmmaking subsidiary Le Vision Pictures. Read more on TMT Post 

Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent Video Plan to Lose $3 Billion in 2018

2017 witnessed fierce competition and rapid growth of the online streaming sector in China. Leading online streaming sites, such as Youku, iQiyi, and Tencent Video, are getting ready for even fiercer competition in 2018. Both Youku and Tencent have projected $1.25 billion loss in their 2018 budgets while iQiyi projected $468 million. The investments being budgeted will be used to acquire copyrights, grow audience, and increase market share. Read more on Ent Group