Headlines from China: What’s Next for Youku?

What’s Next for Youku?

Recently, Chinese online video giant Youku’s president Yang Weidong was arrested amid corruption probe. The news came as a shock to many, as Yang was last seen by the public only a week ago as a keynote speaker at an industry event. At Youku, Yang was the most powerful figure with the authority to make decisions on acquisition deals and give green light to production projects. Over the past few years, with support from Alibaba, Youku has been lavishly spending money producing and acquiring content in order to compete with iQiyi and Tencnet Video. This helped Youku build a decent content library and also gave its executives the opportunity to corrupt. In the post Yang Weidong-era, Youku, as well as other loaded online video platforms, will need to think about not only how to best use the content they own but also how to fight corruption. Read more on entgroup.cn

‘An Elephant Sitting Still’ Set for January 11 Taiwan Release

Chinese arthouse film An Elephant Sitting Still has been scheduled to release in Taiwan on January 11, 2019. As the winner of this year’s Golden Horse Best Picture Award, the film will be able to hit the cinemas in Taiwan without going through the lottery system for a release permit. According to Apple Daily, the film became highly coveted after being awarded at the Golden Horse and eventually sold its Taiwan rights for $40,000, which is much higher than the average amount of acquisition fee a mainland film can get in Taiwan. Read more on Mtime

Minions to Appear on Chinese Screens in December Along with ‘The Grinch’

American 3D computer-animated film The Grinch will open in Chinese theaters on December 14. The film is produced by Illumination, the studio behind the Despicable Me franchise, and features the voice of Benedict Cumberbatch. According to sources familiar with the matter, the film will be preceded by a very funny Minions prison break short called Yellow is the New Black. In 2015, Minions, the prequel to the Despicable Me franchise, was released in China and made 116 million yuan ($16.85 million) on its opening day. Since them, these yellow creatures have been loved in the middle kingdom. Read more on Mtime