After Kris Wu, Zhang Zhehan Is the Next Luxury Headache in China
One month after Kris Wu’s explosive scandal, Chinese actor Zhang Zhehan is embroiled in a serious political controversy regarding the nation’s war history. On August 12, Instagram posts of the actor visiting the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo — a controversial symbol of Japan’s war legacy — were exposed on Weibo. He issued a public apology letter today claiming he was sorry for his ignorance about the historical background of the shrine, which commemorates the names of over 1,000 convicted Japanese war criminals. However, China’s official media, People’s Daily, immediately criticized his statement, pointing out that “as a public figure, he has been deficient in historical knowledge, and completely unaware of the nation’s trauma, which is totally unreasonable.” Read more Jing Daily
China Box Office: Market Slows as Delta Variant, Extreme Weather Closes Cinemas
The top three films at the China box office remained unchanged over the three-day weekend August 13-15, as box office takings were hit by the Delta variant, extreme weather and a lack of major new releases. The unofficial blackout on Hollywood films ends this weekend as Disney/Pixar’s “Luca” is scheduled for release on August 20. Lionsgate’s “Chaos Walking,” directed by Doug Liman, is also appearing on local sites such as Douban with an August 27 release date. However, there has been no news on a release date for Disney/Marvel’s “Black Widow.” Read more Screen Daily
