Bona Film Group and Wanda Film Affected by Investigation of Accounting Firm Ruihua
Following a series of black swan incidents in the entertainment sector last year, the Chinese capital market continues to be affected by such events this year. Recently, top accounting firm Ruihua is being investigated by authorities for being related to two firms that are caught up in P2P lending scandals. The investigation led to suspensions of 29 IPO cases that Ruihua was working on, including the upcoming IPO of film studio Bona Film Group. In addition, Wanda Film’s plan to raise up to RMB 4 billion in the capital market is also suspended as Ruihua was hired by Wanda Film for this project. Read more on Ent Group
Short-video MCN Papitube Sued for Music Copyright Infringement
Recently, Beijing Internet Court held a court session to judge the alleged copyright infringement of Papitude, which was sued by music licensing platform VFine Music for using Japanese label Lullatone’s music without permission. Founded by Chinese comedian and social media influencer Papi Jiang, Papitude is a MCN (multichannel network) that mainly works with short-video platforms to produce content. As short-video apps gradually dominate the online content sector in China, content creators sometimes repurpose music clips without permission from the rights holder. The Papitube case marks the first time an MCN is brought to court for such practice. Read more on Ent Group
‘Ne Zha’ Beats ‘Coco’ to Become the Second Highest-Grossing Animated Film In China
As of July 31, Chinese local animated feature Ne Zha has earned nearly RMB1.288 billion at the box office over the 6 days after it released. It makes Ne Zha overtake Pixar’s Coco (RMB1.212 B) to become the second highest-grossing animated film, after Zootopia (RMB1.527 B). Ne Zha is also expected to be the first animated film that crosses RMB2 billion at the Chinese box office. China’s total box office revenue in this July is RMB5.696 billion, down 18.3 percent from RMB6.966 billion a year earlier. It is not a big surprise to see a slowdown in this summer’s box office, after several films, such as The Eight Hundred and The Last Wish, canceled their summer releases. Read more on Mtime
