Headlines from China: iQiyi to Take Over Baidu’s Online Ticketing Business

iQiyi to Take Over Baidu’s Online Ticketing Business

On May 17 (Beijing Time), iQiyi CEO Gong Yu announced that iQiyi would take over Baidu Nuomi’s movie ticketing business. In response to the recent news of iQiyi acquiring Nuomi for $200 million, Gong Yu says that the information in the news is not accurate, although iQiyi did enter a deal with Baidu to take over Baidu’s ticketing related resources and business. Moving forward, Baidu will not run any movie ticketing business anymore. iQiyi believes that it’s valuable to integrate movie ticketing business with its existing streaming business in order to build an ecosystem. Read more on Sina

Pixar’s ‘The Incredibles 2’ Set to Open in China on June 22

The Incredibles 2, an upcoming animated film and a sequel to The Incredibles has been set to release in Chinese theaters on June 22, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Chinese release is one week later than its North American release and will likely make the film the last Hollywood movie to be played in China this year before the country’s unofficial summer blackout. The Incredibles, which was released in 2004, raked in $630 million globally and won two Academy Awards. The sequel is again directed and written by Brad Bird and features voices from Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter, and Samuel Jackson. Read more on Mtime

Here is A New Way to Define a Chinese A-lister

People say that a star’s level of popularity in China can be indicated by the luxury brands and games he/she is representing, and this is not an exaggerating statement. In recent years, hiring a celebrity as brand ambassador is becoming a new trend in the gaming sector. Chinese A-listers, including Fan Bingbing, Liu Yifei, Lu Han, and Dilraba, all have represented games before. As gaming companies’  purpose is to attract users, only stars with huge followings will be picked. For stars, being an ambassador for a game is also an easier way to make money, as the country’s regulators have been trying to cap wages actors make from films and TV shows. Read more on entgroup.cn