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Should Beijing International Film Festival Change Its Dates As Well?
Last year, the Academy for Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced that the 2020 Oscar award ceremony would take place on February 9, which then led many other film awards and festivals, such as Berlinale, BAFTA and Santa Barbara International Film Festival, to change their dates. This will likely affect major Chinese film festivals as well, as international film festivals and markets are important for Chinese film festivals to acquire films. For example, the schedule change of Berlinale/EFM will leave less time for the Beijing International Film Festival to plan its programs. Read more on movie1958
‘The Wandering Earth’ Crosses RMB 3 Billion ($443 M) Mark after 10 Days
As of local time 3:00 pm on February 14 , Chinese science fiction film The Wandering Earth has made over 3 billion yuan ($443 million) in ticket sales after 10 days in release, becoming the sixth film to join the three-billion club in China. The other five films in the “three-billion club” are Wolf Warrior 2 (RMB 5.68 billion), Operation Red Sea (RMB 3.65 billion), Detective Chinatown 2 (RMB 3.4 billion), The Mermaid (RMB 3.39 billion) and Dying to Survive (RMB 3.1 billion). It’s predicted that The Wandering Earth will easily surpass the aforementioned films except Wolf Warrior 2. It remains to be seen if The Wandering Earth will eventually overtake Wolf Warrior 2 to become the highest-grossing film of all time in China. Read more on Mtime
Live-streaming Platform Douyu to File For U.S. IPO
E-Sports live-streaming platform Douyu is proceeding with its US IPO, a person close to the company’s executives confirmed to The Beijing News on February 13. Previously, IFR Asia reported that Douyu has filed for a $500 million US IPO and is expected to go public as soon as the second quarter of 2019. If the platform is successfully listed, it will be the second Chinese game-streaming company to launch its IPO in the US, following Huya, which went public in May 2018. According to public records, Douyu company has completed six rounds of financing and raised RMB 7 billion (US$1.03 B). Chinese tech giant Tencent participated in four rounds and was the lead investor of series B and series C rounds. Read more on The Beijing News
