Japanese animated film “The First Slam Dunk” has taken a strong early lead at the mainland China box office, picking up $13.8 million on its Thursday opening day. Films mostly release in China on Fridays, but the Japanese hit was given previews on Wednesday and a full court release on…
Toei
TAKING TOEI Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund Public Investment Fund (PIF) has increased its stake in Japanese film and TV studio Toei Company, from 5% to 6.03%, according to a report by the Reuters financial news agency. The move comes shortly after Toei published a ten-year plan for international expansion.…
Major Japanese film group Toei Company has reorganized its senior management following the death of Tezuka Osamu, its CEO and president. And it unveiled a new ten-year plan that calls for investment and international expansion. Tezuka, who is not a relation of the late anime director of the same name,…
“Avatar: The Way of Water” enjoyed the highest box office takings in Korea over the weekend and reclaimed the top spot after falling to second place a week earlier. But Japanese animation film “The First Slam Dunk,” now in its fourth weekend on release, was the most watched film of…
Saudi-owned MBC Group, which is the top broadcaster in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), is boosting anime offerings on its Shahid streaming platform by ordering up a slew of new content from several Japanese studios. Reflecting a strong appetite for anime across the region – especially in Saudi,…
Shinkai Makoto’s new anime feature “Suzume” has earned $13.5 million (JPY1.88 billion) in just three days since its Nov. 11 opening at the Japanese box office, a personal best for the proven hitmaker. The opening surpasses his previous smashes “Your Name” from 2016 and “Weathering With You” from 2019. Meanwhile,…
BOX OFFICE Toei Animation‘s “One Piece Film: Red,” the 15th film in the popular anime series, shot to the top of the box office charts in Saudi Arabia and achieved the biggest opening ever for a Japanese anime in the market, MENA-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has revealed. The…
Just how far can Luffy stretch? That’s a question “One Piece” fans have been asking for years of the Gum-Gum hero with the go-go-gadget arms. Sure, there are limits to Luffy’s flexibility, but if you look at the pirate adventure series to which he belongs — one that’s been serialized…
After a red carpet parade lasting nearly two-hours, the opening ceremony for the 2022 Tokyo International Film Festival kicked off with a musical number performed by four women from the Takarazuka all-female theater troupe in black men’s suits. There is over 100 years of tradition behind Takarazuka-style performances, in which…
The Olympic Games, the Coronation of the Emperor and the COVID pandemic have each thrown up challenges to the normal functioning of the Tokyo International Film Festival in recent years. But the festival’s chairman Ando Hiroyasu was bullish about this year’s 35th edition, when he spoke to Variety. Is the…
30 years after Japanese moviegoers first heard “The Flower of Carnage,” the theme song of Toshio Fujita’s “Lady Snowblood” sung by star Meiko Kaji, it came to mainstream Western audiences via Quentin Tarantino’s “Kill Bill.” Kaji’s sweet, clear voice sings about a “woman who walks at the brink of life…
Japan’s Toei Animation and Korea’s CJ ENM unveiled a volley of new projects on Saturday flowing from their previously-established cooperation pact. The new shows include: a series that will be produced in both live action and animated formats; a live action series; and a third animation series. “The genesis of…