According to comScore figures this New Year’s Eve, the worldwide box office has hit a record $39.92B. That’s up 3% over 2016 and makes 2017 the highest-grossing year ever in global box office history. While domestic box office is set to ring in 2018 with a close on 2017 of $11.12B, 2.3% down from 2016’s record $11.4B…

In 2017, China and U.S. relations stumbled from a combination of a new administration in the White House and the Chinese government pulling back on investment outside of its borders. And there's yet more change to come in 2018 where the Middle Kingdom and Hollywood are concerned. One of the key prospects to consider…

In October, China’s state media authority predicted box office growth of as much as 20% or more across the full year, landing at an estimated RMB 55B ($8.3B) in what would be a record take for the massive market. With a month and a half to go in 2017, Middle Kingdom turnstiles clicked past RMB 50B ($7.53B) on Monday…

James Schamus, former head of Focus Features and co-founder of indie pioneer Good Machine, said the U.S. independent film business needs to get back to its international origins in order to see a full-scale resurgence. During a solo appearance at the Producers Guild of America's Produced By New York conference…

Chinese box office is expected to see a strong boost when 2017's final numbers are tallied: up as much as 20% or more to RMB 55B ($8.31B), according to the state media authority. The growth this year is spurred on by the massive takings of Wolf Warrior 2 and other hits like The Fate Of The Furious and the current Never…

Celestial Tiger Entertainment (CTE), has announced that it has secured first and exclusive pay TV rights to Wolf Warrior 2. The mega action pic starring and directed by Chinese action star Wu Jing is the top-grossing film in China, breaking the record previously held by Stephen Chow's fantasy comedy The Mermaid. "We…

While Wolf Warrior 2 has been demolishing records in China and is just on the verge of crossing $800M, EuropaCorp’s Valerian and the City of A Thousand Planets opened in previews on Wed. and had its first full day of release to cume $9.9M in the Middle Kingdom (including 300K in previews). That displaces WW2 at No. 1…

UPDATED, TUES. 10:30 AM: All grosses have been updated below. Looking ahead, Warner Bros. should see its Christopher Nolan epic Dunkirk cross the $400M worldwide milestone this week just as its superhero film Wonder Woman crossed $800M this weekend, with Japan to come on Friday. The studio’s Annabelle: Creation also…

UPDATE, WRITETHRU with actuals: New Line/Warner Bros’ Annabelle: Creation came to life at the international box office this weekend with $35.4M in her first wide frame. That was a slight bump for the doll versus Sunday estimates. The prequel spinoff was the major expanded title in overseas markets, while pictures like…

UPDATE: The film that just won’t quit in China, Wolf Warrior 2, has now crossed into even further uncharted territory. Wu Jing’s Rambo-esque actioner passed the $600M mark at the Middle Kingdom box office today, gnashing its teeth on an estimated $618.6M (RMB 4.13B), per local research outfit Ent Group. Earlier this…

TUESDAY UPDATE (with actuals & Valerian figures): Far and away the leader of the pack, Wolf Warriors 2 ran off with the weekend at the international box office. That was thanks to a China performance that pushed it to $470M through Sunday, and to an all-time record-breaking RMB 3.4B ($506M) through Monday midnight to…

UPDATE, SUNDAY AM writethru with additional detail: Having heated up the Chinese box office last weekend, Wolf Warriors 2 is biting at new milestones in its 2nd frame. Through Saturday, the Wu Jing-helmed and starring action film is at an estimated $406M (RMB 2.73B) after 10 days in release and based on local…