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75 films from 12 countries, 228 guests of honour and 65 thousand spectators. These are all the numbers of Udine Far East Film Festival 2024. There was an increase of accredited visitors (of 24% over 2023) and the screenings at Udine's 1,200-seat Teatro Nuovo venue were always full, from 9 in the morning to midnight. This says a lot about the growing interest in Asian Cinema.

China and South Korea were the protagonists of the opening Night of Wednesday the 24th of April, with two international premieres: Yolo and Citizen of a Kind, followed by some more South Korean box office sensations, The Roundup: Punishment, 12.12: The Day and horror movie Exhuma. Some very welcome returns of festival friends were Jun Lana, with LGBT comedy of errors Becky & Badette, Norris Wong with the musical The Lyricist Wanna Be, Nick Cheung, in the director's chair, with Peg O'My Heart and Herman Yau with three actioners: Moscow Mission, Raid of...

Incredibly prolific director Herman Yau presents his fourth film of the 2023, “Moscow Mission”, after “The White Storm 3: Heaven or Hell”, “Death Notice” and “Raid on the Lethal Zone”. Yau has turned into a bona fide master of action and this last effort is a bombastic take on the true story of a series of violent robberies in 1993 on the Beijing-Moscow train and the Chinese mission to eradicate them and capture the robbers. It's not the first film dealing with these particular incidents; Michael Mak had directed “The Train Robbers” in 1995, and there is also a more recent 31-episode online drama, directed by Zhang Rui. Chen Daming has curated the screenplay, incorporating as much action set pieces as possible, although, maybe at the expense of the script's fluidity.

Moscow Mission is screening at UdineFar East Film Festival 2024

It's 1993 and the economy situation in China and Russia is in a state of great confusion.

Let's begin by talking about the numbers of the Far East Film Festival 26. This year the Feff community will be able to watch 75 films from 11 countries. More precisely, 15 world premieres (including those of restored classics), 24 international premieres, 19 European premieres and 13 Italian premieres. Expected in Udine from 24 April to 2 May, in the historic headquarters of the Teatro Nuovo and in the spaces of the Visionario, the Far East Film Festival 26 will give life to a 9-day long full immersion and it will colour the heart of the city with Asia (there are over 100 thematic events scheduled). A real feast of cinema.

The Opening Night on Wednesday 24 April will travel between China and South Korea with two international premieres. The task of opening the curtain will fall to “Yolo”, the blockbuster that bears the signature of famous comedy star Jia Ling (here in the double role of director and protagonist). It is...

Zhang Yimou is set to receive the Golden Mulberry Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Far East Film Festival (Feff).

The auteur, a key figure in China’s Fifth Generation of filmmakers, is best known for his films ‎Raise the Red Lantern, ‎Red Sorghum, To Live, Hero and House of the Flying Daggers, and was also directed the memorable opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Also receiving the coveted Golden Mulberry at the 26th edition of Feff is Taiwanese producer Chiu Fu-sheng. Chiu, a legendary figure in the Asian film industry, is known for his collaborations with auteur filmmakers including Hou Hsiao-hsien, producing A City of Sadness (1989) and The Puppetmaster (1993) and Zhang, producing both Raise the Red Lantern and To Live (1994). Zhang’s 2023 film Under the Light will also compete in the main competition at Feff.

Feff, the respected Italian festival that takes place in the northern city of Udine,...

The Far East Film Festival (Feff) in Italy’s Udine has unveiled the full line-up for its 26th edition, which will honour Chinese filmmaker Zhang Yimou with an honorary award and world premiere restored versions of his Raise The Red Lantern and To Live.

Running April 24 to May 2, the festival will open with a double bill: Chinese box office hit Yolo and South Korean action-comedy Citizen Of A Kind.

Yolo dominated this year’s Lunar New Year releases, grossing $484m in China, and is directed by Jia Ling, who stars as an unemployed woman in her 30s whose life is...

Herman Yao’s latest film, Moscow Mission, chronicled a group of brave detectives who were sent to Moscow to eradicate a group of dangerous train robbers who had been terrorizing the trans-Siberian railway. The eyewitnesses claimed that the robbers often boarded the train disguised as regular passengers, sometimes individually or in groups. Once the train left the station, they donned their signature ski masks and robbed the entire train at gunpoint. Those who cooperated were left to see another day, while others became victims of their wrath. Once they were done, they pulled the chain and made their exit.

Spoilers Ahead

How does Cui Zhenhai plan to catch the robbers?

The latest robbery jeopardized the trade between Russia and China and even tarnished the latter’s reputation on a global scale. Since the robbers were a grave threat to both domestic and international travelers, the Chinese government brought in the big guns.

“Only the River Flows,” a pitch-black crime noir from auteur Wei Shujun, comfortably topped the mainland China box office on a quietish weekend.

The film, ostensibly a murder mystery, but one concerned more with atmosphere than linear plotting, earned $12.6 million (RMB90.8 million) in its opening three days, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, or close to a third of the market.

The film had its premiere in Cannes where Variety gave it a rave review, calling it an “inventive riff on Asian-noir” and making comparisons with films by Park Chan-wook and Diao Yinan.

“Only the River Flows” has since played at a succession of festivals ever since, including New Zealand, BFI London, Vancouver, Adelaide and last week’s Pingyao event in China.

Falling to second place at the box office after three weeks on top was Zhang Yimou’s “Under the Light,” which earned $6.9 million for a four-weekend cumulative of $176 million.

Taylor Swift’s concert film delivered a $92.8m opening in North America and $30.7m internationally

Worldwide box office Oct 13-15 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) 3-day (int’l) Territories 1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (various) $128m $128m $32m $32m 95 2. Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Paramount) $31.5m $126.4m $24.5m $76.5m 68 3. Exorcist: The Believer (Universal) $26.9m $85m $15.9m $40m 79 4. Under The Light (various) $13.4m $150.1m $13.4m $150.1m 2 5. The Creator (Disney) $10.2m $79.1m $5.9m $46.7m 51 6. The Volunteers: To The War (various) $9.5m $85.9m $9.5m $85.9m 2 7. Saw X (Lionsgate) $9.2m $71.3m $3.5m $29.9m 57 8. The Ex-Files 4: The Marriage...

Taylor Swift’s concert film delivered a $96.0m opening in North America and $32.0m internationally

Worldwide box office Oct 13-15 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) 3-day (int’l) Territories 1. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (various) $128m $128m $32m $32m 95 2. Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Paramount) $31.5m $126.4m $24.5m $76.5m 68 3. Exorcist: The Believer (Universal) $26.9m $85m $15.9m $40m 79 4. Under The Light (various) $13.4m $150.1m $13.4m $150.1m 2 5. The Creator (Disney) $10.2m $79.1m $5.9m $46.7m 51 6. The Volunteers: To The War (various) $9.5m $85.9m $9.5m $85.9m 2 7. Saw X (Lionsgate) $9.2m $71.3m $3.5m $29.9m 57 8. The Ex-Files 4: The Marriage...

A dearth of new release films allowed Zhang Yimou’s “Under the Light” to retain a comfortable lead at the China box office over the weekend, in its third week of release.

The contemporary crime drama film earned $13.5 million (RMB97.2 million) between Friday and Sunday, according to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway. Since releasing on Sept. 28, it has accumulated gross revenues of $163 million (RMB1.17 billion).

Zhang will be feted with a lifetime achievement award in Japan next week, where the Tokyo International Film Festival will play his February record breaker “Full River Red,” but not “Under the Light.”

“The Volunteers: To the War,” a 1950s-set propaganda film directed by Chen Kaige, earned $9.6 million (RMB69.2 million) and rose from third to second place. It now has a cumulative of $93.2 million. Chinese comedy franchise film “The Ex-Files 4: Marriage Plan” took $8.8 million in its third week of release, advancing its cumulative to $123 million.

The Zhang Yimou-directed contemporary drama film “Under the Light” retained its top spot at the mainland China box office for a second weekend, but with numbers that dropped steeply, as macro-economic weakening led to a Golden Week of across the board disappointment.

Financial media Monday reported that consumers travelled less and spent less on leisure than had been forecast, likely reflecting general economic belt tightening, high unemployment and property sector worries.

Before the holidays, cinema ticketing firm Maoyan had forecast that the first three days would throw up box office of RMB1.5 billion (208 million) and that “Under the Light” alone would reach RMB2 billion ($278 million) by the end of the eight-day holiday season (Sept. 29-Oct. 6). Those estimates proved to be highly over-optimistic.

The company now reports that the eight-day total box office amounted to Rmb 2.734 billion from ticket sales of 65.1 million.

The positive spin is that box office was...

Paramount’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie is the top US studio film in the worldwide market with an estimated $46.1m opening

Worldwide box office Sept 29-Oct 1 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l) Territories 1. Under The Light (various) $54.8m $61.9m $54.8m $61.9m 1 2. Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie (Paramount) $46.1m $46.1m $23.1m $23.1m 46 3. Ex-Files 4: The Marriage Plan (various) $41.4m $53.9m $41.4m $53.9m 6 4. The Creator (Disney) $32.3m $32.3m $18.3m $18.3m 49 5. The Volunteers: To The War (various) $30.8m $34.5m $30.8m $34.5m 2 6. Saw X (various) $29.3m $29.3m $11.3m $11.3m 51 7. Moscow Mission (various) $22.9m $22.9m $22.9m $22.9m...

A clutch of Chinese movies released for the end of September holiday season dominated the global box office over the latest weekend. Mainland Chinese-produced films took first, third and fifth places across the planet, according to U.S.-based data service Comscore.

Comscore shows “Under the Light,” which released only in mainland China, grossing an estimated $54 million between Friday and Sunday. That put it ahead of Paramount’s “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie,” which earned an estimated $23.0 million in the North America (aka ‘domestic’) market and a further $23.1 million in the rest of the world, for a weekend total of $46.1 million.

In third place globally was another Chinese film “The Ex-Files 4: The Marriage Plan,” which released in China and five other territories for a weekend total of $41.4 million. “The Creator” earned $32.3 million across the planet, comprising an $18.3 million international score and $14 million from North America. Fifth, planetwide, was Chinese...

Update: Here we are with a sort of hybrid weekend at the international box office: there were fresh entries from the Hollywood studios, as well as major new titles timed to holiday play in local markets, and a holdover that’s continuing to rack up records.

On the studio side, Paramount/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie took top dog status in its expanded rollout. The family title had, last week, released in Australia and New Zealand before adding 43 offshore markets this session for a total $23.1M to date overseas. The global start is $46.1M.

Word of mouth is strong with these pups, who are out in just 53% of the international marketplace to date. On a like-for-like basis including previews, the overseas opening result is 70% ahead of Paw Patrol: The Movie, giving this Cal Brunker-directed title the best opening for the franchise.

Amid heavy competition, but also with praise from local media,...

It may be the last week of summer but Hollywood was buzzing with news from LA to Telluride to Venice, China and in the courts too. Check out this week’s top film stories:

Steven Spielberg’s Cannes Jury Duty Leads DreamWorks To Remake Deal On ‘Like Father, Like Son’

By Mike Fleming Jr – Exclusive: Who says jury duty is a waste of time? DreamWorks is negotiating right now with Fuji TV for remake rights to the Japanese film Like Father, Like Son (Soshite Chichi Ni Naru).

R.I.P. Talent Manager J.J. Harris

By Nikki Finke – Motion picture and television talent agent/manager J.J. Harris died of what is believed to be natural causes on Friday afternoon and was found today in her Beverly Hills home by her staff. She was 62

MPAA Wins Hotfile Copyright Lawsuit

By Dominic Patten – Nearly two years and a half years after first...