Sino Silver Screen: 'Lion King' Remake to Come Out in China a Week Ahead of US Release

This post comes courtesy of our content partners at China Film Insider.

CCTV and Penguin Pictures to Co-Produce BBC Studios’ Seven Worlds, One Planet

BBC Studios recently announced that it had reached a partnership agreement with China Central Television (CCTV) and Tencent’s Penguin Pictures to co-produce an upcoming documentary series titled Seven Worlds, One Planet. BBC Studios has involved Chinese co-producers several times in the past. Previous co-productions include Dynasties, Planet Earth II, and Wild China among others. “We are very happy to expand our long-term collaborations with CCTV and Tencent. These partnerships help us bring our shows to Chinese audiences and get us ready to produce even better shows in the future” said David Weiland, EVP of BBC Studios Asia.

In addition to CCTV and Tencent’s Penguin Pictures, Seven Worlds, One Planet also involves co-producers from France and Germany. The show is set to be released later this year on CCTV Documentary Channel and Tencent Video.

Read more on Mtime.

American Animated Film UglyDolls Set for Aug 9 China Release

American computer-animated film UglyDolls has been rescheduled for an Aug 9 China release. Previously, the film was set to debut on the Mainland on May 31. New posters and stills were also released along with the announcement. The film is produced by Robert Rodriguez (Alita: Battle Angel) and directed by Kelly Asbury (Shrek 2). The film stars the voices of Kelly Clarkson, Nick Jonas, Blake Shelton, Wanda Sykes, and Wang Leehom. Its Chinese version will be dubbed by Gao Xiaosong among other actors.

Read more on Mtime.

Chris Hemsworth Joins the 'China 10 Billion Club'

Men In Black: International opened in China last week and has raked in RMB 38 million as of this writing. The film’s strong China debut has also just made its star Chris Hemsworth a new member of the “China 10 Billion Club.” In addition to Men In Black: International, seven movies starring Chris Hemsworth were released in China previously, all produced by Marvel. In total, the eight movies have made over RMB 10 billion in the Middle Kingdom.

Read more on Mtime.

‘The Lion King’ to Open in China One Week Before US? 

According to online sources, Disney’s upcoming musical drama The Lion King has scored a Jul 12 China release, which is one week before its North American release. Other films that have been set to release in China on July 12 include Chinese language film Drug Lords, Japanese animated film Gekijouban Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel-II.Lost Butterfly, and Indian science fiction film 2.0. The upcoming The Lion King is adapted from Disney’s 1994 animated film of the same name and stars the voices of Donald Glover, Seth Rogan and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Director Jon Favreau also helmed the recent remake of The Jungle Book. 

Read more on Mtime.

Dante Lam’s New Film ‘The Rescue’ Set for 2020 Chinese New Year Release

Today, a press conference was held in Shanghai for Hong Kong director Dante Lam’s upcoming film The Rescue. Director Dante Lam attended the conference along with the film’s cast and crew members including executive director Liang Fengying and lead actor Eddie Peng. It was announced at the conference that The Rescue is set to be released on 2020 Chinese new year’s day. Lam’s previous works include box office hits Operation Mekong and Operation Red Sea among others. Currently, Operation Red Sea is the fourth highest-grossing film of all time in China. The Rescue marks the fourth collaboration between Dante Lam and Eddie Peng.

Read more on Sina.

You might not know it but today is 618, another of China's famed shopping holidays.
Get the DL on how to get the best deals right here.

Images: Teen Vogue