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After working with some of the top directors in the region like South Korea’s Yeon Sang-ho and Japan’s Hirokazu Kore-eda, Uprising‘s Gang Dong-won told Deadline that he would like to work with directors Bong Joon-ho and Guillermo del Toro in the future, among others.

In Uprising, Gang plays a slave named Cheon-yeong, who develops a close friendship with his master (and nobleman) Jong-ryeo, who is played by Park Jeong-min.

Uprising premiered on Netflix this week after screening as the opening film at the Busan International Film Festival (Biff).

Netflix’s Uprising is set in 1592, against the backdrop of Joseon’s war against Japanese invasions. King Seonjo flees the capital to escape from the advancing Japanese army.

Gang got involved in the film after veteran director Park Chan-wook — who co-wrote Uprising with Shin Cheol — gave him a call. Gang admitted that he was curious about the project...

Acclaimed Korean filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho has set mystery thriller The Ugly as his next feature, which Plus M Entertainment will introduce to buyers at the Asian Contents & Film Market (Acfm) in Busan this week.

Yeon is known for directing Peninsula, which received a Cannes 2020 label and proved box office hit across Asia, taking $46.7m at the height of the pandemic; zombie thriller Train To Busan, which played at Cannes in 2016 and went on to take $140m at the global box office; and The King of Pigs, which became the first Korean animation to screen at Cannes when it was selected...

Blackpink’s Jisoo is making waves with her upcoming role in the zombie thriller series titled Newtopia, previously known as Influenza. Confirmed by Coupang Play on August 1, the series has fans eagerly anticipating its release in 2025. The excitement is further heightened by the involvement of Han Jin-won, the Oscar-winning writer of Parasite, and director Yoon Sung Hyun.

Jisoo will share the screen with Park Jung Min, who is celebrated for his performances in Hellbound and Smugglers. In Newtopia, the drama unfolds around a viral outbreak in downtown Seoul, turning infected individuals into zombies. The series will focus on a young couple, Lee Jae Joon and Kang Young Ju, portrayed by Jung Min and Jisoo, respectively, as they struggle to reunite amidst the chaos.

The real game begins Squid Game season 2 release date announced

Coupangplay shared the photos and captioned, “The day we broke up, the zombie saw the world 우리가 We finally saw it!

“Deadpool & Wolverine” landed on top of the South Korea box office in a weekend double header with “Despicable Me 4.”

But, if the idea of opening two Hollywood franchise movies against each other was to shock Korean audiences back into the cinemas, it was a misfire.

“Deadpool & Wolverine” earned $5.48 million between Friday and Sunday, accounting for a nearly 45% share of the overall market, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Over its full five-day opening session, it accumulated $8.18 million.

“Despicable Me 4” took second place with $2.42 million, representing 20% of the nationwide weekend total. Over its five-day opening run, the film earned $3.98 million.

Overall box office at the weekend was $12.2 million, a week-on-week improvement of 17%. But final figures for July are likely to significantly lag those of last year, when “Elemental,” “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1” and “Smugglers” were the top titles.

Fresh from the Cannes premiere of action thriller I, The Executioner, South Korean filmmaker Ryoo Seung-wan is preparing to shoot espionage action feature Humint later this year.

Filming is set to begin in October with a cast including Zo In-sung, Park Jeong-min, Park Hae-joon and Nana. Produced by Filmmakers R&k it will be distributed by New. International sales are handled by Contents Panda.

Humint stands for Human Intelligence, a term used in the military to refer to the collection of information through people rather than gathering intelligence via more technical means.

The story will depict North and South Korean...

Ryoo Seung-wan, the South Korean film director who was last month in Cannes with “I, The Executioner,” says that his next picture will be an espionage action movie.

It is pitched as “depicting North and South Korean secret agents clashing while [also] uncovering crimes occurring at the border with Vladivostok, Russia.”

Currently titled, “Humint,” a reference to espionage industry’s shorthand for collection of intelligence through humans, rather than signals or data, the new film is to be produced by his Filmmaker R&k company and distributed by New.

Ryoo also says that throughout his career he has sought to change genres and that “Humint” will represent a “more mature espionage action” picture than some of his previous efforts.

Ryoo will release “I, The Executioner” at an unspecified date in the second half of this year. He has already settled the casting of “Humint” and has scheduled full-scale production of the...

Exclusive: AI firm Flawless, distributor-financier XYZ Films (Mandy), and producer Tea Shop Productions (The Fall) have acquired Michel Gondry’s 2023 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight movie The Book Of Solutions for all English-speaking territories.

Directed and written by Gondry, the French-language comedy is the first film in seven years from the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep filmmaker.

It will be releases simultaneously in the original French language and converted to a director-approved English-language version using Flawless’ TrueSync AI technology, which became known after movies like The Fall. You can read about Flawless’ “visual translation” techniques and acquisitions strategy in our story here.

Pic stars Pierre Niney, Blanche Gardin, Francoise Lebrun and Vincent Elbaz and was produced by George Bermann at Partizan.

In the film, Marc (Niney), a bipolar and paranoid filmmaker, is having trouble with his latest project. With his editor as an accomplice, he manages...

The last couple of years have really ramped up in AI capability and debate. It even became one of the biggest issues that the artists fought for when the writers and actors held union strikes when Hollywood studios started to implement more of the technology to cut certain corners. People all over social media would blow up at Disney for attempting to slip by some rather synthetic-looking extras for a basketball scene in a Disney+ movie titled Prom Pact. Even films like Civil War and Late Night with the Devil, which have been shown admiration and support from audiences for the filmmakers’ ingenuity with their creative visions, came under fire for using AI technology for producing images.

A new article from The Hollywood Reporter has admitted that “everyone in Hollywood uses AI, but they are scared to admit it.” Naturally, no matter how big or how small the usage is,...

For horror fans, Late Night With the Devil marked one of the year’s most anticipated releases. Embracing an analog film filter, the found-footage flick starring David Dastmalchian reaped praise for its top-notch production design by leaning into a ’70s-era grindhouse aesthetic reminiscent of Dawn of the Dead or Death Race 2000. Following a late-night talk show host airing a Halloween special in 1977, it had all the makings of a cult hit.

But the movie may be remembered more for the controversy surrounding its use of cutaway graphics created by generative artificial intelligence tools. One image of a dancing skeleton in particular incensed some theatergoers. Leading up to its theatrical debut in March, it faced the prospect of a boycott, though that never materialized.

The movie’s directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes defended the AI usage, explaining the art was touched up by human hands. In a statement, they said, “We...

by Paweł Mizgalewicz

„Smugglers” is a pretty bright and fun crime film that also delivers some really insightful look at Korea as a Western-aspiring country and at the pains of poverty. Most impressing is perhaps that it manages so well to do all of it at once, without slowing down the pace. The main characters of this female-led story are far from mysterious, dark, Scorsese-like figures that would encourage us to ponder the intricacies of human psyche in its never ending lust for power. In “Smugglers”, going against the law is a pragmatic decision born out of economic despair. Struggling fisherwomen of 1970's Jeju town face the choice in the film's opening minutes – keep diving for stinky snails of diminishing quality, trying to make ends meet, or take a chance at moving Western merchandise left on the sea bottoms of the Korea Strait. American cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes and all...

Rights to “I, The Executioner,” which will premiere as a Midnight Screening at the Cannes Film Festival this year, have been picked up by South Korea’s Cj Enm.

The crime-action film directed by Ryu Seung-wan (also written Ryoo Seung-wan) is a sequel to Ryu’s 2015 hit “Veteran” and in Korea goes by the title “Veteran 2.”

Few details of the story have yet been disclosed, but Cj describes the film as “combining Ryu’s trademark action with observations and messages about social change.” Ryu last year enjoyed major box office success with crime comedy “Smugglers.”

Hwang Jung-min, who recently enjoyed box office success in “12.12: The Day,” reprises his role from “Veteran.” He is joined in the sequel by Jung Hae-in (“Tune in for Love”) as a new member of the film’s Violent Crime Investigation Squad.

“I, The Executioner” was produced by Filmmaker R & K, the production shingle owned...

Two women’s lives transform when their diving careers move from harvesting shellfish to high stakes smuggling in Ryoo Seung-n’s ‘70s set comedic action thriller, Smugglers. After a healthy theatrical run in South Korea and a North American premiere at TIFF, Ryoo’s latest actioner made American landfall at SXSW Film last week to rapturous audiences, and with good reason. It’s great. Choon-ja (Kim Hye-soo) and Jin-sook (Yum Jung-ah) are haenyeo, female divers who hunt for shellfish off the coast of their small town. When new factories poison the water and threaten their livelihood, the pair and their team reluctantly take on a job bringing up booty from the sea floor left by smuggling ships to make ends meet. As the take gets bigger and the smuggling...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Oscar winner Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s formalist arthouse drama Evil Does Not Exist won the best film prize Sunday night at the Asia Film Awards in Hong Kong.

The Japanese film industry had a big night overall at the 17th edition of the awards ceremony, which was hosted this year in Hong Kong’s gleaming new Xiqu Centre, part of the city’s $2.7 billion West Kowloon Cultural District development. Japanese festival favorite Hirokazu Kore-eda won best director for his mystery drama Monster, while the great Koji Yakusho took best actor for Wim Wender’s moving minimalist drama Perfect Days. Hamaguchi’s chief collaborator on Evil Does Not Exist, Eiko Ishibashi, won best music and the Kaiju critical and commercial sensation Godzilla Minus One claimed both best visual effects and best sound.

In many ways, it was Zhang Yimou’s night, however. The venerated Chinese director took the stage twice, once to...

Hamaguchi Ryusuke’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” was Sunday evening named as the best picture at the Asian Film Awards.

The 17th edition of the prizes was held at the Xiqu Centre, part of the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong.

While “Evil Does Not Exist” and Korean blockbuster “12.12: The Day” had dominated the nominations with six each, including those in the best film category, the prizes on Sunday were much more evenly distributed. No title collected more than two prizes.

Outside, crowds failed to be muted by the March drizzle, though VIP guests were given escorts with purple umbrellas.

Filmmaker and industry attendance was also robust. Those spotted on the red carpet and pre-event cocktails included: Lee Yong Kwan (former chair of the Busan film festival), Tom Yoda, Udine festival heads Sabrina Baracetti and Thomas Bertacche, Anthony Chen, Stanley Kwan, Rina Damayanti, Hong Kong distributor Winnie Tsang,...

A total of 35 films from 24 countries and regions have been shortlisted to compete for 16 awards at this year's Asian Film Awards.

Renowned Japanese director Kurosawa Kiyoshi will serve as the Jury President for this year's Awards. As the first Japanese director to hold this position, Kurosawa Kiyoshi is deeply honored. He will lead the Jury and over 200 Voting Members in selecting the winners for this year's Asian Film Awards.

The winners of other Afa awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, Afa Next Generation Award, and Rising Star Award, will be announced later.

The 17th Asian Film Awards Nomination List

Best Film

12.12: The Day (South Korea)

Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)

Paradise

Perfect Days (Japan)

Snow Leopard (Mainland China)

Best Director

Kim Sung-soo | 12.12: The Day (South Korea)

Gu Xiaogang | Dwelling by the West Lake (Mainland China)

Hamaguchi Ryusuke | Evil Does Not Exist (Japan)

Kore-eda Hirokazu...

‘Snow Leopard’, ‘Paradise’, ‘The Goldfinger’ and ‘Godzilla Minus One’ also land multiple nods.

South Korean box office hit 12.12: The Day and Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist lead the nominations for the 17th Asian Film Awards, with six nods each including best film.

Also up for best film is Prasanna Vithanage’s Paradise from Sri Lanka-India, Wim Wenders Perfect Days from Japan and Chinese feature Snow Leopard by the late Pema Tseden.

Scroll down for full list of nominations

The winners will be announced at a ceremony in Hong Kong on March 10 and will be decided by a...

Japanese filmmaker Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s latest feature, Evil Does Not Exist, and the period action pic 12.12: The Day, from Korea, lead the nominations at this year’s Asian Film Awards.

Both films received six nominations, including Best Film and Best Director. Directed by Kim Sung-soo, whose credits include Asura: The City Of Madness and The Flu, 12.12: The Day is set against the backdrop of the real-life military coup of 1979, which resulted in an eight-year military junta in South Korea. The cast includes Hwang Jung-min (The Wailing), Jung Woo-sung (Asura: The City Of Madness), and Lee Sung-min (The Spy Gone North). Released on November 22, the film sailed past the 12 million admissions mark at the Korean box office over the Christmas holiday period, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2023 in the market.

Hamaguchi’s Evil Does Not Exist — which debuted out of Venice — follows Takumi and his daughter Hana, who live...

Hit local titles include ’12.12: The Day’ and ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’.

South Korea’s box office admissions recorded a rise of 11% in 2023, boosted by two local hits, but saw 44.8% fewer cinemagoers than in pre-Covid 2019.

There was a total of 125.1 million admissions in 2023, according to the Korea Box-office Information System (Kobis), demonstrating steady growth year-on-year.

However, with audiences still not returning to cinemas at pre-pandemic levels, the number is a 44.8% decrease from 2019, which was year before the Covid-19 outbreak but also the all-time highest box office year on record in terms of admissions and gross.

Total box office gross...

Although the Korean movie industry recently announced that the local box office recovered to 70% of Pre-pandemic Level, largely due to the success of “12.12: The Day” which was released on November 22nd and has earned 7,729,273 admissions by December 14, the situation with local cinema is not exactly hopeful, as a number of key figures and specialists mention. Particularly the fact that the majority of talent, including movie stars and filmmakers seem to move towards the rather more popular dramas, the gap left in the movie industry is felt more than ever. At the same time, though, not everything is all bad, since the mainstream movies still find ways out in festivals, streaming and distribution, while a number of intense social dramas remind of the second reason Korean cinema reached the heights it holds now (apart from crime thrillers).

In any case, here are the best South Korean films of 2023, in reverse order.

Political drama thriller “12.12: The Day” dominated the South Korean box office for a second weekend with a $13 million haul.

Its second weekend outing topped its first session, when it earned $11.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). And the film (aka “Seoul Spring”) increased its share of the weekend’s total cinema market to a crushing 81%.

Separately, ComScore calculated that the film’s single country receipts made it the seventh highest grossing film in the world over the weekend.

After two weekends on release, “12.12: The Day” has garnered $34.2 million, making it already the sixth ranking film in Korea this year and the third biggest Korean-produced picture. On this track, it will overtake “Smugglers” before the next weekend.

In terms of admissions, “12.12: The Day” enjoyed 1.7 million ticket sales over the weekend, for a running total of 4.66 million. The traditional...

by Paweł Mizgalewicz

„Smugglers” is a pretty bright and fun crime film that also delivers some really insightful look at Korea as a Western-aspiring country and at the pains of poverty. Most impressing is perhaps that it manages so well to do all of it at once, without slowing down the pace. The main characters of this female-led story are far from mysterious, dark, Scorsese-like figures that would encourage us to ponder the intricacies of human psyche in its never ending lust for power. In “Smugglers”, going against the law is a pragmatic decision born out of economic despair. Struggling fisherwomen of 1970's Jeju town face the choice in the film's opening minutes – keep diving for stinky snails of diminishing quality, trying to make ends meet, or take a chance at moving Western merchandise left on the sea bottoms of the Korea Strait. American cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes and all...

Ringing Korea’S Grand Bell

“Concrete Utopia,” South Korea’s Oscar contender, was Wednesday named best film at the country’s annual Grand Bell Awards. It also won prizes for best actor, best supporting actress, art direction, sound mixing and visual effects. A disaster movie set in a devastated Seoul, it makes an unusual Academy Awards selection, but has gained high praise from reviewers. Variety this week said the film felt like “’Earthquake’ crossed with ‘Lord of the Flies’.”

The Grand Bell’s best director award nevertheless went to Ryoo Seung-wan for “Smugglers,” while Ahn Tae-jin took the best new director award for “The Night Owl.”

In the other half of the event, Disney+’s “Moving” was named best series, earning Han Hyo-joo the best series actress award to boot.

The Grand Bell Awards, aka Daejong Film Awards, are organized by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea.

Cineasia Honors

The...

The curtain has come down on Disney’s answer to Squid Game, the smash-hit Korea YA superhero drama Moving. After becoming Disney+ and Hulu’s most-watched Korean drama of all time after just seven days of release, the series released its three-part season finale on Wednesday.

Moving is an adaptation of a popular webtoon created by the influential Korean graphic artist Kang Full, whose works have been adapted into numerous Korean films. In his series-writing debut, Kang wrote the screenplay for every one of Moving’s episodes. The show stars some of the biggest names in Korean film and TV, including Ryu Seung-ryong (Miracle in Cell No. 7), Han Hyo-joo (20th Century Girl) and Zo In-sung (Smugglers) in his long-awaited return to the drama series format. All episodes of Moving’s first season were directed by Park In-je, best known for helming Netflix’s hit Korean zombie series Kingdom.

Moving...

The South Korean box office got a new chart topper with mystery drama “Sleep,” but the weekend was a sleepy affair.

“Sleep” earned $2.97 million over the weekend, according to Friday to Sunday data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Over its full opening five days, it grossed $3.97 million.

The film, which had its world premiere in Cannes in May, is the tale of a newly-married couple whose relationship is challenged by the man’s nightly disturbances, in which he claims that someone else is inside him. “Sleep” is directed by Jason Yu and produced by Lewis Kim at Lewis Pictures.

The top-ranked new release meant that “Oppenheimer” slipped to second place after three weeks on top. “Oppenheimer” earned $1.09 million to expand its cumulative total in Korea to $24.0 million. That is now the tenth highest score of 2023.

“Concrete Utopia,” the disaster action-drama that is Korea’s Oscars contender,...

Director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers has been acquired ahead of its Gala Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Flawless, along with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions, announced today their acquisition of the South Korean crime-action epic. Deadline reported in May that Flawless, co-founded by filmmaker Scott Mann (Fall), had partnered with U.S. seller and distributor XYZ Films (Run Rabbit Run) and UK producer Tea Shop Productions (47 Meters Down) to acquire rights to foreign-language films and convert them to English for distribution in English-speaking territories.

Ryoo Seung-wan has helmed some of South Korea’s most commercially-successful titles and earned seven nominations from the Grand Bell Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. Set in the 1970s, the film tells the story of a pair of haenyeo — women free divers who harvest shellfish — who are driven to underwater smuggling and must battle it out with a...

“Oppenheimer” remained the top performing film in South Korea for the third successive weekend. It earned $2.04 million for a 19-day cumulative total of $22.4 million.

The row of wins for “Oppenheimer” demonstrates again Korean audiences appreciation of top acting skills. But it also exposes the weakened selection of competing titles in the Korean market.

The top-ranked new release title was the drama thriller “Don’t Buy the Seller,” which landed in second position, according to weekend data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). It scored just $1.27 million over the weekend and $1.87 million over its opening five days.

That weakness pulled the nationwide cinema box office aggregate below trend and below $10 million for the second successive weekend. Takings across all cinemas between Friday and Sunday were just $7.21 million, down from $9.95 million a week earlier.

Previously, Korean cinemas had enjoyed weekend gross revenues of more than $10 million for the 16 weeks,...

Disney appears to be having a Squid Game moment.

The star-studded Korean spy series Moving has become Disney+ and Hulu’s most-watched K-drama ever — in the U.S. and globally — within just seven days of release. The show launched on Disney’s streaming services on Aug. 9 and has become the company’s most popular series in any language, based on hours streamed, across the Asia Pacific region, including in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan. That means viewers in Asia have already watched Moving more than Disney’s core franchise series like The Mandalorian. (Disney declined to share more precise viewership data.)

“The global consumer response towards the first 11 episodes of Moving has exceeded our expectations,” said Carol Choi, Disney’s executive vp of original content strategy in Apac. “From the U.S. to all across Apac, it is fast becoming a breakout hit with its captivating storyline,...

Disney+ has scored the next breakout hit from Asia after “Squid Game.”

Star-studded international espionage series “Moving” has become the most watched Korean original on Disney+ globally and Hulu in the U.S., based on hours streamed after seven days.

In its first week since launch on Aug. 9, the series also became the most watched series on Disney+ across Asia Pacific, including in Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan – based on hours watched – and the biggest premiere on Disney+ in Korea to date, based on hours streamed in the first week since launch. “Moving” launched globally on Disney+ in 65 markets and countries and Hulu in the U.S.

Featuring stars who are household names in Korea, including Ryu Seung-ryong (“Life is Beautiful”), Han Hyo-joo (“20th Century Girl”) and Zo In-sung (“Smugglers”), “Moving” is based on Kang Full’s hit webtoon. It tells the story of a group of...

Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...

Lee Byung-hun-starring disaster movie “Concrete Utopia” topped the South Korean box office over the latest weekend, replacing female led crime caper “Smugglers.”

Directed by Um Tae-hwa, “Concrete Utopia” is set in a Seoul that has been largely destroyed by a massive earthquake. One building stands tall among the wreckage and becomes a refuge for those already inside, but the inhabitants must fend of the unwanted attentions of outsiders.

It opened on Wednesday, earning $8.40 million between Friday and Sunday and fully $11.3 million over its full opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). The data showed it has an impressive 53% market share.

“Smugglers” continued to perform strongly. While it slipped from first to second place in its third week, over the weekend it added $3.19 million. That lifted its 19-day cumulative total to $31.5 million. Local media report that it has passed...

Back in the 1970s, when Korea was closed to the outside world, locals relied on black market dealers to get their hands on everything from American cigarettes to Ritz crackers. Though this illicit import racket was run mostly by men, it wouldn’t have been possible without half a dozen uniquely talented women — skilled divers known as haenyeo who fished the loot from the sea. At least, that’s the fresh girl-power premise floated by action maven Ryoo Seung-wan (“The Battleship Island”) in his snappy, retro-styled crime saga, “Smugglers.”

Featuring a funky Lalo Schifrin-esque score (from composer Chang Ki-ha) and more wide-collared polyester pantsuits than a “Charlie’s Angels” costume contest, the movie presents itself as a lost relic of less enlightened times, but boasts gender dynamics that are very much of this moment. In early scenes, the divers earn their living fetching oysters off the ocean floor — or at...

The programme comprises 47 films from 45 countries.

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the line-up for its Centrepiece programme, with 47 titles screening from filmmakers representing 45 countries.

Included in the programme (previously known as Contemporary World Cinema) are Victor Erice’s Close Your Eyes, getting its North American premiere; Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves, receiving its Canadian premiere; and Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border, a North American premiere.

Scroll down for the full list of Centrepiece titles

TIFF also announced additional titles for its Galas, Special Presentations and Documentaries programmes, among them the world premiere of Brian Helgeland’s Finestkind.

The Toronto International Film Festival has added 59 more films to the lineup of its 2023 festival, including 47 international films in the Centrepiece program, which in previous years was known as Contemporary World Cinema. New films were also added to the Galas, Special Presentations and Documentary sections.

World premieres among the new selections include “Finestkind,” a crime thriller from Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential”) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster; The Movie Teller,” a film set in Chile starring Berenice Bejo from “An Education” director Lone Scherfig; and Jessica Yu’s “Quiz Lady,” with Sandra Oh and Awkwafina.

The Centrepiece selections include a number of films from May’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “About Dry Grasses,” Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s “Banel & Adama,” Amjad Al Rasheed’s “Inshallah a Boy,” Joanna Arnow’s “The Feeling That the...

Despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers strikes, the Toronto Film Festival continues to turn up the star wattage for its 48th edition, adding movies with Dakota Johnson, Bérénice Bejo, Awkwafina, Sandra Oh and Mads Mikkelsen to its lineup on Thursday.

For the Gala section, TIFF unveiled the A-list heavy crime drama Finestkind from Brian Helgeland, the Oscar-winning writer-director behind Mystic River and L.A. Confidential; and A Knight’s Tale, which stars Ben Foster, Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones and Toby Wallace.

Also headed to Roy Thomson Hall is the South Korean drama A Normal Family, directed by Hur Jin-ho, the Korean auteur who in the past premiered Dangerous Liaisons and April Snow in Toronto. TIFF earlier tapped fellow Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers for its Special Presentations sidebar, and has now bumped that drama up to a gala screening in Toronto after a world bow in Locarno.

Ryu Seung-wan’s female-led crime caper “Smugglers” topped the South Korean box office for a second weekend, ahead of new release title “Ransomed.”

“Smugglers” enjoyed a strong hold in its second weekend of release and commanded 42% market share. It delivered $7.09 million, a drop of only 20% on its opening weekend, giving a 12-day cumulative of $26.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

“Ransomed,” a 1980s-set drama thriller set in Lebanon, follows the travails of a low-ranking Korean diplomat who performs heroics in an attempt to rescue a kidnapped official. The film opened in second place with $3.34 million over the weekend and $5.19 million over its full five-day opening run.

“Elemental,” the Pixar cartoon that has charmed Korea, continued in a strong third place. It earned $2.26 million over the weekend, for a cumulative of $47.5 million. That total means that it has overtaken Japanese animated...

There is female empowerment in Korean cinemas, but it is coming more from local characters, than global hit “Barbie.”

Female-led crime action film “Smugglers” dominated the weekend at the South Korean box office and pushed aside “Mission: impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” which had headed the chart for the previous two sessions.

“Smugglers” earned $9.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), giving it a nearly 54% market share. Over its full five opening days, the film has built up a cumulative total of $13.1 million.

Directed by stylish action specialist Ryoo Seungwan (aka Ryu Seung-wan), “Smugglers” is set in Jeju where some of the island’s famous diving women have lost their jobs. Instead they use their skills to mount a smuggling operation, collecting illegal shipments that have been dropped into the sea.

The film has already been...

Korea’s box office reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels of revenue in the first half of 2023, according to data released by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).

Korean action film The Roundup: No Way Out was the highest-grossing film of the period – pulling in $82M from 10.68 million admissions – followed by two Japanese animated features, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk, and U.S. titles Avatar: The Way Of Water and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.

Total box office for the period reached $475M (KRW607.8Bn), equivalent to 72.5% of average box office during the January-June period in 2017-2019, before Covid-19 shuttered cinemas and played havoc with release schedules.

As in many other territories, the recovery was partly due to ticket price increases, as admissions totalled 58.39 million, which is only 57.8% of the pre-pandemic average in the same period during 2017-2019.

While the top-grossing film in the first half was Korean, local films achieved only 54% of their pre-pandemic average,...

Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and director Greta Gerwig visited South Korea early on the promotional tour for ‘Barbie’ (without Ryan Gosling). But their charm failed to translate into strong box office performance in the country and the film opened anonymously in fourth place over the weekend.

“Barbie” earned just $1.19 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.91 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Worth just 8% of the nationwide weekend total, “Barbie’s” scores were barely better than fellow new release title “Insidious: the Red Door.” That earned $1.17 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.90 million over five days.

Indeed, the weekend’s highest opener, landing in third ahead of “Barbie” and “Insidious,” was Japanese animation title “Detective Conan the Movie: Black Iron Submarine.” Releasing on Thursday, it earned $1.80 million over the weekend and $2.66 million over its opening four days.

Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World (Radu Jude).The lineup for the 76th edition of the festival has been announced, including new films by Eduardo Williams, Leonor Teles, Lav Diaz, Radu Jude, and others.Concorso INTERNAZIONALEAnimal (Sofia Exarchou)Critical Zone (Ali Ahmadzadeh)Essential Truths of the Lake (Lav Diaz)Home (Leonor Teles)The Human Surge 3 (Eduardo Williams)The Invisible Fight (Rainer Sarnet)Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World (Radu Jude)Lousy Carter (Bob Byington)Manga D’Terra (Basil Da Cunha)Nuit Obscure – Au Revoir Ici, N’Importe Où (Sylvain George)Patagonia (Simone Bozzelli)The Permanent Picture (Laura Ferrés)Rossosperanza (Annarita Zambrano)Stepne (Maryna Vroda)Sweet Dreams (Ena Sendijarević)The Vanishing Soldier (Dani Rosenberg)Yannick (Quentin Dupieux)Excursion (Una Gunjak).Concorso Cineasti Del PRESENTECamping du Lac (Eléonore Saintagnan)Ein Schöner Ort (Katharina Huber)Excursion (Una Gunjak)Family Portrait (Lucy Kerr)Dreaming...

A stellar precursor to the busy fall film festival season, Locarno Film Festival annually premieres some of the year’s most exciting cinema and 2023 looks to be no different. Taking place from August 2-12 in the Swiss town, the festival has now unveiled its lineup for the 76th edition. Highlights include Eduardo Williams’ The Human Surge 3 (brilliantly forgoing a second film), Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World, Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths of the Lake, Sylvain George’s Nuit Obscure – Au Revoir Ici, N’Importe Où, and Quentin Dupieux’s Yannick.

Speaking to its main section, Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “From Quentin Dupieux and his edgy surrealism to Lav Diaz. From the sarcastic humor of Radu Jude to the night poetry of Sylvain Georges. From the mad inventions of Rainer Sarnet to the abstract psychedelia of Eduardo Williams.

The Locarno International Film Festival unveiled the full program for 2023 on Wednesday, with dozens of world premieres set to screen in the 76th edition of the Swiss festival.

Locarno’s main Piazza Grande section will include several of this season’s festival favorites, among them Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall from French director Justine Triet starring Sandra Hüller; Ken Loach’s latest (and possibly last) feature, The Old Oak; Noora Niasari’s Sundance audience award winner Shayda, featuring Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi; and Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s comedy Theater Camp, which won a special jury prize at Sundance. Other highlights include U.S. horror feature Falling Stars by directors Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki; Dammi from 71′ and White Boy Rick-helmer Yann Demange; and Magnetic Continent, the new nature documentary from March of the Penguins‘ filmmaker Luc Jacquet about the continent of Antarctica.