Global Flicks: Max May Be Coming To South Africa; Apple TV+ And Canal+ Strike Deal

netflix

Africa: HBO Max, soon to be renamed Max, may finally be making its way to South Africa at some point in the following year. Warner Bros. Discovery’s CEO of Global Streaming, Jean-Briac Perrette, has stated that the media giant is looking to expand the service into “new markets.” Max may make its way into South Africa in 2024.

Netflix has released an economic impact report showing that the streaming platform has invested roughly $175 million in developing films in Africa from 2016 to 2022. The streamer has also claimed that it’s investment within the continent has led to the creation of about 12,000 jobs as well as generated roughly $44 million in tax revenue for the countries of Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa, the company’s biggest markets on the in the continent.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali - Gerald Matzka

Asia: The Chinese media company, Wanda, has put its Hoyts cinema division up for sale. Wanda bought the Australian theater chain back in 2015. In addition to being Australia’s second-largest theater chain, Hoyts also owns the country’s largest cinema advertising group, Val Morgan. Meanwhile, China’s largest theater operator, Wanda Cinema Line, will conduct the sale.

The rights to Kitano Takeshi’s upcoming film, Kubi, have been picked up by Japanese studio Kadokawa. The film will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival with Kadokawa handling the Japanese and international releases.

The Legend of Maula Jatt, the highest-grossing Pakistani film from director Bilal Lashari, is getting an international release across many key markets such as the U.K., the U.S., and the UAE. The film initially garnered $13.8 million during its worldwide run on 500 screens.

Irfan Khan’s latest film, The Song of Scorpions, has its official release for April 28th. The film is directed by Anup Singh and also stars Golshifteh Farahani and Waheeda Rehman. The Song of Scorpions was originally slated for a 2021 release in the country but was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The renowned talent agency, WME, have enlisted a new client in Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali and his company Bhansali Productions. Bhansali has worked as a writer, producer, editor, and even composer on a number of films such as Devdas, which garnered a BAFTA nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, and Black, which won the Indian National Film Award for Best Feature Film.

XYZ Films have kicked off a new title for its division of low-budget genre films called New Visions. A slate of the company’s upcoming films will be unveiled at the Cannes Film Market, kicking off with the debut film of director Zarrar Kahn, In Flames.

PVR Inox Managing Director and founder of PVR Cinemas, Ajay Bijli, will be the keynote speaker on International Day at Cinema Con this upcoming week. PVR Cinemas, the massive Indian multiplex chain, operates over 1,600 screens across India and Sri Lanka.

Dubbed the Chinese response to Top Gun: Maverick, the Chinese action film Born to Fly will receive a release in the U.K. and Ireland with the rights to the film now acquired by Trinity CineAsia. The film will be released in China on April 28.

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles will host its first-ever IFFLA Industry Day, centered around a pitch competition that revolves around a number of new and experienced talent pitching projects to a panel of executives. The winner of the competition will be awarded $10,000 for project development.

South Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-woon  has officially signed with CAA. Jee-woon will return to Cannes Film Festival this year for the third time in his career for the premiere of his latest film, Cobweb. The filmmaker’s other two films which premiered at the festival in the past include A Bittersweet Life in 2005 and The Good, the Bad, the Weird in 2008.

Malaysia’s Vision New Media has created a new group CEO role within the company and has appointed Double Vision head of Production Min Lim to the position with former CEO Poh Lin Ho stepping down as CEO. Lim will be reporting to the company chairman Being Teck Lim.

Fogareu

Latin America: The North American rights to Brazilian director Flavia Neves’ debut film, Fogareu, have been picked up by Outsider Pictures, a Los Angeles-based distribution hub for Spanish-language cinema. Fogareu has made rounds across the film festival circuit, premiering at competitions such as Neufchatel, Guadalajara, Vancouver, and Edinburgh.

Efforts to increase diversity and representation within Brazil’s film and television industry look to be gaining traction, following the effects of four years under the right-wing Bolsonaro government. Under the previous administration, indie filmmakers sought commissions from international streaming giants who claim to have taken efforts to diversify their productions all over the world, especially in the wake of the murder of George Floyd.

Cineworld

Europe: Cineworld has pumped the brakes on the sale of their businesses outside of the U.S. and the U.K. The pause on the sale comes as the international theater operator is attempting to escape Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The chain currently also operates in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Israel, and Romania.

Apple TV+ and French media company, Canal+, have made a multi-year deal that will see the streaming giant’s content made available to subscribers of Canal+ in France as well as in other parts of Europe. Subscribers of the French streaming service can begin viewing Apple TV originals such as Ted Lasso and Morning Show as soon as next week.

Mounia Meddour’s upcoming film, Houria, is attempting to put NFTs to use by launching an NFT collection to raise money for the nonprofit organization (United Deaf Women Citizens) based out of Paris. The film is currently playing in theaters across France with Troy Kotsur attached as executive producer.

Petit Duc Doc

Middle East: The trailer for the upcoming documentary about Iranian novelist, Mahmoud Dowlatabadi, has been released. The film, titled An Owl, A Garden, and The Writer, is produced by Sara Dolatabadi and will have its premiere at the documentary film festival, Burning Lights of Visions du Reel, in the following week.