Warner Bros to Build ‘Harry Potter Studio Tour’ with Chinese Group in Shanghai 

The entrance lobby is seen at the "Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo - The Making of Harry Potter" during a press preview before it officially opens to the public in Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2023. (Reuters) 
The entrance lobby is seen at the "Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo - The Making of Harry Potter" during a press preview before it officially opens to the public in Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2023. (Reuters) 
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Warner Bros to Build ‘Harry Potter Studio Tour’ with Chinese Group in Shanghai 

The entrance lobby is seen at the "Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo - The Making of Harry Potter" during a press preview before it officially opens to the public in Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2023. (Reuters) 
The entrance lobby is seen at the "Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo - The Making of Harry Potter" during a press preview before it officially opens to the public in Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2023. (Reuters) 

Warner Bros has agreed to develop a "Harry Potter Studio Tour" in Shanghai with Jinjiang International, the Chinese group said on Wednesday.

Jinjiang said in a social media post that the proposed amusement park would give visitors a behind-the-scenes look at the Harry Potter films and recreate well-known scenes. It will cover an area of over 53,000 square meters.

The project will be part of a large-scale renovation of a Shanghai theme park that Jinjiang operates and is due to open in 2027. The plans are still subject to regulatory approval.

It would mark Warner Bros' third "Harry Potter Studio Tour" worldwide after sites in London and Tokyo.

The Harry Potter franchise is incredibly popular in China, a country where foreign films make up a relatively small percentage of the country's total box office due to strict quotas and a shift to local content.

A Universal Studios theme park in Beijing features "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter", a section dedicated to Harry Potter-themed rides and attractions. The eight Harry Potter films were also re-released in Chinese cinemas last year.



Taylor Swift Announces 12th Studio Album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ 

Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, February 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, February 2, 2025. (Reuters)
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Taylor Swift Announces 12th Studio Album, ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ 

Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, February 2, 2025. (Reuters)
Taylor Swift poses on the red carpet during the 67th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, US, February 2, 2025. (Reuters)

Look what you made her do — Taylor Swift has announced her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl."

Swift announced the album on her website shortly after a countdown timer expired at 12:12 a.m. Tuesday. No release date was announced, but her site said vinyl editions of the album would ship before Oct. 13.

Fans have long theorized that Swift's 12th album would soon arrive. On Monday, Taylor Nation — an official branch of the pop superstar’s marketing team — posted a TikTok slide show of 12 images with the caption "Thinking about when she said 'See you next era...'" Swift is seen wearing orange in every image.

A special limited vinyl edition of the album will be released in "Portofino orange glitter," according to a pre-order page on her site. A special cassette edition is also available for pre-order.

Sensing a pattern, eagle-eyed fans noticed that 12 minutes earlier, the popular "New Heights" podcast posted a tease for Wednesday. The show, hosted by Swift's boyfriend and Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce alongside his brother, former Eagles center Jason Kelce, posted an orange image on social media with a mysterious silhouette, many believing to be Swift.

The podcast announced early Tuesday that Swift would appear on "New Heights" and a teaser video posted about her appearance showed her pulling the album from a briefcase. The actual album artwork, just as it is on her website, is blurred.

"The Life of a Showgirl" follows last year’s "The Tortured Poets Department," announced during the 2024 Grammys and released during her record-breaking tour, which raked in over $2.2 billion across two years and five continents, making it the highest-grossing tour of all time.

The album is also her first release since Swift regained control over her entire body of work. In May, the pop star said she purchased her catalog of recordings, originally released through Big Machine Records, from their most recent owner, the private equity firm Shamrock Capital. She did not disclose the amount.

In recent years, Swift has been rerecording and releasing her first six albums in an attempt to regain control of her music. The project was instigated by Hybe America CEO Scooter Braun’s purchase and sale of her early catalog and represents Swift’s effort to control her own songs and how they’re used. Previous "Taylor’s Version" releases have been more than conventional re-recordings, arriving with new "from the vault" music, Easter eggs and visuals that deepen understanding of her work.

So far, there have been four rerecorded albums, beginning with "Fearless (Taylor’s Version)" and "Red (Taylor’s Version)" in 2021. All four have been massive commercial and cultural successes, each one debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Swift’s last rerecording, "1989 (Taylor’s Version)," arrived in October 2023, just four months after the release of "Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)." That was the same year Swift claimed the record for the woman with the most No. 1 albums in history.