Universal Studios Beijing to Draw Eager Throngs amid Uneasy US-China Ties

People walk past a giant sign of the Universal Beijing Resort ahead of its opening, in Beijing, China August 27, 2021. (Reuters)
People walk past a giant sign of the Universal Beijing Resort ahead of its opening, in Beijing, China August 27, 2021. (Reuters)
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Universal Studios Beijing to Draw Eager Throngs amid Uneasy US-China Ties

People walk past a giant sign of the Universal Beijing Resort ahead of its opening, in Beijing, China August 27, 2021. (Reuters)
People walk past a giant sign of the Universal Beijing Resort ahead of its opening, in Beijing, China August 27, 2021. (Reuters)

Universal Studios’ Beijing resort was set to open its doors to the public on Monday after a two-decade wait, including delays because of COVID-19.

The highly-anticipated opening takes place amid US-China relations that have deeply deteriorated in recent years.

The park will be US-based Universal’s largest and its fifth globally. It is also a first for Beijing, which lacks a big branded theme park to rival the Disney resorts in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

And, it will be the first Universal Park with a section dedicated to the movie “Kung Fu Panda” and includes an area based on the Harry Potter franchise, which is popular in China.

All 10,000 tickets for the opening available in a pre-sale on Sept. 14 sold out in three minutes, according to Trip.com Group.

However, many complained on social media about ticket costs, which range from 418 yuan ($64.76) in the low season to 748 yuan during peak periods.

“This is a rare time in a long while when an America-themed topic has attracted such obvious and widespread praise in China,” the Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, wrote last week.

The resort was proposed 20 years ago by the Beijing Tourism Group, according to the official China Daily, and is 30% owned by Comcast Corp’s Universal Parks & Resorts and 70% by state-owned Beijing Shouhuan Cultural Tourism Investment.

The new Chinese ambassador to Washington, Qin Gang, likened its roller coaster ride to ties between the two countries.

“After all the tumbling and shakes, the roller coaster came to a soft landing in the end,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

Universal Studios announced the development of the resort in 2014, saying at the time it would cost $3.3 billion. In 2017, Comcast Chief Executive said the park could provide $1 billion of operating cash flow per year when it opened.



Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet, French Cinema Power Couple, Call It Quits

Guillaume Canet, left, and Marion Cotillard appear at the premiere of "Before the Flood" ('Avant Le Deluge') in Paris on Oct. 17, 2016. (AP)
Guillaume Canet, left, and Marion Cotillard appear at the premiere of "Before the Flood" ('Avant Le Deluge') in Paris on Oct. 17, 2016. (AP)
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Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet, French Cinema Power Couple, Call It Quits

Guillaume Canet, left, and Marion Cotillard appear at the premiere of "Before the Flood" ('Avant Le Deluge') in Paris on Oct. 17, 2016. (AP)
Guillaume Canet, left, and Marion Cotillard appear at the premiere of "Before the Flood" ('Avant Le Deluge') in Paris on Oct. 17, 2016. (AP)

Oscar winner Marion Cotillard and actor-director Guillaume Canet announced their separation Friday after 18 years and two children together, breaking up a power relationship of French cinema.

Cotillard won an Academy Award in 2008 for her performance as the legendary French singer Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose" and is one of France's best-known stars internationally. She starred with Brad Pitt in the World War II romantic thriller "Allied" and Leonardo DiCaprio in "Inception."

Canet has acting, directing and screenplay credits and played in "The Beach" with DiCaprio.

The 49-year-old Cotillard and 52-year-old Canet starred together in the French-Belgian film "Love Me If You Dare" in 2003, a breakthrough box-office hit in France for her.

They began dating in 2007. They announced their separation in a statement to the Agence France-Presse news agency that said they made the split public "to avoid all speculation, rumors and risky interpretations."

It did not give a reason but said they were separating by "common accord" and with "mutual goodwill."

France-based agents for Cotillard and Canet did not respond to emails from The Associated Press.