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Asia's Biggest Film Festival Back in Top Form in 2022

Movie stars, directors and fans descended on South Korea's port town of Busan Wednesday as Asia's largest film festival returned at full power post-pandemic Jung Yeon-je AFP
Movie stars, directors and fans descended on South Korea's port town of Busan Wednesday as Asia's largest film festival returned at full power post-pandemic Jung Yeon-je AFP
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Asia's Biggest Film Festival Back in Top Form in 2022

Movie stars, directors and fans descended on South Korea's port town of Busan Wednesday as Asia's largest film festival returned at full power post-pandemic Jung Yeon-je AFP
Movie stars, directors and fans descended on South Korea's port town of Busan Wednesday as Asia's largest film festival returned at full power post-pandemic Jung Yeon-je AFP

Movie stars, directors and fans descended on South Korea's port town of Busan Wednesday as Asia's largest film festival returned at full power post-pandemic, with an Iranian film opening the event.

Top Korean actors and Asian stars including Hong Kong's legendary Tony Leung are set to attend the Busan International Film Festival, which opened with a red carpet event and will run until October 14, AFP said.

South Korea has cemented its status as a global cultural powerhouse in recent years, thanks in part to the explosive success of the Oscar-winning film "Parasite" and the Netflix series "Squid Game".

But due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Busan festival was reduced to a fraction of its usual scale in 2020, while last year's edition took place with a number of social distancing measures.

But the festival is back with no restrictions for 2022, with high-profile guests such as Japan's famed filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda flying in to discuss their latest projects.

"We feel fortunate to be able to play the role of Asia's best film festival again," festival director Huh Moon-young told reporters last month.

The festival will feature 243 movies from 71 countries, including 89 that will have their world premiere.

Hosts South Korea are well-represented, with K-pop megastar and actress IU joining Kore-eda to discuss their film "Broker" -- which was featured at the Cannes film festival earlier this year.

The festival opened with Iranian filmmaker Hadi Mohaghegh's "Scent of Wind", which tells the story of a father and a son -- both of whom have disabilities -- living in a remote village.

Celebrating Tony Leung
Hong Kong's acclaimed actor Tony Leung has been selected as the recipient of Busan's "Asian Cineaste of the Year" prize.

The festival will screen six films featuring Leung, who will be in Busan to receive the award and meet with festival goers.

Leung, 60, is best known for his collaborations with famed director Wong Kar-wai, and picked the six films himself -- which include Wong's "In the Mood for Love" (2000) and "Happy Together" (1997).

Other anticipated screenings include Korean-Canadian director Anthony Shim's "Riceboy Sleeps," which tells the story of a Korean immigrant single mother, said the festival's programmer Nam Dong-chul.

"The movie is expected to become the next 'Minari'," Nam said, referring to a 2020 drama about South Korean immigrants in the United States, which received rave reviews and a slew of awards, including the best supporting actress Oscar.

Four South Korean top stars -- Kang Dong-won, Han Ji-min, Lee Young-ae and Ha Jung-woo -- will meet with fans in Busan to talk about their life and work.

Japanese director Kei Ishikawa's drama "A Man" -- about a widow who discovers unexpected truths about her late husband -- will close the edition.

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Entertainment

‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)

With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed fresh life into a box office that has struggled lately, leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.

Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.” It’s also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, “Gladiator II” was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, “Gladiator II” has performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

Going into the weekend, box office was down about 11% from last year and some 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant this week's two headline films led a much-needed resurgence for theaters. With “Moana 2” releasing Wednesday, Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“This weekend’s two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

The collision of the two movies led to some echoes of the “Barbenheimer” effect of last year, when “Barbie" and “Oppenheimer” launched simultaneously. The nickname this time, “Glicked,” wasn’t quite as catchy and the cultural imprint was also notably less. Few people sought out a double feature this time. The domestic grosses in 2023 – $162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer” – were also higher.

But the counter-programming effect was still potent for “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” which likewise split broadly along gender lines. And it was again the female-leaning release – “Wicked,” like “Barbie” before it – that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for “Wicked” were female, while 61% of those seeing “Gladiator II” were male.

And while “Barbenheimer” benefitted enormously from meme-spread word-of-mouth, both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” leaned on all-out marketing blitzes.

Both movies pulled out all the stops in global advertising campaigns that spanned everything from “Wicked” Mattel dolls (some of which led to an awkward recall) to an Airbnb cross-promotion with the actual Colosseum in Rome. For “Gladiator II,” Paramount even took the unusual step of simultaneously running a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio station and digital platforms.

Though “Wicked” will face some direct competition from “Moana 2,” it would seem to be better set up for a long and lucrative run in theaters. Even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has had mostly stellar reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. The reception for “Wicked” has been strong enough that Oscar prognosticators expect it to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

Producers, perhaps sensing a hit, also took the step of splitting “Wicked” in two. Part two, already filmed, is due out next November. Each “Wicked” installation cost around $150 million to make.

“Gladiator II” has also enjoyed good reviews, particularly for Washington's charismatic performance. Audience scores, though, were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. “Gladiator II” will make up for some of that, however, with robust international sales. It launched in many overseas markets a week ago, earning $87 million before landing in North America.