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S. Korean Migrant’s Tale to Open Asia’s Biggest Film Festival 

(L-R) Producer Youn Hee-young, actor Joo Jong-hyuk, actor Kim Woo-kyum and director Jang Kun-jae pose after a press conference following the screening of “Because I Hate Korea”, the opening film for the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on October 4, 2023. (AFP)
(L-R) Producer Youn Hee-young, actor Joo Jong-hyuk, actor Kim Woo-kyum and director Jang Kun-jae pose after a press conference following the screening of “Because I Hate Korea”, the opening film for the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on October 4, 2023. (AFP)
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S. Korean Migrant’s Tale to Open Asia’s Biggest Film Festival 

(L-R) Producer Youn Hee-young, actor Joo Jong-hyuk, actor Kim Woo-kyum and director Jang Kun-jae pose after a press conference following the screening of “Because I Hate Korea”, the opening film for the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on October 4, 2023. (AFP)
(L-R) Producer Youn Hee-young, actor Joo Jong-hyuk, actor Kim Woo-kyum and director Jang Kun-jae pose after a press conference following the screening of “Because I Hate Korea”, the opening film for the 28th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan on October 4, 2023. (AFP)

A South Korean film about a disillusioned young woman who relocates to New Zealand will open Asia's largest film festival Wednesday as it looks to rally from a year marked by scandal and budget cutbacks.

The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) will run until October 13 and feature 209 official entries from 69 countries. Eighty will be making their world premieres in the southern port city.

This year's edition comes as organizers grapple with the fallout from former festival director Huh Moon-yung's resignation in May amid accusations of sexual misconduct. An inquiry is underway.

BIFF had its 2023 budget reduced by about 10 percent as sponsors withdrew in the wake of the allegations, according to organizers.

Kang Seung-ah, now serving as acting managing director, acknowledged they had endured a "difficult phase".

But "leveraging the strength of our members, we have prepared a festival that is more substantial than ever before", Kang told reporters ahead of the event.

The world premiere of South Korean director Jang Kun-jae's "Because I Hate Korea" will take center stage on opening night.

The film, which revolves around a young woman's decision to abandon her monotonous life in South Korea and go overseas alone, is based on the best-selling 2015 novel of the same name by Chang Kang-myoung.

Described as "an earnest exploration of the pursuit of happiness", it addresses the challenges faced by Korea's younger generation, including intense competition and widening class disparity.

"The Movie Emperor", a satirical take on the Chinese film industry directed by Ning Hao and starring Hong Kong actor Andy Lau, will close the festival.

Ning's comedy "deftly captures the fine line between the film industries in Hong Kong and mainland China", as well as the "delicate relationship between Western film festivals and Asian filmmakers", according to the program notes.

'Dear Jinri'

The festival will also feature serious star power, with acclaimed Hong Kong actor Chow Yun Fat being presented the Asian Filmmaker of the Year award.

Three of Chow's films -- "A Better Tomorrow" (1986), "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and 2023's "One More Chance" -- will be screened in his honor.

Other highly anticipated screenings include "Dear Jinri", a documentary that features late K-pop star Sulli's last and incomplete project.

Sulli, born Choi Jin-ri, took her own life in 2019 after a long struggle with online bullying. The film includes her final media interview, which has not been disclosed previously.

Korea's filmmaking diaspora will also be showcased with a special series of screenings that includes "Searching" (2018), starring John Cho, and director Celine Song's Sundance favorite "Past Lives".

Netflix's highly anticipated "Yellow Door: 90s Lo-fi Film Club" will also have its world premiere at BIFF.

The documentary film spotlights the celebrated generation of South Korean filmmakers that emerged in the 1990s, including Oscar-winning "Parasite" director Bong Joon-ho.

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Entertainment

‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Bests ‘Mortal Kombat II’ at the Box Office

Meryl Streep, wearing Givenchy by Sarah Burton FW26, arrives at the New York Premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” held at the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on 20 April 2026 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. (AP)
Meryl Streep, wearing Givenchy by Sarah Burton FW26, arrives at the New York Premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” held at the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on 20 April 2026 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. (AP)
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‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Bests ‘Mortal Kombat II’ at the Box Office

Meryl Streep, wearing Givenchy by Sarah Burton FW26, arrives at the New York Premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” held at the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on 20 April 2026 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. (AP)
Meryl Streep, wearing Givenchy by Sarah Burton FW26, arrives at the New York Premiere of “The Devil Wears Prada 2” held at the David Geffen Hall at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on 20 April 2026 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. (AP)

In a box office battle of the sequels, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” had the slight edge over “Mortal Kombat II” in North American theaters this weekend. According to studio estimates Sunday, “The Devil Wears Prada 2” earned a chart topping $43 million in its second weekend, while “Mortal Kombat II” took in $40 million in its first.

This weekend had wide variety of newcomers playing in wide release, including the family-friendly whodunnit “The Sheep Detectives” and a James Cameron co-directed Billie Eilish concert film.

But it was the holdover that triumphed. “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” which has grossed $433.2 million worldwide in its first 12 days in release, helped push The Walt Disney Studios over $2 billion globally for the year. It’s also surpassed the total grosses of the first film, which earned $327 million globally in 2006, not accounting for inflation.

“Mortal Kombat II” provided some gendered counterprogramming in the second weekend of Hollywood's summer movie season. Warner Bros. opened the movie in 3,503 locations where it drew a heavily male audience. According to PostTrak, 75% of the ticket buyers were men. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” had almost the exact opposite gender breakdown on its first weekend.

The first movie in this series, “Mortal Kombat,” was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in April 2021 as a part of Warner Bros.’ pandemic-era day-and-date strategy. Reviews have been mixed for the sequel, as was its B CinemaScore. It also earned $23 million from 78 markets internationally, adding up to a $63 million global debut.

“Michael” landed in third place in its third weekend with another $36.5 million over the weekend, down only 33% from last weekend. The Michael Jackson biopic has now earned $240.5 million in North America, surpassing the total domestic grosses of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” and $577.4 million globally.

Fourth place went to Amazon MGM Studios' “The Sheep Detectives” which brought in $15.9 million in its first weekend in 3,457 theaters. The quirky, all-ages murder mystery features a starry ensemble including Hugh Jackman, Emma Thompson and Nicholas Braun, as well as the voices of Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bryan Cranston, Regina Hall and Patrick Stewart as the sheep who try to figure out who murdered their shepherd. Audiences gave it an A- CinemaScore. The movie cost a reported $75 million to produce.

Rounding out the top five was “Billie Eilish—Hit Me Hard & Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D)” an immersive concert experience which Cameron shared co-directing credits on with Eilish. Paramount released the movie in 2,613 theaters, where it earned $7.5 million in North America and $12.6 million internationally. The movie was very well reviewed by critics (93% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences, who gave it an A CinemaScore.

Entertainment

Eurovision Fever Hits Host City Vienna

The Austrian capital is pulling out all the stops to host the 70th edition of the world's most-watched song contest. Joe Klamar / AFP
The Austrian capital is pulling out all the stops to host the 70th edition of the world's most-watched song contest. Joe Klamar / AFP
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Eurovision Fever Hits Host City Vienna

The Austrian capital is pulling out all the stops to host the 70th edition of the world's most-watched song contest. Joe Klamar / AFP
The Austrian capital is pulling out all the stops to host the 70th edition of the world's most-watched song contest. Joe Klamar / AFP

Eurovision fever was set to hit Vienna on Sunday with events planned for thousands of fans in advance of the song contest's grand final on May 16, with the build-up once again facing calls for a boycott over Israel's participation.

The Austrian capital is pulling out all the stops to host the 70th edition of the world's most-watched song contest, with many side events scheduled in the run-up, AFP said.

On Sunday afternoon, it will roll out the carpet -- which at Eurovision is not red but turquoise -- to welcome a parade of the 35 delegations from participating countries, as part of a colorful opening ceremony set to begin at 1200 GMT.

On the agenda: the best - and worst - from seven decades of the music competition on a giant screen in front of the neo-Gothic city hall, in a square turned into a secured area reserved for fans.

Today, the contest reaches more than 170 million people on television and online around the world, and its content generates billions of views across digital platforms.

Finland is the heavy favorite this year, hoping to hit the jackpot with an entry pairing brooding singer Pete Parkkonen with radiant violinist Linda Lampenius.

Instruments are usually pre-recorded but organizers the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) have made an exception to allow Lampenius to play live, according to the Nordic country's media.

- Hundreds of police -

Spain, Ireland, Iceland, the Netherlands and Slovenia have decided to snub this year's edition in protest at Israel's participation.

They have criticized Israel over its bombardment of Gaza in retaliation for the October 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas.

More than 1,000 artists or groups have also called for a boycott, including Peter Gabriel and Massive Attack.

Pro-Palestinian as well as pro-Israeli demonstrations are planned in Vienna with tight security helmed by several hundred police officers on duty every day until Saturday's finale.

Germany, France, Italy and Britain, which contribute the largest financial share, are guaranteed a place in the final.

Austria will also be on stage because local artist JJ won the previous edition. But this year, its contestant, Cosmo, is not expected to trouble the leaderboard.

Entertainment

The Cannes Film Festival Is About to Begin. Here Are the Key Films Making Their Debut

This image released by Neon shows Hwang Jung-min in a scene from "Hope." (Neon via AP)
This image released by Neon shows Hwang Jung-min in a scene from "Hope." (Neon via AP)
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The Cannes Film Festival Is About to Begin. Here Are the Key Films Making Their Debut

This image released by Neon shows Hwang Jung-min in a scene from "Hope." (Neon via AP)
This image released by Neon shows Hwang Jung-min in a scene from "Hope." (Neon via AP)

For 12 days this week, the eyes of the movie world will be on the Cannes Film Festival.

The Cote d’Azur spectacular will play host — starting on Tuesday — to some of the most anticipated movies of the year in a constant parade of red carpets and megawatt premieres. This year, Hollywood studios are mostly on the sidelines. But for more than 78 years, Cannes has been an unparalleled showcase, and sun-dappled circus, for some of the best in cinema.

Last year that included Oscar nominees like “Sentimental Value,” “The Secret Agent” and “It Was Just an Accident.” This year is just as likely to produce a crop of contenders. In recent years, movies like “Parasite” and “Anora” have launched at Cannes and gone on to win best picture at the Academy Awards.

Presiding over the jury deciding the Palme this year is South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook. At the opening ceremony Tuesday, Cannes will also bestow an honorary Palme d’Or on Peter Jackson. Later, Barbra Streisand will get one, too.

So there will be much to keep an eye on at this year’s Cannes, including “The White Lotus.” The HBO series has come to the Croisette — the Mediterranean city's famous promenade — to shoot its fourth season.

On the screen, these are some of the movies that should stir Cannes.

‘Hope’ Na Hong-jin isn’t as well-known as some of his fellow Korean filmmakers, but he may be poised for a breakout moment this year. His latest is a long-gestating sci-fi thriller that Cannes artistic director Thierry Fremaux said “constantly changes genres.” The cast has both Korean and Hollywood stars, including Hwang Jung-min, Zo In-sung, Jung Ho-yeon, Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander and Taylor Russell.

‘Paper Tiger’ Though not initially announced as part of the festival competition slate, James Gray’s latest Queens-set drama was subsequently added. And it instantly became one of the most anticipated and star-studded American films at the festival. Gray, the filmmaker of “Armageddon Time” and “The Immigrant,” tells a story about two brothers (Adam Driver, Miles Teller) who become mixed up with the Russian mafia. Scarlett Johansson co-stars.

‘Fjord’ The Romanian director Cristian Mungiu is a heavyweight of European cinema because of films like the 2007 Palme d’Or winner “4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days” and 2022’s “R.M.N.” Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star in his latest as a Romanian-Norwegian couple who move to the wife’s remote Norwegian hometown.

‘Fatherland’ Polish filmmaker Pawel Pawlikowski is best known for a pair of black-and-white, powerfully succinct period dramas: “Ida” and “Cold War.” His latest makes it three. It stars Hanns Zischler as the German author Thomas Mann on a road trip following World War II. Accompanying him is his daughter, played by Sandra Hüller.

‘All of a Sudden’ The Japanese auteur Ryusuke Hamaguchi makes his French-language debut. Hamaguchi’s 2021 opus “Drive My Car” made history as the first Japanese film nominated for best picture. His 2023 follow-up, “Evil Does Not Exist,” was also acclaimed. “All of a Sudden,” starring Virginie Efira and Tao Okamoto, is about a nursing home director and a terminally ill Japanese playwright.

‘Sheep in the Box’ Long revered for his delicate humanism, the Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda will unveil his latest. Kore-eda has already won the Palme d’Or, for 2018’s “Shoplifters.” But his three decades of moviemaking have made him a never-to-be-missed filmmaker of exquisite tenderness. The sci-fi “Sheep in the Box” is about a couple, grieving the loss of their son, who adopt an infant humanoid robot.

‘The Unknown’ The French filmmaker Arthur Harari three years ago co-wrote the Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” with his partner, Justine Triet. In “The Unknown,” Harari directs and cowrites a film about a photographer who, after photographing a woman at a party and then following her, wakes up in her body. Starring Léa Seydoux.

‘Minotaur’ The Russian filmmaker Andrey Zvyagintsev has been behind some powerfully potent dramas, including 2014’s “Leviathan” and 2017’s “Loveless” — both of which were Oscar nominated. After a near-death experience during the pandemic, Zvyagintsev returns to Cannes with a business executive in crisis in rural Russia.

’John Lennon: The Last Interview’ Steven Soderbergh ’s documentary about John Lennon’s final interview, granted at the Dakota in New York just before he was killed, drew headlines after Soderbergh acknowledged using artificial intelligence to illustrate some of Lennon’s more philosophical musings. But the film, playing in Cannes as a special screening, promises to lend unparalleled intimacy with the great Beatle.

‘Bitter Christmas’ Pedro Almodovar is among the most regular filmmakers in Cannes. This festival, he'll debut “Bitter Christmas,” a multilayered melodrama about filmmaking, grief and aging. After making his English-language debut with “The Room Next Door,” starring Tilda Swinton and Julianne Moore, Almodovar is back in his native Spain with one of his most personal films yet.