Expend4bles, Millennium Films' latest action-packed entry in the Expendables franchise, opened top in China with an estimated $10.9m through JL Vision and sub-distributed via Alibaba.

Prior China opening weekends in the 13-year-old series could not be ascertained at time of writing, although Expendables 3 finished in China on an unadjusted $72.9m after opening in 2014.

The latest exploits by the mercenaries reunites Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Dolph Lundgren, and Randy Couture for the first time in nine years alongside Iko Uwais, Tony Jaa, Megan Fox, and Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson. Expend4bles opens in North America this week via Lionsgate.

Wish Pictures' thriller Dust To Dust directed by Jonathan Li placed second over the weekend in China on $10.6m for a $44.2m tally after two weekends, according to Artisan Gateway. The film premiered at Shanghai International Film festival in June.

In third place was Universal's Oppenheimer on $4.3m for an excellent $54.3m running total. Dirty Monkey's summer smash No More Bets added $4m to rank fourth and stands at $527.1m. Rounding out the top five was Wishart Media's new release Tainted Love on $3.2m. Ma Yingxin directed the psychological drama about a woman who sets out to find the truth after she is cheated in a romance scam.

A film being billed as the first co-production by Israeli and Iranian filmmakers debuted at the Venice International Film Festival after a secretive production process that included a trip to Israel by the Iranian co-director.

"Tatami," which received a standing ovation Saturday at the prestigious film competition, tells the story of a female Iranian judoka champion who is ordered to fake an injury to avoid facing an Israeli opponent at a judo championship.

The story is loosely based on the 2019 incident in which Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei was ordered to throw matches at the World Judo Championships to avoid facing Israeli Sagi Muki, who would ultimately win the tournament. The International Judo Federation banned Iran from all international competitions over the incident. (The ban was later reduced to four years.)

Co-directed by Israeli Guy Nattiv, the Oscar-winner who also helmed "Golda," and Iranian Zar Amir Ebrahimi, "Tatami" was shot in Tbilisi, Georgia — a country that Iranians can easily visit — beginning in the spring of 2022. The project was kept in strict secrecy because of Iran's potential reaction to the production. Iran does not recognize Israel's existence and, as the film's plot underscores, forbids its athletes from competing against Israelis.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film's title and plot were kept secret throughout the public casting stage. It was first announced publicly in February 2023 with the name "Untitled Judo." (A tatami is the traditional Japanese mat used in judo matches.)

"We were undercover. We knew it was a dangerous thing," Nattiv told Reuters.

"Tatami" also drew inspiration from the death of 22-year-old Iranian Mahsa Amini, who was allegedly beaten by police in Tehran over Iran's mandatory hijab policy last year. Her death sparked an unprecedented protest movement across Iran.

Visit a Trailer Clip on our Vimeo page.

From Director Pawo Choyning Dorji from Bhutan comes a new film titled Monk and the Gun which was nominated to the 2024 Academy Awards (Oscars). Last year Director Pawo had submitted his film 'Yak in the classroom'.

Read full story and view the official trailer here: The Monk and the Gun

The Monk and the Gun had its world premiere on September 1, 2023, at the 50th Telluride Film Festival, then screened on September 9 of the same year in the Centerpiece section of the 48th Toronto International Film Festival. It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'A Window on Asian Cinema' section and will be screened in October 2023.

Set in 2006, the Kingdom of Bhutan is looking to become a democracy, so looking to hold an election, government officials organize a mock election as a training exercise. In the town of Ura, an old lama orders a monk to get a pair of weapons to face the imminent change in the kingdom. Meanwhile, an American antique weapons collector lands in Bhutan in search of a valuable rifle that falls into the monk's hands.

View the Official Trailer on our Vimeo channel

Hong Kong On Screen continues its podcast series about Hong Kong film history (in Cantonese).

Here you can find and listen to the entire list from the series

Hong Kong CineFan Club has released its Fall Program for September and October focusing on the cinema of the Coen Brothers.

'I got horse sense, goddamnit. Showmanship!' Hollywood executive Jack Lipnik explains to scriptwriter Barton Fink why he is so successful despite not knowing the scripts. Indeed, such deprecatory, ironic jokes are pitch-perfect creation of Joel and Ethan Coen, who are recognised as masters in the art of scriptwriting – and in the subversion of Hollywood protocol.

Never run out of creative ideas, the Coen Brothers make a bold definition of 'Coenesque' storytelling with their flawless blend of offbeat narrative, tricky twists and turns, dark humour and memorable characters, all wrapped up in a meticulously structured script enhanced by a measured camerawork – thanks to long-term cinematographer Roger Deakins. The duo has managed to explore a wide variety of genres while maintaining the playfulness to topple storytelling conventions.

In a career spanning close to forty years, the Coens have crafted a distinctive cinematic universe all their own. It's a world that fills with boisterous eccentrics, wily criminals and desperate artists who are often ill-equipped to meet the challenges thrust upon them. Above all, fate dictates a powerful dynamic at play. Be it Dude in The Big Lebowski , Ed in The Man Who Wasn't There, Norville in The Hudsucker Proxy, they are free to dream and scheme, but at the end of the day, it's fate that holds them back – all except the amazing female characters. Exemplified by Frances McDormand, the formidable actress and wife of Joel Coen, women are strong, defiant, and self-assertive, taking destiny into their own hands.

Rich in historical detail, while existing just the other side of grounded reality, the vivid filmography of the Coens represents the United States as a nation of immigrants, beholden to their roots. Whether unfolding on the streets of Manhattan or the deserts outside El Paso, the Coens feel equally comfortable addressing the lingering woes of a nation where the American Dream has emboldened so many to make their fortunes outside of the law. Recurrent themes of infidelity, betrayal, opportunism and greed; omnipresent motifs of typewriters, telephones and revolvers are given freshness and spontaneity that both reinforces and elevates the comedic and horrific effects.

'Yeah, well, that's just, like, your opinion, man.' The Dude opts not to argue about it, and continues with the game. So do the Coens, don't they?

The program will have the following films screened in Hong Kong, please click on the complete information link for each film for venues and times:

Blood Simple (Director's Cut) (1984, 96 min)
Screening dates: Sept 9 and 24
Click here for complete information

Miller's Crossing (1990, 115 min)
Screening dates: Sept 9 and Oct 14
Click here for complete information

Barton Fink (1991, 116 min)
Screening dates: Sept 10 and Oct 14
Click here for complete information

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, 111 min)
Screening dates: Sept 10 and Oct 15
Click here for complete information

Fargo (1996, 98 min)
Screening dates: Sept 16 and Oct 21
Click here for complete information

The Big Lebowski (1998, 117 min)
Screening dates: Sept 16 and Oct 22
Click here for complete information

The Man Who Wasn't There (2001, 116 min)
Screening dates: Sept 17 and Oct 22
Click here for complete information

No Country for Old Men (2007, 112 min)
Screening dates: Sept 17 and Oct 28
Click here for complete information

A Serious Man (2009, 106 min)
Screening dates: Sept 23 and Oct 29
Click here for complete information

Inside Llewyn Davis (2013, 104 min)
Screening dates: Sept 23 and Oct 29
Click here for complete information

Additional film screenings will be from Cinema Heritage, The Golden Age Cinema and from Czech New Wave filmmaker Jiri Menzel (1938-2020)

Please visit the Official Website for the full program

Police in South Korea said today that 69 officials from theater chains including CGV, Lotte and Megabox and from 24 film distributors have been referred without detention to the prosecutor on charges of obstruction of business, local media reports.

This follows an investigation that began in June into suspicious box office numbers. Police claim the accused were involved in fabricating figures to boost film rankings over the past five years. Ticket sales for at least 323 movies screened in the market from March 2018 to June of this year allegedly were inflated, per the Korea Herald, citing police. SBS reports the alleged falsely reported sales at certain shows were on local titles and resulted in 2.67 million overcounted viewers.

In June, police raided the major exhibitors and the offices of three film distributors on suspicion of box office manipulation and allegations they had obstructed the business of the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) by falsely counting audience numbers for some local films.

News agency Yonhap reports today that police alleged the accused theater officials, in collusion with film distributors, entered inflated ticket sales information onto KOFIC's compiling service to boost rankings of the films released at their cinemas.

A translated report from SBS News says methods used to inflate numbers included purchasing large quantities of tickets for late-night movies and holding so-called "ghost screenings" without an audience.

KOFIC manages box office data, including the audience numbers and sales for each movie, through the Korean Box Office Information System, to which multiplexes and film distributors report box office numbers.

As part of the investigation, police examined box office figures and ticket sales on 462 films released by 98 firms.

Local media reports that among the titles allegedly inflated were action thriller Emergency Declaration (2021), romantic drama Endless Rain (2021) and last year's documentary The Red Herring.

A court in Iran has sentenced prominent film director Saeed Roustayi to six months' prison for the screening of his film Leila's Brothers at the Cannes film festival in 2022, local media reported.

Leila's Brothers, a rich and complex tale of a family struggling with economic hardship in Tehran, has been banned in Iran since its release last year. The film was in competition for the Palme d'Or at last year's Cannes festival, winning the International Federation of Film Critics award.

The reformist daily Etemad said on Tuesday that Roustayi, along with the film's producer Javad Noruzbegi, "were sentenced to six months in prison for screening the movie at Cannes". Roustayi and Noruzbegi were found guilty of "contributing to propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system". Leila's Brothers was banned after it "broke the rules by being entered at international film festivals without authorisation," and the director refused to "correct" it as requested by the culture ministry, official media said at the time.

Sentence of the Leila's Brothers maker, along with producer Javad Noruzbegi, was for 'propaganda of the opposition against the Islamic system'. The film-makers will serve about nine days, while the remainder "will be suspended over five years", according to Etemad, which added that the verdict can be appealed.

The Red Suitcase,' directed by Director Fidel Devkota from Nepal has earned a spot in the 80th Venice Film Festival. The Nepali film, which delves into the impact of foreign employment on Nepali society was selected under the Horizon category as announced by Devkota.

This remarkable achievement marks the third time a Nepali film has been featured in the Venice Film Festival, following 'Kalo Pothi' and 'Seto Surya.' Notably, both of these films had foreigners as their producer and cinematographer.However, 'The Red Suitcase' sets a new precedent as the first Nepali film entirely produced by a domestic production group to be selected for this prestigious festival.

Director Devkota penned the screenplay of the film, which boasts talented artists such as Saugat Malla, Bipin Karki, Pravin Khatiwada, Shristi Shrestha, and more.

Film enthusiasts can look forward to the 80th Venice Film Festival, scheduled to take place from August 30 to September 9 in Venice, Italy.

The 2023 Toronto Film Festival has announced that it will pull the Indian made activist drama film PUNJAB 95 from its list. The feature was due to receive its world premiere in the Gala Presentations strand of TIFF on September 11 but a festival spokesperson confirmed that it is no longer part of the program. The festival would not comment further on the reasons behind its withdrawal.

The film is based on a true story, it stars singer-actor Diljit Dosanjh as Khalra, a renowned human-rights activist who found evidence of the abduction, murder and cremation of more than 25,000 Sikhs by the police during the militancy period in Punjab from 1984 to 1994. Khalra disappeared in September 1995 and six Punjab police officials were convicted a decade later for his murder.

The subject matter has seen the film face censorship battles in India for several months. Mumbai-based production company RSVP Movies applied for a censor certificate from India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) in December 2022 but a decision was delayed for six months.

When a certification was finally issued on July 4, it was given an A grade (restricted to adults aged 18+) with an order demanding 21 cuts and alteration of dialogue. This included changing the film's original title of Ghallughara – a Punjabi word that refers to a large-scale massacre of Sikhs.

The CBFC stated that certain parts of the film could incite violence and may potentially radicalise Sikh youth while affecting the integrity of India and its relations with foreign states.

RSVP Movies, led by prominent producer Ronnie Screwvala, filed an appeal with the Bombay High Court over the decision but it is understood that a verdict has yet to be reached.

Punjab '95 marks the second feature of Indian director Honey Trehan after 2020 Netflix film Raat Akeli Hai. Trehan is also a co-writer and producer on the film, through his MacGuffin Pictures banner, and was previously at Toronto in 2016 as a producer on A Death In The Gunj. The cast also includes Bollywood star Arjun Rampal and Suvinder Vicky, who has gained recent popularity through Netflix crime series Kohrra.

View the official trailer