Jakarta Launching Film Commission
Indonesian capital city Jakarta is launching a film commission, deputy governor Rano Karno announced this week.
The Jakarta Film Commission is aimed to be a platform that simplifies film production and permit procedures through a one-stop service. Previously the sprawling city has been bedevilled by bureaucratic bottlenecks.
The move is one of several teased earlier this month by Karno at the APOS conference in Bali, when he unveiled a tax rebate scheme for local productions. Governor Pramono Anung has subsequently signed an instruction offering 50% tax relief for domestic production companies that screen their movies in theatres in the city.
Jakarta Launching 50% Filmmaking Incentives
Indonesia’s capital city Jakarta wants to position itself as a film and TV industry hub and is set to launch financial incentives, a one-stop production support system and talent development strategies for film.
The JFC falls under the management of city-owned tourism firm the Jakarta Experience Board (JXB).
“[The commission] serves to support the development of the film ecosystem, while also facilitating film and audiovisual productions in Jakarta through information and coordination services and industrial assistance,” Karno said in a published statement.
‘Dear You’: Resets US Release Plans, Debuts at NYAFF
The New York Asian Film Festival has set Chinese hit “Dear You” as its closing night gala title and in the process re-set the film’s release.
The film will play with cast and director Lan Hongchun in attendance on 26 July.
CMC Pictures recently made the high-profile announcement that it would be the distributor of the film in the US and release it on 26 June, i.e. the weekend just gone. That did not happen and the NYAFF announcement confirmed that Well Go USA Entertainment is now appointed as the distributor.
CMC told me that the release had been “postponed” and that it will be part of a “joint release” with Well Go USA at an unspecified date in the future.
Sources close to the film tell another story.
Well Go USA made an offer for the rights during Cannes via Hugoeast, which was then handling the film in much of the world. That offer was rejected by the producer. And, as I have previously reported, Damai Entertainment (formerly Alibaba Pictures) cut in and took responsibility for rights sales in some territories.
Here’s my interpretation of and guesses at what has gone on.
In the early weeks of the film’s career, and when the Cannes Festival and market were just warming up, few people had understood the scale of the film’s box office success (as of 10 May, it had taken only $20 million, compared to its $280 million haul now) and the social phenomenon that it would become. (Chinese state media has run almost daily colour stories about its cultural significance, how populations in Southeast Asia have embraced and identified with the movie and how it has solidified the positions of China’s minorities, etc.)
When “Dear You” earned a massive $41 million in its third weekend (15-17 May), it began to be seen in a different light - too significant for an indie like Hugoeast to be selling it and also an opportunity to bid up the value of the prestigious US deal.
Politically-connected CMC believed it had struck a deal with Damai and announced it on 15 June with a rush into cinemas while the film was still performing strongly back home in the PRC.
Now, however, the prospect of a North American premiere at the high-profile NYAFF, ahead of an autumn commercial release, has a different appeal. That’s because…
I’m speculating that “Dear You” will be selected as China’s contender for the best international film Oscar. And that Texas-based Well Go USA is regarded as being in a stronger position than CMC alone to handle the months of on-the-ground campaigning and festival appearances in the US.
Singapore-Made Animation ‘The Violinist’ Wins at Annecy
Over the weekend it was announced that the Singapore-produced film “The Violinist” had won the Cristal, the top prize at the annual animation film festival in Annecy, France.
The film is co-directed by Singapore’s Ervin Han and Spain’s Raul Garcia, and structured as a three-way co-production between Robot Playground Media in Singapore, TV ON Producciones in Spain and Altri Occhi in Italy. Singapore’s Little Green White and Japan’s Throne also get credits.
The film spans eight decades of regional history and follows two childhood friends, both gifted violinists, whose lives are separated by the WWII Japanese occupation of pre-independence Singapore.
It also secured the French Society of Authors, Composers and Publishers of Music (Sacem) Award for best original soundtrack in a feature film, recognising its music-driven storytelling.
The voice cast includes Tan Kheng Hua, Fang Rong, Adrian Pang and Ayden Sng.
France TV Distribution is handling the film’s rights sales. “The Violinist” is due a Singapore release in the autumn.
Singapore Cinema Space Put Up for Sale
Prime Singapore real estate, which currently houses two indie cinema operations, has been put up for sale. It is unclear whether cinemas will continue in the space or have to close.
The 105,000 sq ft (xx m2) space at Golden Mile Tower, on Beach Road, straddles two floors and currently houses four cinema auditoriums and office space. Agency CBRE is asking S$31 million ($24 million) or some S$295 per sq ft and said that it expects to entertain offers until 4 August.
Carnival Cinemas currently operates one of the screens at the site. Newly-launched indie, Filmhouse operates the other three.
Filmhouse is headed by several former staff from the now defunct Projector and was started with private backing. In summer last year, The Projector announced that it would resume screenings in Golden Mile Tower. But it closed abruptly at the end of August with owner Pocket Cinema filing for voluntary liquidation. It cited rising operating costs as being among its problems.
“There is potential to reconfigure the premises into a single large auditorium with a seating capacity of close to 2,000 [spectators], or to partially convert the space into alternative uses such as an event venue, media production studio, or gym,” said a director of capital markets at CBRE.
Yash Raj Bites on Rusk for Micro Drama Debut
Yash Raj Films (YRF), one of India’s most established feature film studios, is branching into micro dramas through an investment in Rusk Media.
YRF will oversee the creative direction of original animation and vertical micro-drama IP, while Rusk Media will produce and distribute the content through its own Alright! TV platform and global digital channels.
Rusk Media was founded in 2019 by Mayank Yadav and currently has activities that include production of both scripted fiction and unscripted formats, micro dramas, live events, branded content, commercials and interactive and gaming formats (including UGC gaming and branded ad-games).
Previous funding rounds have given it financial backing from Ivycap Ventures and Nazara Technologies. The scale, value and terms of the YRF investment were not disclosed.
“Platforms are infrastructure, content and IP are culture. Mayank and his team at Rusk Media have built a deep understanding of how the next generation discovers and inhabits stories, and that is exactly the kind of vision we want to invest in. Together, the aspiration is to build worlds, not just content”, said Akshaye Widhani, CEO of YRF.
“Vertical entertainment in India has produced extraordinary reach, but not the enduring IP that defines a category. That is the gap this collaboration is designed to close. We bring a native understanding of how digitally native audiences discover and build community around content, and with YRF’s backing, we are building for longevity, not the algorithm”, said Yadav.
India’s micro drama sector is evolving fast and has the potential to exceed 300 million viewers, according to consultancy service BDO. A year ago, it appeared that the ad-supported direct-to-consumer business model might prevail. But the huge-scale arrival of streaming platform operator JioStar into the sector in April may change that. Its Tadka unit claims to have over 100 million users, although the definition of users is unclear. To date, Tadka is an ad-supported unit within the JioStar platform. But if it gathers enough momentum, Tadka could be offered as a premium tier.
India now has native platforms that include Kuku TV and Story TV as well as Bullet that is part of ZeeTV and Fatafat that was launched by Amazon.
Japan Box Office: ‘Michael’ Still Winning
The Japanese box office, which often appears out of synch with other places, saw “Michael” remain on top of the charts in the film’s third weekend. It earned JPY667 million and now has a cumulative of JPY3.9 billion, according to Kogyo Tsushin.
“Supergirl” opened in second position with JPY188 million over three days. (And while “Supergirl” was a day-and-date release, “Toy Story 5” does not release in Japan until Thursday 5 July.)
Shochiku’s Kurosawa Kiyoshi-directed “The Samurai and the Prisoner” slipped to third place in its second weekend. It earned JPY152 million and has a two-weekend cumulative of JPY600 million.
Kadokawa’s animation film “Sgt Frog: The New Movie” opened in fourth place with takings of JPY150 million ($931,000). Its full title in Japanese is “Shin Gekijoban Keroro Gunsou: Fukkatsushite Sokkoku Chikyu Metsubou no Kiki de Arimasu!” And Imdb displays its English title as “New Sgt. Frog the Movie: The Earth Is in Mortal Peril as Soon as We Come Back!” It is the sixth feature film in the Sgt. Frog franchise which made its theatrical debut in 2006.
Over the latest weekend, the 37th movie in the Anpanman anime film series, Soreike! Anpanman: Pantan to Yakusoku no Hoshi (Let’s Go! Anpanman: Pantan and the Promised Star), also opened and took fifth place.
Lower positions belonged to “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” (cumulative JPY3 billion); “Menkyo Hennoul?”; “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” (cumulative: JPY7.7 billion); “Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of Highway” (80-day cumulative: JPY13.45 billion ($83 million); “The Devil Wears Prada 2”; the remastered “Kiki’s Delivery Service” and new release “Star Blazers: Space Battleship Yamato”.
Australia Weekend Box Office: ‘Toy Story 5’ Defeats ‘Supergirl’
“Toy Story 5” continued to head the Australian box office over the latest weekend with a haul of $6.17 million. “Minions & Monsters” recorded $3.36 million ahead of new release “Supergirl” (with a cast headed by Australia’s Milly Alcock) earning $2.43 million.
“Obsession” earned $1.42 million, advancing its cumulative Down Under to $20.91 million. “Disclosure Day” took fifth place with $935,000, for a cumulative of $8.27 million.
China’s “Dear You” took sixth place with $755,000 on its debut.
With six months of 2026 nearly completed, Hoyts cinemas reports that admissions are up 16% year-on-year.