'Warrior Cats' Adaptation Finally Shooting, China's Box Office Summer, IMAX Australia
Also: APOS claims a world premiere, 'Kiki's Delivery Service' makes a comeback and global video subscriptions outlook.
‘Warrior Cats’: Tencent and Coolabi Start Production on YA Adaptation
China’s Tencent Video has partnered with publisher Coolabi and multinational CGI studio Original Force to begin production on a TV series based on the hugely popular young adult book series “Warrior Cats”. Tencent expects to have the series on air in China and Southeast Asia in 2028.
This marks a significant update since the mid-2010s, when another Chinese company Alibaba had sought to adapt the Erin Hunter stories as movies. “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman was attached as producer at the time. That was allowed to lapse and the development deal with Tencent was first struck in 2024.
Emmy-winning writer and producer A.C. Bradley (writer on Marvel’s “What If” and “Ms. Marvel”) is showrunner. The show is being directed by Rodrigo Blaas (“Finding Nemo”, “The Incredibles”) via his El Guiri Studios.
Hunter’s books about a clan of wild cats have been on bestseller lists for some two decades and have sold 90 million copies in 38 languages. An official website dedicated to the franchise generates 2 million annual views, while a game adaptation on Roblox has been played more than 700 million times.
According to the announcement, the series will adapt “Warrior Cats: The Prophecies Begin”, the first arc in the long-running saga.
Original force has units in China, Thailand and Los Angeles. Its credits include the “Ugly Dolls” TV series and acclaimed Chinese animation film “Deep Sea”.
China Box Office Summer: Revving Up?
Chinese media have announced the start of “summer season” at the mainland Chinese box office. This started on Monday (1 June) and runs through August. The season is usually rich in low and medium budget Chinese movies, but seemingly is no longer described as “Chinese film promotion month” or a “blackout period” by western studios, which previously found themselves on a waiting list for new release slots.
This year Hollywood and other imported titles are scheduled throughout June and July. These include “Toy Story 5”, Steven Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day”, “Spider-Man: A New Day”, Marvel’s “Supergirl”, “Minions and Monsters” and 2024’s “The Garfield Movie”.
It has also been confirmed that the current indie hit “Dear You” has been given an official theatrical extension until 30 June.
Taken together, these appear to confirm that Chinese regulators are keeping the flow of new product into cinemas as open and fast as possible. That is because box office so far this year is some 45% behind 2025 levels.
The Chinese titles that appear to be lined up for the summer season are harder to judge. Many boast star names either in the director’s chair or in front of camera. But the fact that they are not releasing in more coveted slots (around the major public holidays) suggests that these are not expected to be the strongest films of the year.
These include: “Welcome to Long Restaurant” (directed by Wen Muye, starring Shen Teng and Jiang Qiming); “Shaolin Women’s Football” (directed by Stephen Chow, starring Zhang Xiaopei and Zhang Yixing); “Article 17” (starring Deng Chao, Wang Xiao, and Fan Chengcheng); “Detective: Traces” (directed by Chen Sicheng, starring Zhang Yi and Ma Li); and “Empty Gun” (starring Zhu Yilong, Tan Jianci, and Tony Leung Ka-fai).
Before that the Hong Kong-financed, pan-Asian actioner “The Furious” gets a release on 11 June and has a strong level of interest, according to film fan site Douban.
The same site has “The Boy Who Counted Cars”, a sci-fi, romance drama film written and directed by Yan Yizhi as the most anticipated title on its upcoming list.
‘Kiki’s’ Brief Comeback
Beloved Studio Ghibli animated feature film “Kiki’s Delivery Service” is to be rereleased in Australia and New Zealand in a restored 4K version from 2 July.
The film was directed by Miyazaki Hayao and originally released in 1989.
The release is handled by Sony and Crunchyroll, who said: “It is a tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her new journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside town, where her unique skills make her an instant sensation.”
The film will briefly be available on IMAX screens in the two countries.
IMAX and Hoyts
At the end of April, IMAX and the Ruyi (formerly Wanda Cinemas)-owned Australian cinema chain Hoyts said that they had agreed a deal to add ten ‘Imax With Laser’ venues in Australia and New Zealand. This is Hoyts’ second deal announced within the last year.
In total, IMAX’s footprint with Hoyts will grow from four locations today to fourteen in the coming years. At least three new locations will open before the end of 2026, with the additional locations opening throughout 2027 and 2028.
IMAX has seen explosive growth in Australia, expanding from one location in 2022 to ten today, with another fourteen in backlog, inclusive of the latest agreement. In 2025, the IMAX footprint more than doubled in the country, with six new locations opening across Melbourne, Sydney and Perth—most ahead of the premiere of “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the second-best IMAX title ever in the market.
Last year also marked the best-ever performance at the box office for IMAX Australia, delivering A$18.6 million (US$12.1m) in gross revenue. In 2026, Australia is IMAX’s ninth largest box office territory.
IMAX is currently the subject of takeover bid speculation, following recent reports by the Wall Street Journal that it is entertaining talks with corporate suitors.
Hoyts was acquired by Wanda Cinema, China’s dominant exhibition group, in 2015. Since then, as parent company Dalian Wanda has struggled with debt and sold off other assets, including the US market leading cinema operator AMC, there has been on and off speculation that Hoyts will be sold. In 2023, Wanda’s investment bankers sought bids of A$1 billion and offered potential buyers a loan package, but a sale was not completed.
Box office in Australia recently hit an all time record for the month of May, with A$119 million (US$85.4 million) passing through cinema turnstiles. That figure was 26% higher than May 2019.
India’s Green Gold Launches FAST Channel
Leading Indian cartoon producer Green Gold Animation has launched its own linear TV channel in India.
The venture is constructed as a free advertising-supported channel in partnership with Samsung TV Plus. It is available to Samsung TV users as a 24-hours channel under the kids’ category.
Available in Hindi, the channel will follow a structured programming schedule, with episodic content accounting for 70% of the weekday line-up. Weekends will feature movie premieres and special programming.
“For a long time, television in India has been defined by access control at the platform level, while digital has offered choice – but often in a fragmented way. What platforms like Samsung TV Plus are doing is resolving that tension by bringing back simplicity without compromising on scale. That’s what makes this partnership meaningful for us. With Green Gold TV, we’re becoming part of a viewing experience that is far more aligned with how families consume content today, effortless, continuous, and shared. I believe FAST will evolve into a foundational layer of the entertainment ecosystem, and this is our early step in that direction”, said Green Gold Animation founder and CEO Rajiv Chilaka.
Founded in 2002, Green Gold is best known for the “Chhota Bheem” TV series and the “Krishna” film series.
Online Subscription Market Set to Slow: Report
Online video subscriptions are set to slow sharply from this year, as the global market matures, says a new report from research firm Omdia.
Global online video subscriptions reached 2.24 billion at the end of 2025, up 17.6% year on year from 1.9 billion in 2024.However, growth is expected to slow to single digits in 2026. Global pay-TV subscriptions continued their gradual decline, falling 1.8% year on year to 1.03 billion. The balance of the global TV and video market continues to shift toward streaming, with online video accounting for 68.4% of the combined 3.3 billion subscriptions worldwide”, the report said.
“In terms of revenue, online video overtook pay-TV for the first time in 2025, Online video revenue increased 13.5% to $176 billion while pay TV revenue declined 4% to $170 billion. (Both figures include subscription and transactional revenue but exclude advertising.)
“The 17.6% increase in subscriptions in 2025 was the largest annual rise since 2021. That growth was driven, in particular, by subsidized ad-tier subscriptions offered by telcos and pay-TV operators. The popularity of these lower-cost offers is a key factor behind the fact that subscription numbers grew by 17.6%, while revenue increased by a more moderate 13.5%”, said Adam Thomas, practice leader, at Omdia’s media, entertainment & advertising team.
“Another clear trend across the sector is that online video platforms are changing their focus from growing subscriber numbers to maximizing revenue from their existing client base, often through price increases for their premium, non-ad-supported tiers. This trend is expected to remain prominent in the years ahead”.
APOS Claims a World Premiere
Kim Minyoung, Gaurav Gandhi, Tony Zameckzkowski and James Gibbons, from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Walt Disney and Warner Bros Discovery, respectively, will all share the stage at this month’s APOS media summit conference. The topic in question: “Asia’s Streaming Advantage, Growth, Profitability and What’s Next”.
“For the first time anywhere in the world, the [Asia-Pacific] leaders of four of the largest global streamers — Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+ and HBO Max — share one stage” said APOS organisers. They will, “explore which levers are actually moving the business; what Asia has taught HQ that no other region could; and how premium VOD defends its place as micro-dramas, YouTube and social commerce pull at the same hours, wallets and attention”.
APOS takes place in Bali 16-18 June and is hosted by research and consultancy firm Media Partners Asia.
