BOX OFFICE
Toei Animation‘s “One Piece Film: Red,” the 15th film in the popular anime series, shot to the top of the box office charts in Saudi Arabia and achieved the biggest opening ever for a Japanese anime in the market, MENA-based distributor Front Row Filmed Entertainment has revealed. The film finished the weekend in pole position ahead of DC’s “Black Adam.”
The opening weekend total, including previews, for “One Piece Film: Red” reached 61,000 admissions and a gross box office of $1.05 million, putting it 14% ahead of the previous record holder “Jujutsu Kaisen 0” in terms of admissions and 50% ahead of “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.” The film also had one of the biggest ever opening days for a PG-12 movie in the kingdom and the second biggest ever opening day for an animated film behind Universal’s “Minions: The Rise of Gru.”
Eli Touma, Front Row’s head of distribution, said: “Japanese animes are incredibly popular in the Middle East and particularly in Saudi Arabia and ‘One Piece’ is the biggest property of them all. We’re eager to continue feeding this audience as they’ve long been underserved in this region.”
The film also opened strongly across the Middle East with over $400,000 grossed to date in the U.A.E., Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt. It is currently playing across all major cinema chains in the region in Imax.
COMMISSION
“Fur Babies”
U.K. broadcaster Channel 4 has commissioned Wonderhood Studios to produce “Fur babies” (working title, 4 x 60’) a documentary series following Britain’s pet owners through the pregnancy and birth of their pets.
Embedded in vet practices across the U.K., “Fur Babies” will use a state-of-the art rig to capture all the important moments in pet pregnancy from initial ultrasounds and pregnancy checks, through to labors, complications, and the final moments when the young pets are re-homed and meet their new families.
Vets James Greenwood and Bolu Eso use the latest in medical technology and their expert skills to help nervous owners and their pets through pregnancy to a safe delivery. The series is produced by Wonderhood Studios in association with All3Media International. Joy Ash is series producer and series director, with Phil Broadhurst series directing supported by executive producers Mandy Thomson and Samantha Anstiss. It was commissioned by Channel 4 senior commissioning editor Clemency Green with head of daytime and features Jo Street.
COMPOSER
Indian composer Vishal Mishra (“Kabir Singh”), also known for singing on the soundtrack of S.S. Rajamouli‘s global blockbuster “RRR,” has boarded Sudhanshu Saria‘s “Sanaa,” starring Radhika Madan, which is headed for its world premiere at the 26th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. The “Sanaa” music album will have five songs in different genres.
“Sanaa,” produced by Four Line Entertainment, tells the story of a headstrong and ambitious woman who is fighting an internal battle caused by unresolved trauma.