China Media and Entertainment Weekly News Bulletin – Issue 2 (Week of 10 June 2024)
(1) China’s Animation Market Sees Tremendous Growth.
China’s animation industry has transformed, resulting in remarkable growth and making it the world’s largest animation producer.
(2) Goldman Sachs expects Accelerated Growth in Tencent’s Gaming Revenues.
Goldman Sachs forecasts divergent financial performances amongst Chinese game giants.
(3) Lemon Tea Brand Apologizes to Zhang Yixing.
Lengjin Tea faces backlash for allegedly exploiting Zhang Yixing’s popularity
(4) Wu Jinyan Rises to Prominence again with New Drama “The Double”.
Actress Wu Jinyan shines again in “The Double” with a powerful revenge-seeking role, earning praise for her performance.
(5) Counterfeit Jay Chou Concert a Huge Hit.
Emerging Jay Chou look-alike performers in Greater China are gaining in popularity.
(6) Wang Feng’s Girlfriend Issues Legal Letter against Defamation from the Internet.
Zhang Ziyi’s ex-husband, Wang Feng, recently announced his relationship with influencer Li Qiao, sparking heated discussion and new rumours amongst fans.
Reflecting on her 25 years with Emperor Entertainment Group, Joey Yung expressed gratitude towards her mentor, Roman Tam, and becomes emotional when talking about her mother, who raised the family as a single parent.
(8) Leehom Wang Returns to Golden Melody Awards, Singing in Memory of Coco Lee.
Leehom Wang will be a special guest performer at the 35th Golden Melody Awards on June 29, 2024, paying tribute to his late friend Coco Lee.
(1) Tremendous Growth in China’s Animation Market
Chinese animation has moved beyond being just child-oriented and now caters to all ages and has adopted sophisticated storylines, akin to live-action films.
Landmark Chinese animated films, such as “The Monkey King: Hero Is Back” and “Ne Zha” have paved the way for this transformation.
Recent releases, including “Chang’an” and “Deep Sea” further demonstrate the Chinese animation industry’s ability to break away from creative stagnation..
In 2023, the number of domestically produced animated films increased by 34.78%, with 37 out of 62 animation films distributed domestically being local productions. Domestically produced animation films generated 7.998 billion yuan at the box office, amounting to 14.56% of the total box office for animation films.
The Chinese animation industry has grown tremendously, now exceeding a 220 billion yuan market size, solidifying China’s position as the world’s largest animation producer.
News Source: CCTV- 总产值破2200亿元 中国动画长大了 (https://news.cctv.com/2024/06/11/ARTIGvLlqhhOFCQJlXRjKdtR240611.shtml?spm=C94212.Pz2YdsvQ9WpW.Exv09O4J7K4A.118)
(2) Goldman Sachs expects an Accelerated Growth in Tencent’s Gaming Revenues
Goldman Sachs expects a divergence in finanacial performance amongst Chinese game giants this year.
While Tencent and XD Inc. have outperformed the industry, NetEase has underperformed.
Goldman Sachs increased its target price for Tencent to HK$477 from $466, accompanied by a Buy rating. The target price for NetEase is down slightly by 1% to HK$196 while the target price for XD Inc. increased by 14% to HK$15.1.
Looking ahead, Goldman Sachs estimates that Tencent’s game revenue will increase in the second quarter, driven by the launch of the popular game “Dungeon Fighter Online”, the long-awaited release of “HOF” in the third quarter of this year, and the accelerated growth of its mobile gaming subsidiary “Supercell”.
In light of the strong sales of Tencent’s recently launched mobile games, a 2% increase in revenue growth is expected.
In contrast, NetEase’s revenue is expected to be temporarily weighed down by pressure on its PC game revenue in the second quarter, bring the overall revenue down by 19%.
However, Goldman Sachs believes this will be short-lived, and NetEase’s overall revenue is still projected to grow.
News Source: NOW TV -【大行報告】高盛:騰訊下半年遊戲收入增速或加快 (https://finance.now.com/analysis/study.php?topicId=4&newsId=864782&c=)
Yahoo/ AASTOCKS 《大行》高盛：遊戲領域仍偏好騰訊(00700.HK)及網易(09999.HK) (https://hk.finance.yahoo.com/news/%E5%A4%A7%E8%A1%8C-%E9%AB%98%E7%9B%9B-%E9%81%8A%E6%88%B2%E9%A0%98%E5%9F%9F%E4%BB%8D%E5%81%8F%E5%A5%BD%E9%A8%B0%E8%A8%8A-00700-hk-024356692.html)
(3) Lemon Tea Brand Apologizes to Zhang Yixing
The lemon tea brand Lengjin Tea collaborated with “RED” to promote its latest event.
“RED” is a girl group affiliated to Chromosome Entertainment Group founded by artist Zhang Yixing, a Chinese singer-songwriter, dancer, actor, record producer and businessperson. He is also a member of the South Korean male singing group EXO/EXO-M.
Netizens accused Lengjin of improperly exploiting Zhang Yixing’s popularity as they found references to “Zhang Yixing’s girl group” in promotional materials of the lemon tea shop, even though there was no actual collaboration with Zhang Yixing.
Many viewed this as Lengjin unfairly leveraging Zhang Yixing’s name and fan base without his involvement.
In response, Lengjin issued an apology stating they did not intend to infringe on Zhang Yixing’s rights.
News Source: Sina – 檸檬茶品牌檸季向張藝興致歉：從未想過侵害其人格權益 (https://portal.sina.com.hk/others/sina/2024/06/09/868011/%E6%AA%B8%E6%AA%AC%E8%8C%B6%E5%93%81%E7%89%8C%E6%AA%B8%E5%AD%A3%E5%90%91%E5%BC%B5%E8%97%9D%E8%88%88%E8%87%B4%E6%AD%89%EF%BC%9A%E5%BE%9E%E6%9C%AA%E6%83%B3%E9%81%8E%E4%BE%B5%E5%AE%B3%E5%85%B6%E4%BA%BA/)
(4) Wu Jinyan Rises to Prominence again with New Drama “The Double”
Following the success of her breakout role in the hit drama in 2018 “Story of Yanxi Palace”, actress Wu Jinyan has once again captured the attention of audiences with her recent performance in the new drama “The Double”.
In this latest work, Wu takes on the character of a female protagonist seeking revenge, a role that perfectly suits her talents.
Wu’s portrayal has been widely praised. In particular, her line, “If this is the mandate of the gods, I must defy it”, has resonated with viewers.
News Source: Star Setn- 吳謹言憑《墨雨雲間》再翻紅！不僅演技被認可 還帶火了「一句台詞」 (https://star.setn.com/news/1483219)
(5) Counterfeit Jay Chou Concert a Huge Hit
There has been an increase in Jay Chou “look-alike” performers emerging in Greater China.
One such “look-alike” version of Jay Chou, named “Hei Lun” (黑倫), recently held a concert in Chengdu, China which attracted a lot of interest.
Unlike regular concerts where the front seats are the most expensive, Hei Lun’s concert had the opposite pricing structure – the further back the seat, the more expensive it was.
Netizens joked this was because the further people were from the stage, the more the performer resembled the real Jay Chou.
News Source: HK01 – 山寨版周杰倫「黑倫」開騷現撲飛潮 票價出爐一原因越遠越貴 (https://www.hk01.com/article/1027445)
(6) Wang Feng’s Girl Friend Issues Legal Letter against Defamation from the Internet
Zhang Ziyi’s ex-husband, Wang Feng, recently went public concerning his new relationship with influencer Li Qiao (also known by her username on Weibo – 森林北 (direct translation: Forest North)), who is recognized for her resemblance to Zhang Ziyi.
Their relationship has sparked widespread discussion on social media platforms, including speculation about whether Li had undergone plastic surgery.
Some social media users are questioning whether Wang Feng was unfaithful to Zhang Ziyi because his relationship with Li was announced on 20 May 2024, less than 6 months after Wang Feng and Zhang Ziyi officially declared their divorce on 23 October 2023.
Considering Wang Feng’s history of relationships, commentators doubt if Wang Feng had cheated on Zhang Ziyi.
Reports indicate Li recently sent a legal letter claiming numerous users on major social media platforms in mainland China had spread defamatory and insulting remarks about her.
It appears that Li also filed a police report on May 31, 2024, regarding the same issue.
Internet users were confused by Li’s actions, as public discussion about her had diminished.
Some people suggested the legal letter was a ploy to garner more attention and publicity, while others supported Li’s decision to defend herself.
News Source – on.cc – 汪峰新女忽發律師聲明告誹謗 網友：都差點忘了她
(https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/entertainment/20240613/bkn-20240613103455383-0613_00862_001.html)
(7) Mingpao’s Exclusive Interview with Joey Yung – Her Growth in the Past 25 Years and Her Love of Her Mother
Mingpao recently conducted an exclusive interview with Joey Yung.
During the interview, Joey discussed her experiences over the 25 years she spent with Emperor Entertainment Group.
She expressed her gratitude towards her mentor, Roman Tam, who supported her and provided guidance when she was a newcomer in the industry.
When Joey talked about her mother, she could not hold back her emotions.
Her parents divorced when she was 15, and her mother had to support the entire family.
Joey felt growing up in a single-parent family made her less likely to trust others and made it difficult for her to reveal her true self.
Although the impact of her parent’s divorce has lessened over time, Joey wants to provide her mother with the same level of protection and support her mother gave her when she was 15.
News Source: Mingpao – 受父母離異影響不易相信人 容祖兒隨時ready拍拖 無放棄當媽
(https://news.mingpao.com/pns/%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/article/20240611/s00016/1718039375359/%E5%8F%97%E7%88%B6%E6%AF%8D%E9%9B%A2%E7%95%B0%E5%BD%B1%E9%9F%BF%E4%B8%8D%E6%98%93%E7%9B%B8%E4%BF%A1%E4%BA%BA-%E5%AE%B9%E7%A5%96%E5%85%92%E9%9A%A8%E6%99%82ready%E6%8B%8D%E6%8B%96-%E7%84%A1%E6%94%BE%E6%A3%84%E7%95%B6%E5%AA%BD)
(8) Leehom Wang Returns to Golden Melody Awards, Singing in Memory of Coco Lee
Leehom Wang has announced he will be a special guest performer at the 35th Golden Melody Awards, taking place at the Taipei Arena on June 29, 2024.
He will be paying tribute to his late friend, Coco Lee, who was shortlisted twice for the “Best Female Mandarin Singer” award.
This year’s Golden Melody Awards has organized a special session in memory of Coco Lee.
It is reported Leehom Wang was chosen after consulting with Coco Lee’s family.
One family member said Leehom and Coco knew each other well and it would be touching for Coco if Leehom sang for her, as they both returned from the United States to develop their careers around the same time.
News Source – on.cc – 王力宏重返《金曲獎》舞台 致敬好友天后李玟
(https://hk.on.cc/hk/bkn/cnt/entertainment/20240613/bkn-20240613140107215-0613_00862_001.html)
