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ILM to Open Latest Effects Facility in Sydney, Australia

Sydney Australia is to be home to Industrial Light & Magic’s fifth production hub. The Disney-owned special effects company currently has facilities in San Francisco, Vancouver, London and Singapore.

The decision to open the Sydney outpost was announced on Monday local time by executive creative director and head of ILM Rob Bredow, ILM executive Luke Hetherington, and New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian.

ILM will make its home in Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, adjacent to the recently Fox Studios Australia recently acquired by Disney.

The government said that ILM Sydney would create 500 jobs, though it was unclear how many would be directly employed by the new facility.

It is expected to contribute services to the next “Star Wars” film, “The Rise of Skywalker.” Job advertisements have already been posted.

The green light for the Sydney facility follows less than a week after NSW announced that it will create a PDV incentive that rebates 10% of in state spending on post-production, digital and visual effects, above a threshold of A$500,000 ($351,000). Bredow confirmed that the state’s new subsidy had been a deciding factor in locating the unit in Sydney. The NSW rebate is additional to and cumulative with Australia’s federal PDV incentives.

Additionally, ILM will provide a digital effects learning program. And the state government invest A$6 million ($4.22 million) in skills training.

ILM is expected to deliver A$333 million ($234 million) in post-production business in the first five years and an annual A$100 million ($70.3 million) thereafter.

“This isn’t just about the 500 jobs, but it means Sydney cements itself as really the movies capital of Australia,” Berejiklian said on Monday. “The jobs here in digital and visual effects post-production will make us a leading light around the world.”

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Box Office: ‘The Farewell’ Surpasses ‘Avengers: Endgame’ For Biggest Theater Average of the Year

“Avengers: Endgame” has broken just about every box office record this year, but there’s at least one film that has managed to surpass a benchmark set by the superhero blockbuster: A24’s “The Farewell” now holds the best per-screen-average of 2019.

The comedic drama, directed by Lulu Wang and starring Awkwafina,” generated $351,330 when it opened in four venues: AMC Lincoln Square and the Angelika in New York and ArcLight Cinemas and The Landmark in Los Angeles. Despite a power outage in New York City Saturday night that caused AMC Lincoln Square to temporarily close, “The Farewell” averaged a huge $87,833 from each location.

Prior to “The Farewell,” the biggest screen average of 2019 belonged to “Avengers: Endgame” with $76,601 per location. However, the Disney-Marvel blockbuster got its start in slightly more venues, kicking off in a record 4,662 North American theaters.

Upon learning about the New York City blackout, Wang jokingly offered to host a watch party at her place.

“To everyone in NYC that is missing ‘The Farewell’ screenings cuz of the power outage, I’m sorry!!!,” she wrote on Twitter. “Come over to my house and I’ll screen it. You bring the food, I’ll bring the movie.”

In “The Farewell,” Awkwafina’s character travels to China to say goodbye to her family’s dying matriarch. However, the grandmother doesn’t know she has terminal cancer. The movie generated rave reviews after its premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and holds perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

In his review for Variety, chief film critic Peter Debruge praised the movie, writing, “what makes ‘The Farewell’ so effective is that in delving into such a specific case, the film invites audiences to reflect on the passing of relatives close to them.

A24 is slowly expanding “The Farewell” to more theaters across the country before launching it nationwide on Aug. 2.

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Box Office: ‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ Swings Past $800 Million Worldwide, ‘Lion King’ Debuts In China

Sony’s “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is making history overseas, becoming the highest-grossing Spidey film ever at the foreign box office.

After 17 days in theaters, the superhero adventure has generated $572.5 million internationally, surpassing the record previously set by “Spider-Man 3” with $555 million. Combined with $274 million in domestic ticket sales, “Spider-Man: Far From Home” has smashed the $800 million mark. The movie’s box office receipts currently stand at $847 million.

The 23rd entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe collected another $100 million from 67 markets, including a $6 million debut in Italy.

Meanwhile, Disney’s photo-realistic remake of “The Lion King” launched in China, where it amassed $54.7 million. That figure marks a higher start than the studio’s recent reimaginings such as “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.” The movie debuts in North America, as well as most of the remaining markets, next weekend.

Another newcomer, Paramount’s gator thriller “Crawl” earned $4.8 million when it bowed in 20 international markets. The film had the biggest opening in the Middle East region with $1.4 million, followed by Malaysia with $1 million and Indonesia with $832,000.

Among holdovers, Warner Bros. supernatural thriller “Annabelle Comes Home” added $18 million from 78 foreign territories. That brings its overseas haul to $112 million and $173 million globally. “Annabelle Comes Home,” the lastest entry in the “Conjuring” Universe, opened this weekend in the United Kingdom with $2.2 million, as well as France with $2.5 million.

Elsewhere, Universal and Illuminations’ “The Secret Life of Pets 2” brought in $14 million from 66 markets, boosting international grosses to $151 million. With $298 million in global box office receipts, the animated sequel continues to pace well behind its predecessor. “The Secret Life of Pets” ended its theatrical run with a mighty $875 million worldwide in 2016.

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