Korea’s New Co-Production Fund; China 2026 H1 Box Office; Nansun Shi Legacy
This week started with some very sad news, the passing of Hong Kong producer Nansun Shi, and while social media has been full of touching tributes, none of which Streamlined could express any better, we wanted to include a few words about her legacy and contributions to Hong Kong cinema in this newsletter.
In coming weeks, Streamlined Insights will be taking half-year temperature checks of various box office territories, starting this week with China and Hong Kong. We’ll also be looking at some industry events taking place over the summer and publishing an interview with Doha Film Institute.
The more in-depth Streamlined Guides recently released a report on the Malayalam film industry in South India, co-written with Hannah Abraham, and we’re currently working on two reports about Japan’s indie production landscape and new generation of producers. Later in the year, we’ll be doing the same for South Korea, and coincidentally we're kicking off this newsletter with a short report on KOFIC’s new international co-production fund.
Korea's New International Co-Pro Fund To Support Up To Seven Projects A Year
The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) is currently assessing applications for the second round of its new international co-production fund, which will support three films with a combined budget of $1m (KRW1.4bn).
Launched this year, the “Film International Co-Production Support Program (KoCo Fund)” supports projects created jointly by Korea’s film industry and overseas production companies. It plans to support six to seven projects each year with an overall budget of $2m (KRW3bn) and grants per film of up to $337,000 (KRW500m) in production funding.
Four films were supported in the first round (details below) and the three films selected for the second round will be announced in late August. Busan film festival’s Asian Cinema Fund also operates a co-production fund, launched last year, which supports one or two projects a year with grants of $50,000. The first recipient of the award was Yang Hyojoo’s Half Moon, a co-production between Korea and Germany.
Both of these funds form part of Korea’s push to strengthen the local film industry, which has faced huge challenges since the pandemic, by encouraging local producers to combine creative and financing resources with other countries – as Southeast Asia and Taiwan have been doing in recent years.
Like Japan, Korea has not been hugely active in international co-production for the past few decades, but also similar to Japan, that is now changing. Even before these funds were launched, more co-productions were popping up – including Hana Korea, a Danish-Korean co-pro that was released theatrically in Korea on July 8 and has grossed more than $30,000; and Park Sye-young's dystopian The Fin, a Korea-Germany-Qatar co-pro that premiered in Locarno last year and is scheduled for Korean release on July 22.
Streamlined aims to track developments as Korea and Japan ramp up co-production activity. The KoCo Fund’s first round of grantees include:
Saigon Oppa
Dir: Park Gyu-Tae (Korea)
Prods: Film Line (Korea), BHD (Vietnam), WebTVAsia (Malaysia)
Grant: KRW500m
The Heir
Dir: Shin I-Su (Korea)
Prods: Twin Plus Partners (Korea), Celadon Pictures (US)
Grant: KRW500m
Ugly Duckling
Dir: Ivander Tedjasukmana (Indonesia)
Prods: Desert Bloom Pictures (Korea), PT Mandela Karya Sinema (Indonesia)
Grant: KRW300m
Secret Of My Father
Dir: Yoon Jae-Ho (Korea)
Prods: Gogo Studios (Korea), Rumble Fish Productions (France)
Grant: KRW300m
China Box Office Down 40% In 2026 H1 But The Right Films Can Still Score
China’s box office decreased by around 40% in the first half of 2026, compared to the same period last year, coming in at around $2.56bn (RMB17.35bn), according to Maoyan figures. Maoyan also noted that, excluding the Covid period, the figures are the lowest since 2014 when half year box office came in at $2bn.
However, this year was always unlikely to match 2025 when Nezha 2’s massive $2.28bn haul distorted year-end figures. China’s box office has been yo-yoing up and down ever since the pandemic – one year up, the next year down – with year-end results hugely reliant on one or two big Lunar New Year hits.
The biggest Lunar New Year film in 2026, and biggest overall so far this year, is Han Han’s sports action comedy Pegasus 3 with a relatively modest $643m. It’s followed in the 2026 first half chart by Teochew-language family drama Dear You, a surprise hit with $294m, and Yuen Woo-ping’s Blades Of The Guardians with $214m.
If we take out the number one films in 2025 and 2026 (both released over Lunar New Year in Jan/Feb) the first half of this year is just a shade under the first half of 2025 with $1.9bn (RMB12.9bn) compared to $2.03bn (RMB13.78bn). Since the half year closed, there’s already been another huge hit in China with Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Soccer, which has grossed more than $148m (RMB1bn) since opening on July 11. The spin-off of his 2001 hit Shaolin Soccer, this time featuring an all-female football team, is already the fifth biggest release of the year and is predicted by Maoyan to end up on $443m (RMB3bn).
So if China’s box office yields a few more hits over the summer, it can probably keep pace with last year’s results, if we discount the outsized success of Nezha 2. The upcoming release schedule includes animated movie All Wishes Come True!, produced by Pearl Studio and CMC Pictures, scheduled for July 18; Soi Cheang’s The Belief, a war movie starring Wang Xueqi, Du Jiang and Jackson Yee (July 25); Zhang Disha’s sci-fi drama The Decisive Moment, starring Huang Bo, Gao Ye and Sun Yang (August 1); and comedy Make Zhonghe Great Again, Dong Runnian’s sequel to 2023 hit Johnny Keep Walking! (August 7).
The line-up of imported movies includes breakout horror Obsession (July 24), Spider-Man: Brand New Day (July 29) and Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (August 14), for which hopes are high as Nolan has a huge following in China.
At present, the worry for China’s box office is not the lack of films or the fact that audiences have lost the cinema-going habit. Audiences turned out in droves for Dear You, a relatively low-budget film made in a minority language without stars, because the story about families and lovers separated across different countries by factors beyond their control resonates with so many Chinese families. And despite mixed reviews, Kung Fu Soccer has scored with a female-centred narrative and nostalgia for Chow’s signature ‘mo lei tau’ brand of humour.
What is more concerning for the industry is that box office spoils are increasingly concentrated around just a handful of hit films, filmmakers and companies (often tech companies) while the older studios that used to develop and produce slates of films and sell them at international markets are mostly struggling. With AI-generated content, microdrama and video games competing for audience attention, it’s getting harder for film producers to survive or decide what they’re going to make.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong box office (which was just 2% of mainland China’s in 2025) had reason for cheer in the first half of 2026 with a 25% increase in revenues to $84.7m (HK$664m), according to figures from Hong Kong Box Office, compared to a 15% year-on-year slump in 2025. Again, this shows that audiences are still prepared to turn out for certain movies – local comedy drama Night King topped the first half box office with $15m and crime drama Cold War 1994 and Avatar: Fire And Ash (released late in Hong Kong out of respect for the Tai Po fire victims) also performed well.
Of course the question is which films are they going to turn out for? Which was always the question, but has become even more of a crapshoot since the pandemic. The biggest hits are doing record-breaking numbers, but there's fewer of the medium-sized successes to keep the market turning over.
Nansun Shi: Queen Of Asian Cinema Was A True Visionary
Hong Kong’s film industry has been in mourning this week following news of the death of producer and Film Workshop co-founder Nansun Shi on Monday, July 13, at the age of 75.
It’s difficult to put into words how important Nansun was to the Hong Kong and wider Chinese-language film industry – a matriarch, a captain, a friend, an inspiration and a visionary. Not only was she involved in some of Hong Kong’s best ever films, but she also knew how to bring them to the world stage. Her communication, marketing and networking skills were exemplary, and she worked tirelessly to promote Hong Kong movies internationally. She also built bridges between Hong Kong and the mainland China film industry at a time when Hong Kong-China co-productions were still unchartered territory (see this talk she gave at Pingyao International Film Festival, where she received a lifetime achievement award, in 2019 for more insights into her career).
She was also helpful and approachable. Nansun was one of the first people I met when I moved to Hong Kong in 2001 – infinitely patient and entertaining, she explained everything about the history of the local film industry, but what struck me most about that meeting – especially in an industry that back then was mostly flying by the seat of its pants – was the way she also talked about the future and about strategy.
Among other things, she explained the importance of making smaller films to groom new talent; about ensuring that films remain authentically local, while also reaching out to international markets, and she talked excitedly about Infernal Affairs, in production at the time, and how the film was going to reinvent the tropes of the past to appeal to audiences in the present.
Of course, Infernal Affairs made history and revived an industry that had been in the doldrums throughout the ‘90s. But that film was only a tiny part of what she did. She produced all of Tsui Hark’s films, each one epic in scale and critically and commercially successful, from Time And Tide and Seven Swords to Flying Swords Of Dragon Gate, the Detective Dee trilogy and most recently Legend Of The Condor Heroes: The Gallants. She worked on big commercial films from other filmmakers, including Wilson Yip’s Flash Point and Alan Mak and Felix Chong’s Overheard series, but she also produced small, intimate films that were lauded by international film festivals like Ann Hui’s A Simple Life and Flora Lau’s Bends.
Like many female producers around the world, she was the ballast, the coordinator, the one who kept the ship running while the men around her received more of the spotlight, at least in the early days, so it was gratifying to see her recognised through a string of lifetime achievement awards and the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in later years.
It’s been a hugely emotional week reading all the tributes to her on social media. So many people spoke of how she’d helped and inspired them; how sharp she was in her assessment of films and production issues; and how she was just so much fun to be around and the way she could light up a room. Jay Lin’s description of her totally nails it: “She was soooo glamorous yet utterly down-to-earth. Tough, fearless, and resilient in her work, yet possessing the softest and most romantic soul.”
At times like this, with all the challenges that Hong Kong cinema currently faces, it’s tempting to talk about the end of an era – but I’m sure Nansun would want us to look towards the future – and sure enough she has passed the torch to another generation of talented Hong Kong producers (many of whom are women and you know who you are). We must stay strong and positive. But we can’t deny that her absence leaves a huge hole in the heart of the Hong Kong film industry that will be very difficult to fill.
IN THE TRADES:
LAB & FUNDING NEWS:
Berlin World Cinema Fund 2026: Funding News
Doha Film Institute Spring 2026: Funding News
Asian Cinema Fund 2026: Funding News
Venice Gap Financing Market 2026: Full Line-Up
Japan’s ‘Agape’ Takes Top Award At BIFAN’s NAFF Project Market
Algeria’s Sofia Djama, UK-Jordanian Bassel Ghandour selected for Final Cut in Venice lab
PRODUCTION NEWS:
Anselm Chan’s ‘1971’ begins Hong Kong shoot with ‘The Last Dance’ cast
Ameen Nayfeh’s ‘Jo Of Montreal’ begins Jordan, Saudi Arabia shoot
CORPORATE:
Proposed Merger Of Korean Cinema Chains Lotte & Megabox Collapses
CANCELLED:
Human Rights Drama ‘Satluj’ Starring Diljit Dosanjh Pulled From Streaming In India Days After Launch
Three films pulled from MIFFest due to censorship including Shu Qi’s ‘Girl’
CURATED:
'Leviticus', 'Knock' Win Best Of Bucheon & Audience Awards At Korea’s BIFAN Fest
Singapore Animation ‘The Violinist’ Wins Best Film At Annecy
RELEASED:
China box office plunges 40.6% in 2026 first half despite strong performers
Stephen Chow’s ‘Kung Fu Soccer’ Scores Big At China Box Office With $74M Opening
Hong Kong Box Office Up 25% In 2026 First Half Topped By Local Hit ‘Night King’
South Korea cinema attendance leaps 75% for local films in first half of 2026
Neon schedules December release for Cannes selection ‘Clarissa’
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s ‘All Of A Sudden’ set for North American awards season launch
Piece of Magic to unleash ‘Godzilla Minus Zero’ in 46 territories
Vietnam’s Skyline Media Schedules North America, International Rollout For ‘Mr. Hero’
Singapore reflects on Mandarin language policy as ‘Dear You’ Teochew screenings sell out
Vijay’s ‘Jana Nayagan’ Finally Gets a Release Date
SOLD:
Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Nowhere to Lay My Eyes’ Goes to Cinema Guild for N. America Before Locarno Debut
Watermelon Pictures Takes North America For Umm Kulthum Biopic ‘El Sett’
Māori gothic horror ‘Mārama’ picked up for UK-Ireland
STREAMING UPDATES:
Netflix Unveils ‘Queenstown,’ Its First New Zealand Series
CJ ENM Hong Kong Sells Package Of Thai Dramas To Amazon MX Player In India
