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It beat ‘Shazam!’ into second place.

Hong Kong crime thriller P Storm fought off DC’s latest superhero film Shazam! for the top spot over the long weekend created by the Qingming (tomb-sweeping) holiday on April 5.

As it is not always a tradition to have a Friday opening in China, several new titles received a staggered release to take advantage of the Qingming holiday, with India’s Andhadhun opening on April 3, P Storm and Lou Ye’s The Shadow Play on April 4 and Shazam! on April 5.

Thanks largely to the Qingming weekend, the first week of April (April 1-7) enjoyed...

“P Storm,” the fourth installment of a Hong Kong crime thriller franchise, beat Warner Bros.’ new DC Comics superhero flick “Shazam!” by nearly $10 million over their three-day opening weekend in China, indicating a continued preference of Chinese audiences for local films over U.S. fare.

According to data from consultancy Artisan Gateway, “P Storm” took in $39.8 million over the weekend, which included Friday’s Tomb Sweeping Day, a national holiday in China during which families traditionally head home to pay graveside respects to their ancestors. The somewhat unfortunately named film stars Louis Koo as corruption investigator William Luk, who goes undercover at a prison. “P Storm” took pole position at the box office despite a South China Morning Post review that called it an “utterly silly” storyline “laughably detached from reality.”

Directed by David Lam and produced by Raymond Wong’s Hong Kong-based Pegasus Motion Pictures, the film is the...

Heroes and criminals alike will depart Netflix in April. Some of the first titles on the streaming service’s chopping block for the month include four Batman films and Frank Darabont’s Oscar-nominated jailhouse drama “The Shawshank Redemption,” featuring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.

The streaming giant will also let go of TV series like “Dukes of Hazzard” and “Happy Tree Friends,” with more movie tentpoles like “Kung Fu Panda 3” rounding out the month’s departures.

View the full list of titles leaving Netflix below.

April 1

30 Days of Night

88 Minutes

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls

American Pie

American Pie 2

Apollo 13

Batman

Batman & Robin

Batman Forever

Batman Returns

Caddyshack

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Cool Runnings

Death Sentence

Dolphin Tale

The Dukes of Hazzard

Eagle vs. Shark

John Mulaney: New in Town

The Men Who Stare at Goats

Never Let Me Go...

S Storm is the sequel to the 2014 Hong Kong corruption thriller Z Storm. Director David Lam returns and the cast this time includes Louis Koo, Julian Cheung and Vic Chou.    Thanks to Magnum Films, we have Five double passes for the film to give away to our readers.    For a chance to win, all you have to do is to follow these two steps:   1) Like the Magnum Film Facebook page, and   2) Email your name and postal address to me at: hugo[at]screenanarchy.com   S Storm will open in Australian cinemas on September 15 and this competition will close at 3pm on September 14. Good luck!    ...

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Hong Kong thrillers have been lifting their game of late, with the likes of “Cold War” and “Firestorm” combining big budget action, star power and contemporary political and social concerns to generally solid effect. “Z Storm”, the first film in many years from veteran director David Lam (“First Shot”) is the latest to try and emulate their success, featuring Louis Koo (“Overheard”) fighting against corruption and financial intrigue in the form of Michael Wong (“Firestorm”), Gordon Lam (“Cold War”) and others, with Dada Chan (“Vulgaria”) on hand in the usual token female role. The plot revolves around the activities of Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (Icac) and its investigations into profiteering and misbehaviour in the police force. Louis Koo plays Icac senior investigator William Luk, the film opening with him investigating a case of extortion involving Ccb (Commercial Crime Bureau) Superintendent Wong Man Bin (Gordon Lam). As Luk...

Z Storm is a new corruption thriller from Hong Kong that stars Louis Koo, Gordon Lam and Dada Chan. It also has a strong supporting cast including Lo Hoi Pang, Liu Kai Chi and Michael Wong. It is due to be released in Australian cinemas on July 10, and thanks to its distributor Magnum Films, we have Five double passes for our readers to win. To enter this competition, all you have to do is to follow these two steps:1) Like the Magnum Film Facebook page, and2) Email your name and postal address to me at: hugo[at]twitchfilm.netThe competition will close at 3pm on July 8. -- Good luck!...

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