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By Lisa Richwine BEVERLY HILLS, California, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and other top names in show business will compete for prizes on Sunday at the Golden Globes, one of the major film contests on Hollywood's journey to the Academy Awards. DiCaprio's film, "One Battle After Another," leads the pack of movie nominees at the champagne-fueled ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. The dark comedy tells the story of a washed-up revolutionary who springs into action when his daughter's life is in danger. Co-stars Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor were nominated alongside DiCaprio. Comedian Nikki Glaser will return for a second stint as host of the awards show, which starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time (1 a.m. GMT Monday). The festivities will be broadcast live on CBS and will stream on Paramount+. TV shows also will be honored, and a podcast trophy will be handed out for the first time. Glaser said Hollywood's A-list does not need to fear her monologue. Past Globes hosts have lobbed biting jokes at many of the stars in attendance. "They shouldn't be worried because I really have made this set so that it doesn't ruin anyone's night," she said. "I don't think I'm going to have to avoid anyone at the after-party." "One Battle," distributed by Warner Bros, will compete in the best movie musical or comedy category against table tennis tale "Marty Supreme" starring Chalamet and black comedy "Bugonia," among others. The best movie drama race features "Jay Kelly," starring George Clooney as an actor grappling with his legacy and Adam Sandler as his devoted manager. Other nominated film dramas include Guillermo del Toro's take on "Frankenstein," supernatural horror flick "Sinners" and "Hamnet," a story about the family of William Shakespeare. Among other acting nominees are Chalamet, Dwayne Johnson for "The Smashing Machine," Michael B. Jordan for "Sinners," Jessie Buckley for "Hamnet" and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for musical sequel "Wicked: For Good." The Globes are among the first of the 2026 Hollywood accolades to be handed out before the film industry's top honors, the Academy Awards, in March.  Globes voters do not have a say in the Oscars, but a win at the Globes can help bring attention to potential Academy Awards contenders. Recipients of the Globes are chosen by more than 300 entertainment journalists, compared with roughly 9,000 voters who select the Oscars. The Globes voting body was expanded in recent years and organizers instituted reforms after criticisms for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity. Globes voters highlighted several international films in this year's nominations. They include Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value," "It Was Just an Accident" from Iranian director Jafar Panahi, and Brazilian drama "The Secret Agent." In a new podcast category, the field includes "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard," "Call Her Daddy," "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" and "The Mel Robbins Podcast." HBO's vacation mystery "The White Lotus" leads TV categories in nominations, ahead of Netflix's limited series "Adolescence," about a 13-year-old accused of murder. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine BEVERLY HILLS, California, Jan 11 (Reuters) – Leonardo DiCaprio, Timothee Chalamet and other top names in show business will compete for prizes on Sunday at the Golden Globes, one of the major film contests on Hollywood's journey to the Academy Awards. DiCaprio's film, "One Battle After Another," leads the pack of movie nominees at the champagne-fueled ceremony in Beverly Hills, California. The dark comedy tells the story of a washed-up revolutionary who springs into action when his daughter's life is in danger. Co-stars Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti and Teyana Taylor were nominated alongside DiCaprio. Comedian Nikki Glaser will return for a second stint as host of the awards show, which starts at 8 p.m. Eastern time (1 a.m. GMT Monday). The festivities will be broadcast live on CBS and will stream on Paramount+. TV shows also will be honored, and a podcast trophy will be handed out for the first time. Glaser said Hollywood's A-list does not need to fear her monologue. Past Globes hosts have lobbed biting jokes at many of the stars in attendance. "They shouldn't be worried because I really have made this set so that it doesn't ruin anyone's night," she said. "I don't think I'm going to have to avoid anyone at the after-party." "One Battle," distributed by Warner Bros, will compete in the best movie musical or comedy category against table tennis tale "Marty Supreme" starring Chalamet and black comedy "Bugonia," among others. The best movie drama race features "Jay Kelly," starring George Clooney as an actor grappling with his legacy and Adam Sandler as his devoted manager. Other nominated film dramas include Guillermo del Toro's take on "Frankenstein," supernatural horror flick "Sinners" and "Hamnet," a story about the family of William Shakespeare. Among other acting nominees are Chalamet, Dwayne Johnson for "The Smashing Machine," Michael B. Jordan for "Sinners," Jessie Buckley for "Hamnet" and Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo for musical sequel "Wicked: For Good." The Globes are among the first of the 2026 Hollywood accolades to be handed out before the film industry's top honors, the Academy Awards, in March.  Globes voters do not have a say in the Oscars, but a win at the Globes can help bring attention to potential Academy Awards contenders. Recipients of the Globes are chosen by more than 300 entertainment journalists, compared with roughly 9,000 voters who select the Oscars. The Globes voting body was expanded in recent years and organizers instituted reforms after criticisms for ethical lapses and a lack of diversity. Globes voters highlighted several international films in this year's nominations. They include Norwegian family drama "Sentimental Value," "It Was Just an Accident" from Iranian director Jafar Panahi, and Brazilian drama "The Secret Agent." In a new podcast category, the field includes "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard," "Call Her Daddy," "Good Hang with Amy Poehler" and "The Mel Robbins Podcast." HBO's vacation mystery "The White Lotus" leads TV categories in nominations, ahead of Netflix's limited series "Adolescence," about a 13-year-old accused of murder. (Reporting by Lisa RichwineEditing by Nick Zieminski)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Matthew Lewis and Steve Gorman Jan 10 (Reuters) – Veteran rock musician Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead's rhythm guitarist who helped guide the legendary psychedelic jam band through decades of change and success, has died at age 78, his family said in a statement on Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer in July and "succumbed to underlying lung issues" surrounded by loved ones, according to the statement, posted on Weir's verified Instagram account. It did not mention when or where he died. Just weeks after starting cancer treatment last summer, Weir had returned to his "hometown stage" at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco to play in a three-night celebration of his 60 years in music, his family recalled. Those shows turned out to be his final live public performances, according to Rolling Stone magazine. Along with his late fellow Grateful Dead co-founder and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who was at the center of the universe for "Deadheads," as diehard Dead fans are known, Weir was one of the group's two frontmen and main vocalists for most of the band's history. It was Weir who sang the verses on the band's trademark boogie anthem, "Truckin'," and who wrote such key songs as "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band" and "Jack Straw."  The youthful, ponytailed "Bobby" grew into an eclectic songwriter whose handsome appearance and diverse musical influences helped broaden the band's appeal. British newspaper the Independent called Weir "arguably rock's greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist." After Garcia's death at age 53 in 1995, Weir carved out an interesting if somewhat neglected solo career – much of it with his band, RatDog – and participated in reunions of surviving Dead members in different configurations. LONG STRANGE TRIP "As the one good-looking guy in the Dead, baby-faced Weir was always what passed for the band's sex symbol," the San Francisco Chronicle's Joel Selvin wrote in 2004. "He didn't care about that, either. In fact, he always seemed to secretly relish subverting that image."  Weir was the subject of the 2014 documentary "The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir," which made a case for the Dead's "other" guitarist as a musical force. Though some Deadheads adopted the trappings of tie-dyed psychedelia, the group itself was deeply attached to American roots music and was credited with bringing experimental improvisation to rock music. Weir's own musical tastes ranged from Chuck Berry to cowboy songs to R&B and reggae. Thanks to relentless touring, constant musical evolution and a passionate fan base, the Grateful Dead – who existed from 1965 to 1995 – did not have to rely on producing hit records.  "Bob was the wild one," journalist Blair Jackson wrote in 2012. "He was the rock 'n' roller, but also the confident, smooth-voiced narrator on all those dramatic country-rock numbers about desperadoes and fugitives; a perfect fit for those tunes. He was the guy who would screech and scream himself hoarse at the end of the show, whipping us into a dancing frenzy." Weir, whose birth name was Robert Hall Parber, was born on October 16, 1947, and raised by adoptive parents in Atherton, California. He did not excel in school, due in part to his undiagnosed dyslexia. In 1964 at age 16, he met Bay Area folk musician Garcia, with whom he formed the Warlocks, who soon morphed into the Grateful Dead. THE KID The athletic Weir, who enjoyed football, was the youngest member of the original band and was sometimes referred to as "the kid." He was still in high school when he joined up with Garcia, bass guitarist Phil Lesh, organist-vocalist-harmonica player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Lesh recalled in his 2005 autobiography that he and Garcia had to make a promise to young Bob's mother. "The long and short of it was that if Jerry and I promised to make sure that Bob got to school every day, and that he got home all right after the gigs, she would allow him to remain in the band," wrote Lesh, who died in October 2024 at age 84. "We somehow convinced her that we would indeed see that he got to school every day. In San Francisco. At 8:00 a.m." Eventually Weir moved in to the communal Dead house at 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco. The group's first album, "The Grateful Dead," was released in March 1967. According to some accounts, Weir was briefly fired from the band in 1968 because his guitar skills were deemed lacking. But he either redoubled his efforts or the others had second thoughts, because he was soon back in. By the time of the band's two famous 1970 albums, "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty," Weir was a key contributor.  His 1972 solo album, "Ace," was a de facto Grateful Dead album that featured Garcia and the others and included well-regarded Weir songs including "Cassidy," "Black-Throated Wind," "Mexicali Blues" and "Looks Like Rain." Many of his best-known songs were co-written with his old school friend, John Perry Barlow, who died in 2018. As the band's rhythm guitarist, Weir often played little fills, riffs and figures instead of straight chords. "I derived a lot of what I do on guitar from listening to piano players," he told GQ magazine in 2019, citing McCoy Tyner's work with saxophonist John Coltrane. "He would constantly nudge and coax amazing stuff out of Coltrane." Even decades after Garcia's death, Weir never forgot the influence of his old friend. He told GQ that Garcia was still present when Weir played guitar. "I can hear him: 'Don't go there. Don't go there,' or 'Go here. Go here,'" Weir said. "And either I listen or I don't, depending on how I'm feeling. But it's always 'How's old Jerry going to feel about this riff?' Sometimes I know he'd hate it. But he'd adjust." In 2017, Weir was appointed as a United Nations Development Program goodwill ambassador to support the agency's work to end poverty while fighting climate change. Weir married Natascha Muenter in 1999. They had two daughters.    "Looking back," Weir once said, "I guess I have lived an unusual life." (Writing and reporting by Matthew Lewis in Chicago; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Diane Craft and William Mallard)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Corrects day of week in first paragraph) Jan 10 (Reuters) – Veteran rock musician Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead's rhythm guitarist who helped guide the legendary jam band through decades of change and success, has died at age 78, according to a statement posted to his verified Instagram account on Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer in July and "succumbed to underlying lung issues" surrounded by loved ones, the statement said. It did not mention when or where he died. Along with his late fellow Grateful Dead co-founder and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who was at the center of the Deadhead universe, Weir was one of the group's two frontmen and main vocalists for most of the band's history. It was Weir who sang the verses on the band's trademark boogie anthem, "Truckin'," and who wrote such key songs as "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band" and "Jack Straw."  The youthful, ponytailed "Bobby" grew into an eclectic songwriter whose handsome appearance and diverse musical influences helped broaden the band's appeal. British newspaper The Independent called Weir "arguably rock's greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist." After Garcia's death at age 53 in 1995, Weir carved out an interesting if somewhat neglected solo career – much of it with his band, RatDog – and participated in reunions of surviving Dead members in different configurations. (Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Writing and additional reporting by Matthew Lewis in Chicago; editing by Diane Craft)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Matthew Lewis and Steve Gorman Jan 10 (Reuters) – Veteran rock musician Bob Weir, the Grateful Dead's rhythm guitarist who helped guide the legendary jam band through decades of change and success, has died at age 78, according to a statement posted to his verified Instagram account on Saturday. He was diagnosed with cancer in July and "succumbed to underlying lung issues" surrounded by loved ones, the statement said. It did not mention when or where he died. Along with his late fellow Grateful Dead co-founder and lead guitarist Jerry Garcia, who was at the center of the Deadhead universe, Weir was one of the group's two frontmen and main vocalists for most of the band's history. It was Weir who sang the verses on the band's trademark boogie anthem, "Truckin'," and who wrote such key songs as "Sugar Magnolia," "Playing in the Band" and "Jack Straw."  The youthful, ponytailed "Bobby" grew into an eclectic songwriter whose handsome appearance and diverse musical influences helped broaden the band's appeal. British newspaper The Independent called Weir "arguably rock's greatest, if most eccentric, rhythm guitarist." After Garcia's death at age 53 in 1995, Weir carved out an interesting if somewhat neglected solo career – much of it with his band, RatDog – and participated in reunions of surviving Dead members in different configurations. LONG STRANGE TRIP "As the one good-looking guy in the Dead, baby-faced Weir was always what passed for the band's sex symbol," the San Francisco Chronicle's Joel Selvin wrote in 2004. "He didn't care about that, either. In fact, he always seemed to secretly relish subverting that image."  Weir was the subject of the 2014 documentary "The Other One: The Long, Strange Trip of Bob Weir," which made a case for the Dead's "other" guitarist as a musical force. Though some diehard Dead fans, or "Deadheads," adopted the trappings of tie-dyed psychedelia, the group itself was deeply attached to American roots music and was credited with bringing experimental improvisation to rock music. Weir's own musical tastes ranged from Chuck Berry to cowboy songs to R&B and reggae. Thanks to relentless touring, constant musical evolution and a passionate fan base, the Grateful Dead – who existed from 1965 to 1995 – did not have to rely on producing hit records.  "Bob was the wild one," journalist Blair Jackson wrote in 2012. "He was the rock 'n' roller, but also the confident, smooth-voiced narrator on all those dramatic country-rock numbers about desperadoes and fugitives; a perfect fit for those tunes. He was the guy who would screech and scream himself hoarse at the end of the show, whipping us into a dancing frenzy." Weir, whose birth name was Robert Hall Parber, was born on October 16, 1947, and raised by adoptive parents in Atherton, California. He did not excel in school, due in part to his undiagnosed dyslexia. In 1964 at age 16, he met Bay Area folk musician Garcia, with whom he formed the Warlocks, who soon morphed into the Grateful Dead. THE KID The athletic Weir, who enjoyed football, was the youngest member of the original band and was sometimes referred to as "the kid." He was still in high school when he joined up with Garcia, bass guitarist Phil Lesh, organist-vocalist-harmonica player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan and drummer Bill Kreutzmann. Lesh recalled in his 2005 autobiography that he and Garcia had to make a promise to young Bob's mother. "The long and short of it was that if Jerry and I promised to make sure that Bob got to school every day, and that he got home all right after the gigs, she would allow him to remain in the band," wrote Lesh, who died in October 2024 at age 84. "We somehow convinced her that we would indeed see that he got to school every day. In San Francisco. At 8:00 a.m." Eventually Weir moved in to the communal Dead house at 710 Ashbury Street in San Francisco. The group's first album, "The Grateful Dead," was released in March 1967. According to some accounts, Weir was briefly fired from the band in 1968 because his guitar skills were deemed lacking. But he either redoubled his efforts or the others had second thoughts, because he was soon back in. By the time of the band's two famous 1970 albums, "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty," Weir was a key contributor.  His 1972 solo album, "Ace," was a de facto Grateful Dead album that featured Garcia and the others and included well-regarded Weir songs including "Cassidy," "Black-Throated Wind," "Mexicali Blues" and "Looks Like Rain." Many of his best-known songs were co-written with his old school friend, John Perry Barlow, who died in 2018. As the band's rhythm guitarist, Weir often played little fills, riffs and figures instead of straight chords. "I derived a lot of what I do on guitar from listening to piano players," he told GQ magazine in 2019, citing McCoy Tyner's work with saxophonist John Coltrane. "He would constantly nudge and coax amazing stuff out of Coltrane." Even decades after Garcia's death, Weir never forgot the influence of his old friend. He told GQ that Garcia was still present when Weir played guitar. "I can hear him: 'Don't go there. Don't go there,' or 'Go here. Go here,'" Weir said. "And either I listen or I don't, depending on how I'm feeling. But it's always 'How's old Jerry going to feel about this riff?' Sometimes I know he'd hate it. But he'd adjust." In 2017, Weir was appointed as a United Nations Development Program goodwill ambassador to support the agency's work to end poverty while fighting climate change. Weir married Natascha Muenter in 1999. They had two daughters.    "Looking back," Weir once said, "I guess I have lived an unusual life." (Writing and reporting by Matthew Lewis in Chicago; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Diane Craft)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

LOS ANGELES, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Veteran rock musician Bob Weir, co-founder of the Grateful Dead, has died at age 78, after a battle with cancer from "underlying lung issues," according to a statement posted on his verified Instagram account. (By Steve Gorman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – Actor Idris Elba faces another crisis in season two of thriller series "Hijack", when passengers on a Berlin underground train are taken hostage during the morning rush hour. Two years after his character, Sam Nelson, survived a plane hijacking in the Apple TV+ show's first season, the corporate negotiator finds himself at the centre of a new ordeal. Like its predecessor, the eight-part season, which premieres on January 14, is set in real time. In an interview with Reuters, the British star and Jim Field Smith – the show's co-creator and director – spoke about the season's setting and coming up with new twists. Below are excerpts edited for length and clarity. Q: What was important for you in taking the story forward? Elba: "There’s a level of dissatisfaction (at the end of season one) with not knowing all the layers of how, why, what, when and who. And that was, I think, for us, maybe sort of the beginning of why we would come back, because there's lots of things we don't know about Sam, about the hijacking … what happens next … So, it was important that if we are going to come back, A, we could … widen the lens, so to speak. But secondly, be smarter." Field Smith:  "The benefit of season two is a little bit of time has passed and the Sam Nelson you meet in frame one of season two is not the Sam Nelson we left behind at the end of season one. And you're able to go, 'What the hell has happened to this guy?’ And you are able to take him to a way darker place than we ever could in season one." Q: What personal journey does Sam go on? Elba:  "There's a lot of determination with Sam in this season and the audience are asking themselves why … it's sort of like trying to heal … It really does examine trauma. It examines what would you do for your family." Q: With all the plot twists in season one, what pressure was there to deliver in season two? Field Smith: "We wanted people to start watching this season and be like, 'Okay, okay, I think I know this show … There's going to be some bad stuff happening around him. He's going to key into it and he's going to save the day’. And actually, we took it as an inspiration and we leaned into that and I think the twists and the way we've taken the character are, to a certain extent, exploiting the audience's expectations of what we're going to do.” Q: How did the train setting compare with the plane setting? Elba: "Comparatively … the constraint of claustrophobia is baked into how we make it, how we shoot it … we don't make sets bigger, we go to scale … On the train … the claustrophobia to me was higher because you're moving, you're feeling that movement and you are standing in a mass of bodies." (Reporting by Marie-Louise Gumuchian; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – One of China's top officials met with Disney CEO Bob Iger in Beijing on Friday, state media reported, as the "House of Mouse" seeks to strengthen its foothold in the world's second-largest economy amid fraught U.S.-China tensions. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang encouraged Iger to invest further in China, a notable shift from Beijing's threat last April that it would further restrict imports of Hollywood films in response to U.S. tariffs. China's $19 trillion economy presents a complicated business proposition for U.S. film studios: the country's young, affluent urban middle class offers a lucrative audience for theme parks, but Beijing tightly controls the number of foreign films allowed into the country each year – potentially constraining interest in the franchises that drive the punters to the parks. Iger built out Disney's media empire through high-profile acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and the Star Wars franchise, and oversaw the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. For three decades, Beijing has capped Hollywood imports at just 10 films a year, and it has made significant headway in steering Chinese audiences toward domestically produced movies in the world's second-largest film market. Chinese moviegoers propelled "Ne Zha 2" past Pixar's "Inside Out 2" to make it the highest‑grossing animated film of all time last year. Hollywood films account for only 5% of overall box office receipts in China's markets, analysts estimate. Still, Disney and Universal Studios have both opened theme parks in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, with Iger's visit likely to again fuel speculation that the entertainment giant has plans to open a second amusement park in the country. "Disney is full of confidence in China's development and will continue to expand investment in China," Iger was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – One of China's top officials met with Disney CEO Bob Iger in Beijing on Friday, state media reported, as the "House of Mouse" seeks to strengthen its foothold in the world's second-largest economy amid fraught U.S.-China tensions. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang encouraged Iger to invest further in China, a notable shift from Beijing's threat last April that it would further restrict imports of Hollywood films in response to U.S. tariffs. China's $19 trillion economy presents a complicated business proposition for U.S. film studios: the country's young, affluent urban middle class offers a lucrative audience for theme parks, but Beijing tightly controls the number of foreign films allowed into the country each year – potentially constraining interest in the franchises that drive the punters to the parks. Iger built out Disney's media empire through high-profile acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and the Star Wars franchise, and oversaw the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. For three decades, Beijing has capped Hollywood imports at just 10 films a year, and it has made significant headway in steering Chinese audiences toward domestically produced movies in the world's second-largest film market. Chinese moviegoers propelled "Ne Zha 2" past Pixar's "Inside Out 2" to make it the highest‑grossing animated film of all time last year. Hollywood films account for only 5% of overall box office receipts in China's markets, analysts estimate. Still, Disney and Universal Studios have both opened theme parks in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, with Iger's visit likely to again fuel speculation that the entertainment giant has plans to open a second amusement park in the country. "Disney is full of confidence in China's development and will continue to expand investment in China," Iger was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

BEIJING, Jan 9 (Reuters) – One of China's top officials met with Disney CEO Bob Iger in Beijing on Friday, state media reported, as the "House of Mouse" seeks to strengthen its foothold in the world's second-largest economy amid fraught U.S.-China tensions. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang encouraged Iger to invest further in China, a notable shift from Beijing's threat last April that it would further restrict imports of Hollywood films in response to U.S. tariffs. China's $19 trillion economy presents a complicated business proposition for U.S. film studios: the country's young, affluent urban middle class offers a lucrative audience for theme parks, but Beijing tightly controls the number of foreign films allowed into the country each year – potentially constraining interest in the franchises that drive the punters to the parks. Iger built out Disney's media empire through high-profile acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and the Star Wars franchise, and oversaw the opening of Shanghai Disneyland. For three decades, Beijing has capped Hollywood imports at just 10 films a year, and it has made significant headway in steering Chinese audiences toward domestically produced movies in the world's second-largest film market. Chinese moviegoers propelled "Ne Zha 2" past Pixar's "Inside Out 2" to make it the highest‑grossing animated film of all time last year. Hollywood films account for only 5% of overall box office receipts in China's markets, analysts estimate. Still, Disney and Universal Studios have both opened theme parks in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, with Iger's visit likely to again fuel speculation that the entertainment giant has plans to open a second amusement park in the country. "Disney is full of confidence in China's development and will continue to expand investment in China," Iger was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Joe Cash; Editing by Christopher Cushing and Stephen Coates)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)