MV TELEGRAPH

Moviegoers wear face masks in a projection hall of a movie theater almost six months after they closed due to a coronavirus pandemic on July 24, 2020 in Beijing, China.

China News Service | China News Service | Getty Images

In a year marked by a deadly global pandemic, Japan’s box office set a new record.

An animated film based on a popular manga called “Demon Slayer” became the top grossing film in the country’s history, beating the record for Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” in 2001. It has ticket sales of more than US $ 322 million Dollars earned.

Japan, an island nation in East Asia of more than 126 million people, has had fewer than 300,000 coronavirus cases and only saw box office revenues drop by 46% in 2020 to $ 1.27 billion.

By comparison, the domestic box office slumped 80% to $ 2.28 billion as U.S. coronavirus cases have topped 21.6 million since the pandemic began. Canada, a box office employee, has seen fewer than 645,000 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Japan is just one of many countries in the Asia-Pacific region that have managed to manage the coronavirus pandemic in such a way that case numbers have remained low and consumer confidence has remained high.

In countries like China, Australia and South Korea, where cases of Covid have dropped significantly, analysts and operators are seeing box offices rebound and thrive.

In fact, its market share in the Asia-Pacific region increased in 2020. While the global box office was significantly lower last year – about 70% of its 2019 value, or about $ 12.4 billion – the Asia-Pacific region accounts for 51% of the Ticket sales. In 2019, these countries accounted for 41%, according to data from Comscore and analysis from Gower Street.

By comparison, in 2019 the US and Canadian box offices accounted for 30% of global ticket sales. In 2020 this market share fell to just 18%.

The Asia-Pacific region has gone to great lengths to fight the coronavirus, including breaking travel, setting up extensive testing and tracing of contacts, hiring masks, and implementing strict social distancing rules. Regardless of the approach taken by each country, its ability to reduce coronavirus cases and reopen their economies shows that if the US is able to do the same, similar results can be achieved.

So far, the response to coronavirus in America has been slow, and cases continue to climb to historic levels, with hospital stays and deaths increasing too.

As of August, when the majority of the world’s theaters reopened, the Asia-Pacific region has nearly 78% of the world’s total box office.

Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, said these countries have bounced back after widespread theater closings.

First, these countries have been able to control their outbreaks by banning their outbreaks, introducing contact tracing and enforcing mask mandates. The reduction in the number of cases and strict preventive measures have increased the confidence of potential moviegoers.

Second, these countries had new non-Hollywood films to release. Domestically, the box office stalled because there was no new product for the audience to see. Even when theaters reopened with limited capacity, most of the films were legacy titles such as Star Wars, Jaws, and Goonies.

In the Asia-Pacific region, there was always new content in the studios to get people off their couches. And moviegoers turned out in droves.

In China, two films have generated more than $ 400 million at the local box office: “The Eight Hundred,” a war drama from the 1930s, and “My People, My Homeland,” a comedy film made up of five short stories . Both films were released in the second half of the year.

By comparison, the top grossing film in the US and Canada in 2020 was Sony’s “Bad Boys for Life”. The action film, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is the third in the Bad Boys franchise and was released in January before the virus spread to the United States. It raised $ 204 million during its theatrical release.

No film released domestically in the second half of the year reached nearly $ 100 million.

Universal’s family animated film “The Croods: A New Age” and Warner Bros.’s superhero sequel “Wonder Woman 1984” both made less than $ 30 million domestically. Another Warner Bros title, Tenet, was released on Labor Day weekend and did not exceed $ 60 million in its theatrical release.

“There is no doubt that going back to a normal big screen market will take a lot of time and patience,” said Dergarabedian. “However, the lessons of the example of countries that have rallied strongly in recent months show that a well-managed Covid response and engaging new films can work together to spark box office prosperity now and in the future kindle. “

Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC. “The Croods: A New Age” is an NBCUniversal film.

Drew Angerer | Getty Images News | Getty Images

No, you did not hit the Mega Millions jackpot of $ 520 million.

The lottery game’s grand prize rose to a whopping $ 600 million for Tuesday night’s drawing after no ticket matched all six numbers drawn on Friday night. The amount marks the eighth largest jackpot in the history of the lottery. Powerball’s jackpot is an estimated $ 470 million for the Saturday night draw.

Of course, the amounts shown are not what the winners would end up with. Lottery officials must withhold 24% of large winnings for federal taxes. And that’s just the beginning of what you would pay Uncle Sam and usually state coffers.

More from Personal Finance:
Some newlyweds face a marriage tax penalty
Here are three of my worst money mistakes
Avoid mistakes in asset allocation in the event of a divorce

For the $ 600 million Mega Millions jackpot, the cash option that most winners choose instead of an annuity is $ 442.4 million. The 24% retention would save approximately $ 106.2 million before the price hits you.

However, you can be rest assured that you owe more to the IRS.

The highest marginal tax rate is 37%. If the winner’s taxable income were not reduced – such as B. large donations for charity – would be another 13% or 57.5 million at the tax time. USD to pay the IRS (this would be April 2022 for jackpots claimed in 2021).

That would be a total of $ 163.7 million that would go to the IRS.

There are also state taxes. Depending on where you live, this hit can be more than 8%.

The cash option for the $ 470 million Powerball jackpot is $ 362.7 million. If there is a winner, the 24% withholding tax would cut $ 87 million off the top. Another 13% would be $ 47.2 million, for the tax officer a total of $ 134.2 million.

Despite handing over a substantial amount to federal and state coffers, the post-tax amount would be life changing. Experts say jackpot winners should assemble a team of seasoned professionals – including a lawyer, tax advisor, and financial advisor – to help manage their sudden fortune.

Most gamers don’t need to worry, however. The chance of hitting the Mega Millions jackpot with a single ticket is tiny: 1 in 302 million. For Powerball, the odds are slightly better: 1 in 292 million.

The Gundam warrior robot in Yokogama’s Ymahita Habor is a major attraction for Japanese sci-fi fans.

Photo: Tim Hornyak

When Boston Dynamics released its latest video of its robots defying gravity, this time dancing to The Contours “Cont You Love Me,” the internet was excited. A YouTube clip of Atlas and Spot robots moving with balletical fluidity has generated over 23 million views and countless warnings since Dec. 30 that the Terminator series Skynet is approaching. Boston Dynamics, which Hyundai Motor Group is acquiring from SoftBank Group, makes robots that are not only practical but also fun.

Robots that have long been used by companies like Walt Disney Imagineering are performing as entertainers, despite the introduction of different types of robots in the Covid-19 pandemic, which in a variety of ways to fight the virus and to help society and the economy can contribute – from providing automation in factories and warehouses to working as medical assistants in hospitals and nursing homes. As the world turns to vaccines and reopening economies, intelligent machines will play an increasingly public role as entertainers. According to the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), entertainment robots as a market could grow 10% annually through 2023 as more public venues include machines that don’t get tired, get sick, or need to be quarantined.

The IFR classifies entertainment robots as a type of service robot, a broad category that encompasses everything from hospital delivery droids to edutainment robotic toys. The category grew 32% from $ 8.5 billion to $ 11.2 billion in 2019. Entertainment robot sales rose 13% to 4.6 million units in 2019, with a potential growth of 10% to 5 , 1 million units in 2020 and 6.7 million units in 2023. according to IFR.

Robot popular in Japan

One country that is making great strides in this emerging market is Japan, known for its skills in robotics. In 2018, Japan was the world’s leading manufacturer of industrial robots, supplying 52% of global supply according to the IFR. Japan has actively committed itself to robotics as its population shrinks, its workforce shrinks, and the coronavirus pandemic makes human interaction difficult.

Companies in Japan recently unveiled a giant robot that can move its arms and legs and appear to be walking. The machine is nearly 60 feet tall and about half the height of the copper Statue of Liberty. It is inspired by the science fiction series by Gundam and attracts fans in Japan and on the internet.

Just south of Tokyo, the Gundam Factory Yokohama recently opened as the culmination of a long-term project to build a life-size, mobile version of the Mobile Suit Gundam’s title robot. Yoshiyuki Tomino’s hugely successful anime franchise spawned a merchandise empire that now has annual sales of approximately 78 billion yen ($ 758 million). The series is a sprawling science fiction epic in which humans control giant robots in a space war. While other representations of Gundam robots have been erected since 2009, the one in Yokohama is the result of the Gundam Global Challenge (GGC), an attempt to create a giant, full-size robot that can walk.

When it’s showtime, the Gundam robot appears to slowly step forward, bend its knees, and then get up on a launch pad for a rocket. Bathed in mist and dramatic light, it raises its arms while touching music fills the air. The 25-ton colossus appears to take off over the port city at dusk, but never leaves its supporting portal. The whole setup is a sophisticated sound and light show to create the illusion that the Gundam robot has been kind of brought to life. And that’s good enough for legions of fans who pay 1,650 yen ($ 16) to see it from the ground or 3,300 yen ($ 32) to access the portal.

“The sight of the 18-meter giant run was a surprise that I had never seen in my life,” says a Gundam fan, who is nicknamed Yokkun and asks for anonymity. “It’s like you’re a crew member on the [Gundam spaceship] White base. You won’t get bored no matter how many times you see it. Going up the tower for a close up is a must. “

“No one has ever seen an 18-meter-long Gundam statue move like this, and I think that’s very important,” said Yasuo Miyakawa, associate director of GGC and CEO of Bandai Namco, the nearly 700 million Gundam model kits The decades since the series debuted in 1979. “It’s a new form of entertainment, showing what was created in the anime – that is, the world that is seen in the videos – is closer to reality . “

In a message to the fans, director Tomino apologized that the huge machine could not run due to its large mass. Nevertheless, fans have come to see the “moving Gundam”, to take photos, to have something to eat in the hotel’s own café and of course to buy goods in the souvenir shop, which even sells model kits of the Yokohama Gundam and its portal. A showroom details how nine Japanese companies came together to build the robot, including contractor Kawada Group who assembled the portal, industrial robot manufacturer Yaskawa Electric who made the motors and control units, and engineering firm Nabtesco who made the reduction gears provided get the gundam moving.

Serve food, drink and laugh

Robots as a point of attraction for guests and tourists are establishing themselves in Asia. Tokyo’s Robot Restaurant was built in 2012 by the Morishita Group at a cost of around 10 billion yen ($ 125 million) and was regularly packed with tourists and locals seeing performers mess around with robotic dinosaurs, LED-lit tanks, and other gadgets a 90-minute cabaret with sensory overload.

While the coronavirus forced the temporary closure of the Robot Restaurant, other companies are mobilizing droids despite and even because of the pandemic. Last summer, a subsidiary of real estate developer Country Garden Holdings opened a restaurant complex in Guangdong Province, China, operated by 20 robots, some of which feature colorful designs and cartoonish faces. Aside from the novelty factor of being machine operated, the facility minimizes human contact and possible infection. In addition, the robots can prepare meals such as hot pot and pasta dishes from a menu with hundreds of choices in just 20 seconds. The company bills the 21,500-square-foot complex with a capacity for nearly 600 people as the world’s first of its kind and announced plans to expand it to produce around 5,000 restaurant robots per year.

In 2019, developers unveiled Gyeongnam Masan Robot Land in South Korea, to be marketed as the first robot theme park of its kind. Robot Land cost around $ 700 million to build and took 10 years to build. It offers 22 rides, 11 other facilities, research and development and convention centers, as well as around 250 robots that do everything from assembly line work to synchronized dances.

The entrance of Gyeongnam Masan Robot Land in South Korea.

Source: Star Networks

Robots also entertain people in much smaller spaces. Toy-like devices like Sony’s Aibo robot dog have won fans for decades, while SoftBank Robotics’ pintsized humanoid NAO, used in the Standard Platform League of the international RoboCup soccer tournament, also does stand-up comedy. Introduced during the pandemic, Moxie is a $ 1,499 tabletop robot embodied by the Californian startup that is designed to help children ages 5 to 10 develop their social skills through fun interaction. Backed by investors such as Amazon, Intel, Sony and Toyota, Embodied is led by Paolo Pirjanian, who said in a blog post by Toyota AI Ventures, “Moxie allows kids to play meaningful games every day with content informed about the best practices in the world child development and early childhood education. “

A humanoid NAO robot developed by Softbank Corp. subsidiary Aldebaran Robotics SA.

Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Large industrial robot manufacturers also rely on entertainment robots. The German KUKA produces industrial robot arms that can be used to assemble cars, trains, solar panels and other vehicles and infrastructures. But it has also worked with partners like Milan-based beverage maker Makr Shakr to create a fully automated cocktail bar called Toni. The two robot arms reach for beverage ingredients embedded in the ceiling, shake and stir before the finished cocktail is placed on the counter. Toni is considered the world’s first robot bar for the mass market and can serve up to 80 drinks an hour. Industrial robots can also be used for more hands-on experience.

“Our portfolio includes robot-based rides,” says spokeswoman Teresa Fischer, referring to the KUKA Coaster, which can whirl people around in the air. “Here, KUKA offers special robots that have been specially developed for the transport of passengers. They combine the options of action-packed entertainment with the high demands on safety when working with people. In this way, a wide variety of trips can be made to measure, for example in Amusement and theme parks. “

Joanne Pransky, a California-based robotics expert who helped KUKA launch the coaster, notes that many people already spend more time talking to a device than other people. She sees great potential for robots as entertainers.

“Worldwide, the acceptance and use of robotics has particularly catapulted due to Covid and the lack of available people,” says Pransky, who also claims to be the world’s first robotics psychiatrist. “The increasing public acceptance of robots, coupled with the exponential technological increase in the capabilities of robots, will result in societies becoming increasingly accustomed to robots entertaining them, which will further fuel the market for robot entertainment.”

William Li, founder and chairman of Nio, shares the features of the et7 sedan at a launch event on January 9, 2021 in Chengdu, China.

Evelyn Cheng | CNBC

BEIJING – Chinese electric car start-up Nio released its first sedan with self-driving technology features on Saturday that the company says outperforms Tesla’s.

Pre-subsidy pricing for the et7 sedan starts at 448,000 yuan ($ 69,000) with a 70-kilowatt-per-hour battery. If customers pay for battery services based on a monthly subscription fee of 980 yuan, the vehicle will cost 378,000 yuan.

Shipments are slated to begin in the first quarter of 2022, company founder and chairman William Li said at a launch event in Chengdu, China. Pre-orders started on Saturday.

Nio unveiled its first sedan, the et7, on January 9, 2021.

Evelyn Cheng | CNBC

Nio’s et7 sedan can work with the company’s new autonomous driving system, which offers a camera resolution of 8 megapixels (versus 1.2 megapixels for Tesla) and Nvidia processor chips that offer processing power greater than that of seven self-driving ones Tesla computers, according to Li.

The autonomous driving system costs 680 yuan a month, Li said.

According to the company’s website, Tesla’s China-made Model Y is set to begin deliveries as early as April at a price of 339,900 yuan.

The et7 claims a range of 1,000 kilometers. That’s more than the 706-kilometer range of Xpeng’s P7 sedan, which the company claimed last year was the longest for any electric car in China.

According to the company, the new sedan from Nio has a laminated all-glass roof, heated seats in both rows and 23 loudspeakers.

While other Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers have seen strong demand for their recently launched sedans, Nio only has SUVs in the market. The company showed a prototype sedan at the Shanghai Auto Show in April 2019, but ran into financial difficulties later that year.

According to the company, Nio’s et7 sedan has a laminated all-glass roof, heated seats in both rows and 23 speakers.

Evelyn Cheng | CNBC

After Nio received around $ 1 billion from government-sponsored investors in early 2020, Nio’s New York-listed shares rebounded and ended the year well over 1,000% higher. The start-up plans to enter Europe in the second half of the year.

According to Nio, deliveries for 2020 have more than doubled compared to the previous year to 43,728 vehicles.

This made the automaker the top performer among other Chinese electric car start-ups listed in New York.

But Nio’s deliveries lag behind BYD, a Chinese auto and battery company backed by American billionaire Warren Buffett and Elon Musk’s Tesla.

The hospitality industry spent most of 2020 recovering from the coronavirus pandemic, but poor sales worsened in the final month of the year.

According to the NPD Group, US restaurant chain transactions declined 10% in December compared to the same period last year. The company tracks transactions in 75 restaurant chains that together account for more than half of the commercial restaurant traffic in the United States. By December, the monthly decline in restaurant transactions had been improving steadily since April. Transactions in November were only down 8%.

However, the industry’s recovery has been hampered by a renewed spike in new Covid-19 cases, which led government officials to reintroduce strict food restrictions, and winter weather that has kept customers from dining outside.

The full-service restaurant segment is hardest hit by the pandemic. The sector, which includes Darden Restaurants’ Olden Garden and The Cheesecake Factory, found it harder to focus on delivery and takeaway as indoor eating was banned. Unlike fast food chains, full-service restaurants are not known for their convenience, and their food is not designed for travel.

At its low point in April, transactions in the full-service segment fell by 70%. In December, transactions were only down 30%. A new wave of indoor food bans has hit personal sales. And take-out and delivery sales aren’t enough to offset the decline in sales that resulted from fewer dine-in customers, according to the UBS Evidence Lab.

On the other hand, the fast food sector has recovered much faster. Until July, weekly transaction declines were in single digits. The segment benefited from previous investments in drive-through lanes, digital ordering and acceleration of service. And its great deals appeal to budget-conscious consumers who grow in numbers during a recession.

The NPD group only pursues restaurant chains. Bank of America consumer data shows that chain restaurants recover much faster than independent restaurants. Independent institutions typically do not have the same access to capital as chains. And while the federal government’s Paycheck Protection Program was created to help small businesses through the crisis, big chains like PF Chang’s and TGI Friday’s have devoured millions of dollars.

The catering industry is pushing for more relief for bars and restaurants. Before the latest stimulus package was drafted, President-elect Joe Biden said he would support grants for restaurant loans. The House of Representatives passed a similar bill in October that gave the industry a $ 120 billion lifeline. After the Democrats took two Senate seats in Georgia this week, it’s more likely than ever that restaurants could see this kind of help.