Flash News Archive — 2026-w35

A $200 Homemade Cartoon Becomes China’s Unlikeliest Box-Office Hit. Niu Lai, a five-year passion project animated single-handedly by a mother-son duo using architectural software instead of professional animation tools, has turned online mockery into a genuine box-office sensation in China. After earning just a few thousand yuan in its first nine days, the film surged past 40 million yuan following a wave of social media ridicule that cinemas quickly capitalized on with added screenings. Distributor Tianjin Maoyan Weiying Culture Media now projects the film will ultimately gross more than 130 million yuan. (Global Times, Bloomberg)

Lexus Set to Complete Its First Overseas EV Plant in Shanghai This Month. Toyota’s luxury arm is finishing construction on a $2.1 billion new-energy-vehicle plant in Shanghai’s Jinshan district, marking Lexus’s first wholly owned production base outside Japan. The 1.13-million-square-meter facility — larger than Tesla’s Shanghai Gigafactory — will handle EV manufacturing, R&D on solid-state batteries and battery recycling, with production slated to begin in 2027 at an initial capacity of 100,000 vehicles a year. The project underscores how deeply foreign automakers are betting on localized production to compete in China’s crowded EV market. (China Daily, Gasgoo)

Mainland Chipmaker Ingenic Joins Rush of Semiconductor Listings in Hong Kong. Beijing-based chip designer Ingenic Semiconductor has launched a Hong Kong share offering priced at up to HK$102.80 apiece, aiming to raise as much as HK$3.22 billion ($410 million), with trading set to begin August 25. The listing adds to a record year for Hong Kong’s exchange, which has already helped raise more than $40 billion through IPOs in 2026 — surpassing all of 2025 — as mainland chipmakers increasingly tap the city’s capital markets. HKEX chief executive Bonnie Chan has said the boom now extends well beyond tech. (South China Morning Post, CNBC)

US-Canada Trade War Escalates as Ottawa Vows Dollar-for-Dollar Tariffs From September 8. Talks between Washington and Ottawa collapsed after the US moved to impose 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion of Canadian goods, prompting Prime Minister Mark Carney to declare Canada is now “at war” economically with its largest trading partner. Carney says Canadian retaliatory tariffs — targeting US steel, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, pulp and paper, and electronics — will take effect September 8, matching the US measures “dollar for dollar.” The breakdown marks a sharp deterioration in one of the world’s largest bilateral trade relationships. (CNBC, Al Jazeera)

‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ Swings Past $2 Billion at the Global Box Office. Sony’s ‘Spider-Man: Brand New Day’ has become the second-fastest film ever to cross $2 billion worldwide, overtaking 2021’s ‘No Way Home’ to become the highest-grossing Spider-Man movie of all time. The film has leaned heavily on China, where it topped $210 million and posted the franchise’s biggest IMAX opening weekend in the market. It now ranks as the eighth-biggest film of all time globally. (Deadline, Screen Daily)

V&A Museum Workers Vote Overwhelmingly to Strike Over Pay and Heatwave Conditions. More than 300 staff across four Victoria and Albert Museum sites in London voted 95.39% in favor of strike action, with 97.86% backing action short of a strike, over pay and what unions call unsafe indoor heat levels. Demands include a minimum 4% pay rise, closing public galleries when indoor temperatures exceed 30°C, and letting V&A East Storehouse staff carry water while working near the collection. It is among the first UK museum labor disputes triggered explicitly by this summer’s extreme heat. (Artnet News, Museums Association)

“烂到出圈”动画《牛来》意外逆袭票房黑马《牛来》由一对母子耗时五年、仅凭建筑制图软件独立完成，上映初期九天票房仅数千元，却因网友群嘲意外走红，多地院线迅速加映应对暴增的观影需求，影片票房已突破4000万元。发行方天津猫眼微影文化预计其总票房有望冲击1.3亿元以上。——《环球时报》、彭博社

雷克萨斯上海新能源工厂本月竣工，首个海外独资生产基地落地丰田旗下豪华品牌雷克萨斯位于上海金山区的新能源工厂预计本月完工，总投资约合14.6亿美元，是雷克萨斯首个设于日本本土之外的独资生产基地。该厂占地113万平方米，规模超过特斯拉上海超级工厂，未来将承担整车制造及固态电池研发、电池回收等业务，量产计划于2027年启动，初期年产能10万辆。这一项目凸显跨国车企正加码在华本地化生产，以应对愈发激烈的新能源汽车市场竞争。——《中国日报》、Gasgoo

内地芯片企业北京君正赴港上市，加入芯片股上市热潮北京芯片设计企业北京君正启动香港公开招股，发行价最高每股102.80港元，拟募资至多32.2亿港元（约4.1亿美元），股份定于8月25日正式挂牌交易。今年以来，香港交易所IPO募资总额已突破400亿美元，超越2025年全年水平，创下历史新高，内地芯片企业赴港上市热潮持续升温。港交所行政总裁陈翊庭表示，这波上市热潮已不再局限于科技行业。——《南华早报》、CNBC

美加贸易战升级，渥太华宣布9月8日起对等反制关税美加双边谈判宣告破裂，此前美国已对约200亿美元加拿大商品加征50%关税，加拿大总理卡尼称两国关系已陷入经济“战争”状态。卡尼表示，加拿大将自9月8日起对美国钢铁、乳制品、家电、农业设备、纸浆造纸及电子产品等实施对等反制关税，力度与美方措施“一比一对等”。这场谈判破裂标志着全球最大双边贸易关系之一急剧恶化。——CNBC、半岛电视台

《蜘蛛侠：全新的一天》全球票房突破20亿美元索尼影业出品的《蜘蛛侠：全新的一天》成为影史第二快突破20亿美元的电影，并超越2021年的《英雄无归》，成为蜘蛛侠系列票房最高的一部。该片在中国市场表现尤为强劲，累计票房已超2.1亿美元，并创下该系列在中国IMAX开画票房纪录。目前，该片已跻身全球影史票房榜第八位。——Deadline、《银幕日报》

伦敦V&A博物馆员工投票通过罢工授权，抗议薪资与高温工作环境伦敦维多利亚与阿尔伯特博物馆四个场馆逾300名员工参与投票，95.39%赞成罢工，97.86%赞成采取罢工以外的抗议行动，起因是薪资待遇及工会所称的“不安全”室内高温问题。员工诉求包括至少4%的加薪、室内温度超过30摄氏度时关闭公共展厅，以及允许V&A东馆库房员工在展品附近工作时可携带饮用水。这是英国博物馆行业因今夏极端高温引发的首批劳资纠纷之一。——Artnet新闻、英国博物馆协会