It’s been a long time coming, but it looks like China’s unofficial ban on Marvel is lifting. Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania have both secured release dates in China, ending a three-and-a-half year period during which movies featuring Marvel characters did not gain entry to the world’s second largest
China
Reading the tea leaves with regard to China in 2023 is even more difficult than usual. The country’s about-face on its longstanding zero-Covid policy has implications from geopolitics to economics and, closer to home for Hollywood, the state of the market after a dismal 2022. Exactly what those implications are is where the guesswork comes
China’s box office in 2022 dropped 36% versus 2021, reaching a little over RMB 30B ($4.35B). According to Chinese state media, citing figures from the China Film Administration, 85% of the 2022 revenue was generated by local movies, led by The Battle at Lake Changjin II with RMB 4.07B ($636M at historical rates, per comScore).
Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s Puss In Boots: The Last Wish has secured a China release date on December 23, two days after its North American bow. Apart from Avatar: The Way of Water, this currently appears to be the only other Hollywood title dated through the end of the year in the PRC. After a series of previews,
Ahead of the rollout of James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water in China this week, the original Avatar is getting a surprise rerelease in a limited promotional run from tomorrow locally — and will include an exclusive Easter egg for local audiences. The remastered 4K/HDR version is so far expected in up to 80
Imax just cut a deal for six new big-screen installations in China this year — “a very positive development,” according to CEO Rich Gelfond. The company is a big player in the Chinese market, which is still strained by Covid lockdowns and in limbo for Western theatrical releases. He noted the new contract during a
Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise of Gru bowed in China today (Friday), grossing an estimated RMB 21.74M ($3.2M), including midnights. This was good for the biggest opening day of a Hollywood animated film during the pandemic. Overall, and not including China’s Friday, Rise of Gru has grossed $461.2M at the international box office for $807.7M worldwide.
China has set an August 19 release date for Universal/Illumination’s Minions: The Rise Of Gru. This will be the first major tentpole from Hollywood to hit the market since Universal’s own Jurassic World Dominion which has grossed $157.4M there through Sunday and during an extended nine-week run; it is the biggest studio import of 2022.
The bomber jacket of Top Gun‘s Maverick is looking a bit more familiar in international trailers these days, according to a report in Fortune. Two flag patches on the back of the jacket – representing Taiwan and Japan – appear to have been returned to their original spots. The flags were missing, or obscured, in
China recently set release dates for two summer films – Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion on June 10 and big local-language production Mozart From Space (by the director of the Detective Chinatown series) on July 15. That’s good news for the giant market’s reopening, said Imax CEO Rich Gelfond. But he doesn’t expect heightened scrutiny of
The dinosaurs are ready to stomp into China with a June 10 date confirmed for Universal’s Jurassic World Dominion. This will be in step with the North American release — a rarity of late — after international rollout begins a few days prior. Universal confirmed the China release date on its official Weibo account with
Warner Bros’ Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore, which released in China this past weekend, did so without references to the same-sex relationship between two of the threequel’s lead characters. The Chinese censors requested a cut, which Warner Bros, according to a studio spokesperson, “accepted… to comply with local requirements,” adding, “the spirit of the film remains
A trio of studio movies has received China release date confirmations for next month, including new films Ambulance and The Bad Guys, as well as last summer’s Escape Room: Tournament Of Champions. Universal’s Michael Bay-directed Ambulance, which began early offshore rollout last weekend and bows domestically on April 8, is now dated for April 22
After having been cleared by authorities in late November for an eventual China release, the market has now given Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s highly-anticipated The Matrix Resurrections an official date — on January 14, 2022. The Keanu Reeves-starrer begins early offshore rollout December 16 with domestic and the majority of international markets starting December 22 and
Warner Bros/Village Roadshow’s highly anticipated The Matrix Resurrections has been cleared for release in China, however an exact date is yet to be fixed. Warner’s official Weibo account posted the news, saying the film “is confirmed to be introduced, and it will be released in theaters nationwide soon!” The fourth Matrix installment, both a reboot
Already the top film of 2021 globally, Chinese war epic The Battle At Lake Changjin is taking over the title of highest grossing movie ever in China, edging the previous leader, 2017’s Wolf Warrior 2. Through Wednesday evening local time, Lake Changjin had reached an estimated RMB 5.693B ($890M) after 56 days in release. Wolf
China has dated a trio of studio movies for the early part of November, just as MGM/Eon/Universal’s No Time To Die bows today and with Warner Bros/Legendary’s Dune having opened last weekend. Notably, Disney’s Jungle Cruise will sail into the massive market on November 12. Before that, Paramount’s Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins rolls in
Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune hit China today with an estimated RMB 42 million ($6.5 million) on 28,274 screens and a 34.3% share of the market. While we do not yet have a social score, Friday’s estimate would portend a weekend in the $20M+ neighborhood as we noted coming into the session. Handled in China
Disney’s 20th Century Studios’ Ryan Reynolds movie Free Guy is getting a China release date of Aug. 27. The most recent major Hollywood titles to hit the PRC are Disney/Pixar’s Luca today which made $1.18M on its opening day, behind the 22nd day of local title Raging Fire ($2.84M) and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway in mid-June. To
Disney/Pixar’s sea monster story Luca has been granted an August 20 release date in China, signaling that the end of the giant market’s latest unofficial blackout period may be afoot. While Luca will take a prime slot amid a series of local holdovers and is the first Hollywood studio title to release since June, its
Refresh for latest…: As with domestic, a pair of new studio offerings opened at the international box office this weekend. However, the biggest grosses came from local pics in China where upcoming release dates for Hollywood continue to be a frustrating question mark. Getting to the studios first, in a 23-market rollout, Universal’s M Night
Disney’s Cruella has received a June 6 release date in China, which will see it start on a non-traditional Sunday next week. This is the latest Hollywood title to be confirmed by the Middle Kingdom with a shortened lead-time versus the usual 30-day advance. The Emma Stone-starrer began domestic and international box office rollout this
China has added a pair of Sony movies to the release calendar with Columbia Pictures’ Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway set for June 11 — one week before its domestic bow — and Sony Pictures Classics’ Oscar winner The Father due on June 18. The Will Gluck-directed Peter Rabbit sequel opened early in Australia and
Fuel-injecting some mega-muscle into the international box office landscape, Universal’s F9 has been set for a May 21 release date in China, a full five weeks before it is due to speed out domestically on June 25. But China won’t be the only overseas market to release early, as I hear several other key hubs
With a confirmed, and late-breaking, re-release date, Peter Jackson’s The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring has been scheduled to hit China’s movie theaters tomorrow (April 16). The second film, The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers, will follow next Friday, April 23. The Oscar-winning New Line trilogy will play in
Refresh for latest…: Warner Bros/Legendary’s Godzilla Vs Kong thrashed off to a $21.5M (RMB 140M) start in China today, good for the best opening day of a Hollywood title in the market since Covid began and portending a weekend in the high $60Ms. The film positively dominated the Middle Kingdom with an 88% share and played on
Chloe Zhao recently became the first Asian woman to win a Golden Globe for Best Director and now has a shot to repeat that at the Oscars with her awards-season darling Nomadland garnering six nominations today for Best Picture, Director, Editing, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography and Actress. Still, despite the accolades, questions remain: Will Nomadland ever see
Refresh for latest…: As we first reported yesterday, James Cameron’s Avatar is again king of the all-time worldwide box office, having snapped the title back from Avengers: Endgame thanks to a very robust China reissue this session. The full three-day frame in the Middle Kingdom is estimated at $21.1M, also giving the sci-fi epic bragging
As has been expected over the past few days, James Cameron’s Avatar has swapped places with Avengers: Endgame, reclaiming the title of highest-grossing movie ever worldwide. The China reissue of the 2009 3D sci-fi phenomenon had taken an estimated RMB 58M ($8.9M) through 5PM local time on Saturday after re-releasing on Friday in the market.
UPDATE with amended pre-sale figures, writethru after Wednesday post: Long-rumored for a China re-release, James Cameron’s Avatar suddenly popped onto the calendar this week. The erstwhile highest-grossing film of all time worldwide will hit Middle Kingdom cinemas on Friday, March 12. In so doing, it has a chance to jockey back up to the No.