Two rather different Hollywood productions have received day-and-date releases in May.
Disney’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Warner Bros’ King Arthur: Legend of the Sword have both secured day-and-date releases in China on Friday, May 5 and Friday, May 12, respectively.
Disney made the announcement on Saturday and released a special Chinese poster for the film. On Sunday, director James Gunn also confirmed the news via Twitter.
“So happy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 will be in theaters across China on May 5th, same as in the US! #银河护卫队2 将于5月5日在中国同步上映！这个海报酷吗？
The first installment in the Disney/Marvel space odyssey was released in 2014, nearly two months after the film’s U.S. debut and went on to earn RMB 601 million ($87.2 million).
At the time, critics and fans complained that poorly-translated Chinese subtitles had taken some of the fun out of the film — a mistake its local distributor will undoubtedly steer clear of this time.
Since then, Guardians star Chris Pratt has become more of a household name in China where he is known as 星爵 (Xīng jué) or “Star Lord” for his star role in the film which is called 银河护卫队 (Yínhé hùwèi duì) in China.
Other films the 37-year-old has starred in including Jurassic World, Passengers, and, to a lesser extent, The Lego Movie have given him greater exposure to the market.
Pratt, who now boasts over 100 thousand fans on Weibo, China’s Twitter, shared the news of the release on the platform on Sunday.
“May 5th! I’m so excited for the people of China to see our movie! 🏻
we worked very hard making the film for you and Baby Groot is so cute! Love, Chris”
Also securing a release a week after Guardians on May 12 is Guy Ritchie’s fantasy-epic King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (亚瑟王：斗兽争霸), which stars Charlie Hunnam, Jude Law, and a cameo role for former soccer star David Beckham.
Of those stars, it’s the footballer who has the most outsized reputation in China where he commands an enormous fan base.
