Hollywood is set to do some post-Chinese New Year business with a series of new releases approved.
The line-up for foreign films in China for March is already starting to take shape with Legendary Entertainment’s Kong: Skull Island and Logan, the latest movie in the X-Men universe, each securing theatrical release slots this week.
Logan (金刚狼3：殊死一战) will hit screens first on Friday, March 17, followed by Kong: Skull Island (金刚：骷髅岛), which is set for release a week later, on Friday, March 24. They follow The Lego Batman Movie and A Dog’s Purpose, which both come out on March 3.
As reported earlier, Beauty and the Beast secured a day-and-date release with North America on March 17.
The release of the R-rated Logan is an important coup for 20th Century Fox, which failed last year to secure a slot for Deadpool due to its violence, nudity and graphic language. Not all R-rated films are blocked, however, as the recent success of Hacksaw Ridge attests.
The mid-March release date for the James Mangold-directed film puts it at around two weeks after it opens in North America. Star Hugh Jackman, is no stranger to China — 17 of his previous films have screened in the country, including the two previous Wolverine movies.
Also squeezing its way into Chinese theaters in March is Passengers (太空旅客), the sci-fi romance featuring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence, which has been granted an extension to its theatrical run in China.
The film first arrived in theaters before the lunar year holiday and has stayed there for nearly a month now, earning RMB 311 million (US$45.3 million) already.
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (侠盗一号：星球大战外传) already been and gone, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (生化危机6) and Sing (欢乐好声音) already confirmed as coming out on Friday, February 24 and Friday, February 17, respectively, that brings our prediction tally up to four out of seven so far.
We’re still waiting on Ghost In The Shell (攻壳机动队), Valérian and the City of a Thousand Planets (星际特工：千星之城), and Thor: Ragnarök (雷神3：诸神的黄昏). Expect to hear about what film regulators have decided about them about six weeks before they’re due.
