The coronavirus has had a major impact on China’s economy and way life, as is the case with the rest of the world. Well, China is slowly trying to open some entertainment destinations back up, as the country has reopened over 600 movie theaters.
China is looking to rebuild its dominance as a major movie market, and to help build hype and try to get citizens back to the theaters, some major film franchises are set to get rereleased.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, all four of Marvel Studios Avenger films including Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame will be rereleased in the next week or so. Additionally, Avatar will also get a rerelease, possible resparking a battle for highest-grossing film of all time with Endgame.
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After placing major restrictions on much of the country, it looks like China has the upper-hand on the coronavirus now. Over the course of the last week the country has slowly allowed travel to their citizens, have started reopening public businesses including restaurants, malls, and theaters. Shanghai Disney Resort has also slowly opened up its resort to guests, though, theme park itself remains closed.
As of Wednesday, an estimated 600-700 theaters in China have reopened, these theaters are smaller with around 7 screens, and in regions of the country where the coronavirus didn’t have a major impact. Major theater chains remain closed but insiders say more and more theaters continue to open each day.
The big question on everyone’s minds is, will people return to the theater this quickly after a health epidemic? and can the studios sustain a profit if they open? Well, to answer the latter, the theater owners are hoping the rerelease of these big blockbuster films that were a hit in China will drive people back, in preparation for other big blockbusters in 2020 including Jungle Cruise, Mulan, Black Widow, Wonder Woman 1984, Tenet, and Dune. China has found success in the past with rereleasing major films Back in 2012, a 3D rerelease of the Titanic earned $145 million. In 2018, Japanese anime legend Hayao Miyazaki’s 2001 hit Spirited Away earned $69 million from a China rerelease.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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