"The Revenant" is set to open on Friday, March 18. Leonardo DiCaprio is scheduled to make his first promotional tour in China to support the film. (Photo : YouTube)
After China's customary blackout on film imports in February, Hollywood's spring release schedule in the Middle Kingdom is taking shape, with a significant number of films securing Friday opening days, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
While China's box-office regulators often deliberately schedule Hollywood releases on weekdays or Sundays to give Chinese films an advantage, the Hollywood lineup features several Friday openings.
There are also a few simultaneous debuts in the U.S. and China, which studios believe enhance marketing synergy and prevent box-office sales suffering due to piracy and declining hype.
2016 has seen Chinese films dominate domestically. Chinese box-office sales for January and February hit a record high of $1.6 billion, with the portion taken by Hollywood studios falling to an all-time low of 17 percent.
Stephen Chow's "The Mermaid" has set a new all-time record of $505 million in just one month. On the other hand, Hollywood has yet to have films gross more than $150 million in China since "Jurassic World," which grossed $228.7 million.
With the dominance of domestic films, box-office regulators seem to have taken pity on Hollywood, deciding to give it better chances to succeed.
"Gods of Egypt" already started the trend, opening in China last Friday. Lionsgate's epic starring Gerard Butler is still struggling to break-even with its $140 million production budget after making just $23.5 million in the U.S. and coming just short of $50 million worldwide.
"The Revenant," directed by Academy Award winner Alejandro Inarritu, is set to open on Friday, March 18. Leonardo DiCaprio is scheduled to make his first promotional tour in China to support the film.
Also on March 18 is the debut of "Eddie the Eagle," a U.S.-U.K. sports biopic directed by Dexter Fletcher. The film stars Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.
"Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" has secured a March 25, Friday release. Warner Bros. has hired Chinese pop star Li Yifeng to promote the film as an "official 'Batman v Superman' ambassador in China."
"London Has Fallen" is set for an April 8, Friday release. The sequel to the 2013 surprise hit "Olympus Has Fallen" has grossed $23.3 million in the North American box office since March 7.
Disney's "The Jungle Book" is set for an April 15, Friday release. The adaptation of the Rudyard Kipling classic is directed by Jon Favreau and features the voices of Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Ben Kingsley, Lupita Nyong'o and Idris Elba.
