"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" is set to make a killing with its U.S., China and Japan release happening simultaneously. (Photo : Instagram/thehungergames)
Hollywood is set to have a busy week this November in the Chinese box office, the second-largest film market in the world, with the fall holiday period which is reserved for domestic releases having finished.
China's box-office regulators have squeezed in six major Hollywood released into November, according to Xinmin, a Shanghai news source.
Once the peak box-office season of December comes around, Hollywood titles will be blocked from Chinese cinemas once again.
The Chinese government allows only 34 non-Chinese films into its box office every year. The films are let in on a revenue-sharing basis.
With the latest slate of upcoming releases, the quota for the rest of 2015 is full.
The rest of the Hollywood releases for 2015 are "Pan" (Oct. 22), "Everest" (Nov. 3), "Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials" (Nov. 4), "Peanuts" (Nov. 6), "Spectre" (Nov. 13), "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" (Nov. 20), "The Martian" (Nov. 25) and "The SpongeBob Movie: SpongeBob Out of Water" (Dec. 1).
Notably missing from the list is Disney's "Star Wars Episode VII - The Force Awakens," which will be released in China sometime in 2016. Its North American release is on Dec. 18.
"Pan" needs the Chinese release more than any other film. It was a flop in the North American box office, making only $15.3 million, and it stands to lose as much as $150 million unless it fares differently in foreign markets.
"The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" stands to gain the most from its Chinese release, which coincides with its U.S. and Japan releases, allowing it to have simultaneous box-office receipts coming in from the world's three largest film markets.
China's film regulators have been following their usual pattern of pitting Hollywood titles against each other, while giving domestic films the best release windows.
