BLOG: 3rd HHSE/CMC Title Announced: "WU KONG"
Post# of 7290
Monday, April 17, 2017
Update on "EXTRAORDINARY MISSION" and CMC Pictures
Greetings to all on this Monday morning...
"EXTRAORDINARY MISSION" - the first of three titles handled in North America by Hannover House for CMC Pictures (China) has surpassed $20,560,000 in only two weeks at theatres in China. The HHSE release on 20-screens is far more modest... about $45,000 to date, but still playing. From CMC's perspective, having their films released to mainstream theatres in the USA and Canada (even when only playing in a handful of locations) provides them with significant promotional credibility and international momentum. Their pictures benefit from the publicity and visibility resulting from the day-and-date release of the films into both China and North America.
Next up under the CMC venture is "SHOCK WAVE" on April 28 - followed by "WU KONG" (aka "The Legend of Wu Kong" in July...
Big-Budget action films like these - even when shot in Mandarin with English subtitles - have a surprisingly loyal following when released to the domestic home video and streaming markets. These are solid release-slate items... not at the level of a "major" or even "mid-level" theatrical profile title. But solid sellers to satisfy a readily targeted audience.
If you need evidence of how IMPORTANT the theatrical market in China is today, take a look at last weekend's box office results. While UNIVERSAL is ecstatic and promoting that "THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS" broke $100-mm at the USA Box office.... in CHINA the film opened to $190-MM... almost DOUBLE the USA's record breaking Easter-weekend opening!