UPDATE: 9:20 AM: Just two days after Disney announced that Iron Man 3 would open in China on the same day as its North American release May 3, the date has changed. The sequel from the studio and Marvel Studios will now open there May 1 to capitalize on the final day of the May Day holiday.
PREVIOUSLY, WEDNESDAY AM: This is the date Disney and Marvel Studios were eyeing all along for the pic, but Disney now has set it in stone. It’s now day-and-date with its U.S. release. Disney, Marvel and China-based producer-distributor DMG Entertainment have pulled out all the stops to promote Iron Man 3 in China, where it was partially shot, complete with a lavish 90-minute TV special about the movie that premiered over the weekend on national TV and will air in repeats until its release. The cast also includes Chinese stars Wang Xueqi and Fan Bing Bing. The release in China could mark a rebound for U.S. films in the territory: Last year, four foreign films were responsible for 56% of total sales in the first quarter, but in 2013 the only Hollywood pictures to punch above 300M yuan ($48.5M) were Skyfall and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, according to reports. They were followed by A Good Day To Die Hard, Cloud Atlas and Resident Evil: Retribution.
Related: Robert Downey Jr. Knows How Important China Is: Video
Releasing anything non local in Chinese theaters is a monster challenge. Getting a day and date release is almost impossible. The last one was sept 28 with Looper. Before that, u would have to go to Spring 2012. I’d say Disney pulled off a minor miracle here.
It wasn’t Disney, it was DMG. Disney apparently gave up on a holiday release and announced May 3rd at the very moment DMG was still negotiating with the Film Bureau for an earlier date. Major snafu there.
So Young will probably beat it in China.
This is the date Disney and Marvel Studios were eyeing all along for the pic
Um, why? They miss one of the biggest holidays of the year (May Day, from the 29th through the 1st) and now they have to persuade everyone to go back to theaters less than a week after they all headed out to see So Young (one of the most anticipated local films of the year, which is getting more advance buzz in China than IM3). Releasing before the holiday would’ve put them in direct competition, but at least moviegoers would’ve been forced to choose, instead of defaulting to So Young and then maybe coming back to the theater a week or two later for IM3–or Oblivion on the 10th. IM3 will now be lucky to match the $90m scored by The Avengers (which also opened after the holiday, but had no competition except the mildly successful local film Design of Death). What is the upside to May 3rd? Because I don’t see any at all.
With all the attention on China, I am surprised no one on the ground would post what really happened. 3-May is not the release day Disney/Marvel/DMG was chasing after, it was 24-April so they can cash in on 1-May Labor Day holiday. It lost the fight to a local title, So Young. The box office difference of these two dates are tens of millions…
came out in australia yesterday. personally didn’t enjoy it but a fun popcorn movie nevertheless
you “didn’t enjoy it”, but say it’s “a fun popcorn movie”? if you didn’t enjoy it, then how is it fun? if i didn’t enjoy something, i could honestly say that it was no fun. you must work for the government.