The first major U.S. film to be released in China since June is Minions: The Rise of Gru

China’s last blockbuster was Jurassic World: Dominion, which has made $960 million worldwide. One of the biggest films of the summer has been Minions: The Rise of Gru, which grossed $334 million domestically. Internationally, Despicable Me: The Second Part has earned $423 million, but it’s about to get a boost from a major country this month.

As a surprise move, Minions: The Rise of Gru is heading to China on Aug. 19. Since Jurassic World: Dominion made $156 million in China back in June, it’s surprising that Minions is coming out there. Recently, American films have had trouble getting into China, an important market for the international performance of major studio releases.

A key contributor to Avengers: Endgame’s $2.7 billion worldwide gross was its $629 million performance in China alone in 2019. A franchise like The Fast and the Furious also relies heavily on the Chinese box office, with F9 grossing $215 million in China, which was greater than the domestic total of $173 million.

F9, No Time to Die, and Godzilla vs. Kong are among the 2021 films that will be released in China, but Spider-Man: No Way Home, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will not. As of this year, China has continued to be more selective when it comes to allowing American films into its movie theaters.

Several of the biggest 2022 films have yet to be granted entry into China, including Top Gun: Maverick, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Thor: Love and Thunder. Minions will release in China next week, which is good news for U.S. studios hoping to maximize their international box office.

Several summer movies haven’t been able to play in China, so Minions could open the door for Maverick and Love and Thunder, as well as newer releases like Bullet Train and DC League of Super Pets.

Those films have a bright future as well since there aren’t a lot of major releases coming out in the coming months. Summer movie season has all but ended, with Beast, starring Idris Elba and Sharlto Copley, being the last film to release in August. October is when Black Adam and Halloween Ends will return to theaters, and that is when blockbusters will return.

In China, there is some room for the biggest films of the last few months to make some money, but that depends on whether the country is willing to carry those films. Minion is a great start, but there’s no guarantee China will release American films throughout the rest of the year.

Dakota Cameron

Dakota Cameron is a seasoned web content writer and covers the Hollywood movies for the MovieThop Website
Ms. Cameron began his professional life as a freelance blogger. Later, he worked for Witbe as a content writer for two years. His interests include blogging, reading, movies and travel.
Ms. Cameron graduated in Journalism and Mass Communication from University State of Georgia University. He is fluent in French, Spanish, and other languages.