(CFI) Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales will sail into the Middle Kingdom on Tuesday, May 30, four days after it opens in North America — not a day-and-date release, as reported elsewhere.
While day-and-date releases are normally prized, in this instance, the slight delay from Pirate’s North America release places it at a more opportune time — even if that is on a Tuesday.
On the Chinese calendar, a day-and-date release would have had the film coming out on the Friday before Dragon Boat Festival. A May 30 date puts the film on the final day of the festival, which is a public holiday across China, maximizing its potential audience.
Last year, a similar slot enabled fantasy video game adaptation Warcraft to open six times bigger in China than it did in the United States. Pirates looks set to have a wide release with screenings in 2D, 3D, IMAX, and China Film Giant Screen.
Directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg, the film marks the third time the franchise has received a China release, out of five films.
A decade ago, Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End was the first of the series to show in China and ended up earning RMB 125 million (US$18.1 million). In 2011, Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides pulled in RMB 476 million ($69 million).
Further priming local audiences, all of the previous installments in the franchise screened in the out of competition section at this year’s Beijing International Film Festival last week.
Meanwhile, Columbia Pictures-Sony’s Life has scored a Friday, May 19 — a week before Pirates arrives. The Chinese release comes eight weeks after the film came out in North America on March 24. It will feature on 2D and China Film Giant Screens.
Directed by Daniel Espinosa and starring Ryan Reynolds and Jake Gyllenhaal, the science fiction horror film has already pulled in $73.3 million at the box office globally.
Source: CFI BY Fergus Ryan