Warner Bros. BatmanDirected by Matt Reeves and starring Robert Pattinson, has set a March 18 release date in China, marking the return of Hollywood superhero movies after a prolonged drought.
Batman will hit China after the US, where it premieres on March 4, after releasing in Taiwan and South Korea on March 2. However, unlike other recent WarnerMedia releases, Batman will not be released simultaneously on HBO Max, which will help prevent high-quality pirated copies from reaching China before the film hits theaters. WarnerMedia has promised to wait 45 days before releasing Batman install on its top streaming service.
The release date for the DC title breaks China’s long streak of Hollywood superhero movie releases. The last five Marvel blockbusters – Black Widow, Eternals, Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings, Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home — all of which were left on the shelves by Chinese regulators, leaving those in the interview conjecture about the reasons and significance of those things.
BatmanThe nearly three-hour runtime (2 hours and 55 minutes) and the reported dark tones could make it a taste of Chinese multiplexing. Or, perhaps, some edgy, effects-heavy Hollywood entertainment that will be just what some local audiences are looking for after a long period of mostly viewing Chinese Lunar New Year holiday productions. Country is domestically produced.
Other US studio titles approved for release in China this year include Disney’s Death on the Nile (February 19), Woody Allen’s 2018 film A rainy day in New York (February 25) and Tom Holland’s Not detected yet (March 14).
With Pattinson, debuting in a batman suit, Batman also stars Zoë Kravitz as Selina Kyle / Catwoman, Paul Dano as Edward Nashton / Riddler, Jeffrey Wright as James Gordon, John Turturro as crime lord Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard as Gotham district attorney , Andy Serkis as Alfred and Colin Farrell as Penguin.
Set in his second year of fighting crime, the film emphasizes Batman’s detective skills and sees the superhero uncover corruption in Gotham City while pursuing Riddler, a serial killer. series aimed at the elite of Gotham.
