Uncharted & The Batman Land Chinese Theatrical Release Dates

Prior to the pandemic, China had become deeply essential to the success of many Hollywood releases. Just look at “Venom,” which earned an absolutely staggering $269 million in the Middle Kingdom alone, on its way to $856 million worldwide. Last year’s “Venom: Let There Be Carnage” topped out at $501 million globally and it did not get a release in China (per The Numbers). While studios only keep around 25% of what is earned in China, that can still be a very sizable chunk of dough. Having overtaken the United States in recent years, the Chinese box office is now the largest market in the world, with the highest-grossing movie of 2021, “The Battle at Lake Changjin,” coming from China.

But the Chinese film industry works very differently than it does in many other countries around the world, with government officials getting the final say on which foreign films are allowed to play on screens in the country. Just 39% of all imported movies last year were American, and just 28% of foreign films were new, as many of them were older titles, according to Variety. The situation is not expected to improve much, meaning that Hollywood has to rethink things.

The fact of the matter is that China can’t be counted on anymore as a revenue stream for blockbusters. It can really only be viewed as icing on a cake, not the cake itself, as it were. It’s yet another hurdle that cinema is going to have to overcome as the industry attempts to sort itself out in a post-pandemic landscape — but for “The Batman” and “Uncharted,” landing these theatrical releases in China will offer a welcome box office boost.