‘Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3’ Secures China Release Date – Deadline
Another sign of Marvel’s return to China after a long drought, Disney/Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was set for a May 5 day-and-date release. The series’ finale, directed by James Gunn, is slated to hit North American theaters on the same day, with international rollout beginning May 3. (Check out the new China poster below.)
This is the third Marvel title to secure a theatrical release in China, after a three-and-a-half-year period in which no film starring a Marvel character made it into the world’s second-largest box office market. Last month Disney/Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever And Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania became the first titles since Sony/Marvel’s Spider-Man: Far From Home in June 2019 and Disney/Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame in April of the same year.
Neither Wakanda forever ($15.6M) yet Quantumania ($39 million as of last Sunday) spun Chinese hubs off their axes in February – the former had already been on the market elsewhere since November 2022 and the latter was buoyed by poor early reviews, a Chinese New Year hangover and the burden of being first fresh , marvelous marvel film aiming to re-engage audiences. Total and outside Avatar: The Way of Water, Chinese audiences have been tepid about Hollywood movies lately, but hope is glimmering.
The Guardian Movies have had strong, if not explosive, business in China in the past. The original made just over $86 million at 2014 exchange rates and the sequel nearly $101 million in 2017, also at historical rates.
guard 3 starts summer in North America on May 5th; According to a Fandango poll there at the end of December, it was the most anticipated film of 2023.
In GOTG3, Chris Pratt’s Peter Quill is still suffering from the loss of Zoe Saldana’s Gamora. He must rally his team to defend the universe and protect one of their own. A mission that, if not successfully completed, could potentially lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.
China has recently been increasingly handing out day-and-date releases for Hollywood titles, including Quantumania, Shazam! wrath of the gods (which starts on Friday — meaning today — at the market), Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves on March 31 and The Super Mario Bros Movie (also with Pratt) on April 5th.
Here’s the China poster that Marvel unveiled on Weibo today:
