Much like everything else at the moment, the global box office is in a state of lockdown as the Coronavirus continues to spread throughout the planet. The vast majority of theater chains have closed their doors for the time being, with the ones that are remaining open resembling a ghost town, as Hollywood delays virtually every major release as it braces for a potential $20 billion loss of revenue.
Movies like Vin Diesel’s Bloodshot, which sank at the box office last weekend thanks to the pandemic, are trying to get ahead of the curve by releasing on home video much earlier than anticipated, hoping that the sales of digital downloads will make up at least some of the financial shortcomings. Eventually, people are going to start going back to cinemas again once the worst is behind us, but nobody can be sure how long it will take for big budget blockbusters to return to their full earning capacity.
Earlier today though, Chinese box office analyst Gavin Feng took to social media to reveal that China are potentially planning to re-release all four Avengers flicks in the world’s fastest-growing market, in an attempt to coax moviegoers out of self-isolation and back into mass gatherings.
Re-release of four Avengers movies have been considered after Chinese theaters reopen.
— Gavin (@gavinincinema) March 19, 2020
The Avengers have already proven to be massive box office draws in the country, with the first installment earning $86.3 million, Age of Ultron almost tripling that to $240.1 million, while Infinity War’s impressive $359.5 million pales in comparison to Endgame’s $614.3 million. Based on these figures, if anyone can get Chinese audiences back in theaters, it would be the Avengers.
This makes a lot of sense, because with no big Hollywood movies set to be released in China for a while yet, re-releases won’t result in any losses for the studio. And as the biggest brand in the business, choosing the Marvel Cinematic Universe is also a savvy move, as many Chinese fans would rush at the chance to see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes on the big screen once again.