Superhero cinema has mostly been getting by without the Chinese market for the past two years, though it seems that Matt Reeves’ The Batman will be the first movie to thaw the country’s icy attitude towards foreign blockbuster films.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a number of other alleged reasons, including the 100th anniversary of the Communist Party, Hollywood has been going through something of a dry spell so far as the Chinese market is concerned.
In genre films, neither Marvel nor DC Films managed to get their 2021 releases greenlit. That list includes a number of high-profile projects like Black Widow, The Suicide Squad, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, which, in spite of missing out on the powerhouse that is the Chinese box office, managed to gross a staggering $1.8 billion.
Now, in a video posted by the Warner Bros Weibo account (per Deadline) stars Robert Pattinson and Zoë Kravitz addressed fans by announcing that The Batman will be released in China. The company hasn’t specified an exact date, but the approval bodes well for cinema at large.
In spite of the crew constantly reminding fans that The Batman will be a darker take on the story of the Dark Knight, the film has received a PG-13 rating, which probably contributed to its approval by the NRTA. Fans will remember, after all, that another one of DC Films’ highly acclaimed titles, Joker, didn’t make the cut because of its R-rating. It remains to be seen if Pattinson’s outing will also be subject to censorship, as is usually the case.
The Batman is set for release on March 4 across theaters in the United States.
