'Minions' sequel to get sudden China opening that could add new life
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In a surprise move, Minions: The Rise of Gru (NASDAQ:CMCSA) - one of the year's top-grossing movie hits - will get an opening in mainland China Aug. 19.
That is leaving Universal Pictures scrambling to ramp up support for promotion of the film.
But it may signal the end to the unofficial summer "blackout" of Hollywood pictures in China, the world's biggest box-office market - which has been favoring Chinese-language releases between mid-July and mid-August.
It comes as U.S.-China trade tensions have seemed to increasingly spill over into the entertainment world, often limiting Hollywood hits.
The Despicable Me/Minions franchise has traditionally done well overseas, as the little yellow Minions characters speaking a gibberish language tend to translate well. Despicable Me 2 drew $52.9M from China in 2013, and Despicable Me 3 pulled a hefty $158M in 2017, Variety notes.
Minions: The Rise of Gru (CMCSA) is the fifth-best performing film domestically in 2022, having grossed $334.6M, and has added another $423.3M in international markets so far, to hit a worldwide total of $757.9M.
Comcast stock (CMCSA) rose 1.8% higher at midday Monday.