‘Crazy Rich Asians’ is Finally Getting Released in China

Chinese movie regulators officially revealed on Monday that “Crazy Rich Asians” is scheduled to hit cinemas across the country on November 30, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

 

Before the official announcement, many analysts speculated over why China’s Film Bureau took their time to respond to Warner Bros. over the summer. An article from Variety stated three possible reasons for the delay: 1) the movie’s heavy glorification of wealth and decadence, 2) the US-China trade war, and 3) the restructuring of China’s Film Bureau, which resulted in a much slower approval process for foreign films entering the country.

With a release date now set, it appears that the third theory makes the most sense in terms of explaining why “Crazy Rich Asians” took this long to get released in China, THR reported.

It remains to be seen if “Crazy Rich Asians” will capture the Chinese market in a manner similar to the way it did in North America, where it dominated the box office en route to becoming the most successful studio rom-com in almost a decade. During its run, the movie sat at the number one spot in North America for three weeks straight, according to the Shanghaiist.

Perhaps even more impressively, “Crazy Rich Asians” also made $228 million at the global box office — a huge success considering that the movie only had a $30 million budget. Time will tell whether this success will replicate in China.

Featured image via YouTube / Warner Bros. Pictures