New ‘Avatar’ film gets rare release in China

SHANGHAI: The sequel to director James Cameron’s Avatar will be released in China cinemas on Dec 16, 20th Century Studios said.

Avatar: The Way of Water will be released in China on the same day as its global release, the studio said on its official Weibo account.

It becomes one of the few foreign films to get access to the Chinese market in recent months, with others including the latest film in the Minions franchise and Sony Pictures’ Where the Crawdads Sing.

Foreign movies have long struggled to gain release dates in mainland China due to strict quotas on the number of internatinal films allowed to show and many are blocked due to content Chinese regulators deem unseemly.

Hollywood blockbusters recently have had a hard time getting clearance in China. The six latest Marvel movies did not make an appearance in China and earlier this year, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was also denied a China release. — Reuters