With doubts and rumours surrounding the production of Solo: A Star Wars Story, and the catastrophic collapse of The Last Jedi at the Chinese box office earlier this year, something proactive needed to be done to change the course of the saga’s success in China, and this move might just be it.
The second Star Wars Story opens on May 25th, the same day it launches in the States, a move designed to create hype and excitement as most of the planet gets the film within days of each other. With China set to surpass North America as the biggest worldwide market within a few short years, and the lack of emotional connection to the series, Lucasfilm and Disney need to do something special, and fast.
The Disney and Lucasfilm tentpole will open simultaneously in the world’s two largest film markets, North America and China.
Disney and Lucasfilm’s hotly anticipated Solo: A Star Wars Story has locked down its release date in the world’s second-largest box-office territory. The stand-alone Star Wars film will descend upon the Middle Kingdom on May 25, the same day it unfurls across North America, several sources in Beijing with knowledge of the local distribution plans told THR on Thursday.
A spokesperson for Disney in Shanghai said the studio had not yet received official confirmation of Solo‘s release date.
Solo: A Star Wars Story receives its first screening worldwide on 15th May at the Cannes Film Festival, and hopefully that will help fuel excitement for the film in the Far East.
