Chinese film-goers may see Pixar's Good Dinosaur before US
If granted, request would mark big change in strategy for animation studio - which wants film shown before blackout period for showing foreign productions begins in December
Animation giant Pixar hopes to release across China ahead of the film's US opening on November 25, according to studio president Jim Morris. "It hasn't been accepted in China yet, but we're just presenting that to China. We're hoping that it will get accepted and maybe actually go before the US release," he said.
Hong Kong movie-goers, however, won't be able to catch until around the Lunar New Year in February.
Pixar's push to secure a general release in China for before it opens in its domestic market marks a dramatic change in strategy. For example, Pixar's most recent movie, , opens in China on October 6 - making it the last market to show the animated feature, which by September 27 had taken US$774 million globally.
The studio's push for a general release in China ahead of the film's US debut is aimed at getting it shown before the so-called blackout period in China, set to begin in December, during which there is a freeze on releasing foreign films to allow domestically made titles to prosper.
"The problem we have is that there's a limited number of foreign films that they take in China," said Morris. "Disney alone will have [at least] 10 potential films [to open next year], but we're not able to release that many in China due to their quota."