Posted in: Dune, Legendary, Movies, Universal, Warner Bros | Tagged: dune, oppenheimer

Dune And Oppenheimer Will Get Theatrical Rereleases In China

Oppenheimer and Dune are both getting theatrical rereleases in China next month. Both films saw success during their initial theatrical runs.

The theatrical rerelease bug has officially gone international. In early 2024, here in the United States, we saw the rerelease of several major movies, and those releases have done very well. Dune returned for a one-night-only event that must have gone so well that they decided to bring the film back to theaters for an entire week. Tickets for Tenet rerelease in 70MM went fast to the lucky few who got the chance to see the movie. Pixar is getting its chance in the sun because all three of its pandemic releases that got released on Disney+ [Soul, Turning Red, Luca] are all getting limited theatrical runs. While studios might see the box office numbers and twitch a little, it's clear that there is a market for the theatrical experience, or these releases wouldn't keep happening. Also, the strikes pushed back a lot of productions, and studios needed to fill up theater space until new films could actually be released. Either way, China is returning some movies to theaters for more; according to Variety, both Dune and Oppenheimer are returning to mainland China for rerelease.

Both films will open on March 1st, which, in terms of pitting two movies against each other, isn't quite a Barbenheimer, but it is interesting. As Variety notes, both films have been released in China before and have seen success. Oppenheimer did very well in China with a box of $65 million, while Dune didn't do as well, with $38 million, but also opened during the pandemic. The releases make sense in their way, with interest in Oppenheimer only gaining more traction the more awards it wins, and with director Christopher Nolan being such a proponent of the theatrical experience, it makes sense that interested audience members would want to seek it out in the best format possible. As for Dune, it was a pandemic release that many people likely didn't get to see on the big screen, even if they did watch it at home. So not only will this give fans a chance to see the movie on the big screen for possibly the first time, but the Chinese release date of Dune: Part Two is only a week later, so it's practically a double feature.

China continues to be very picky about what films they will let screen in theaters once, let alone twice, so it's always so interesting to see what films make the cut and what don't. Oppenheimer and Dune are proceeded by films like Argylle and Madame Web, which opens on March 1st with the two rereleases, and Kung Fu Panda 4, opening later on in March.

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