Crazy Rich Asians finally gets a release date in China
Image: courtesy Warner Bros
After much fearful speculation – we've been hanging on tenterhooks here, people – it's been announced that Crazy Rich Asians finally has a November 30 release date in Asia's biggest movie market.
The film adaptation of Kevin Kwan's 2013 novel wowed audiences across the globe this summer and set new standards for Asian visibility in Hollywood's historically whitewashed film industry. Since breaking the box office in the weeks following its August release, members of the film's all-Asian cast have become overnight sensations; Gemma Chan has landed a huge role as Doctor Minerva, a geneticist in Marvel's new cinematic universe; Constance Wu has front-paged on Vogue and Time Magazine and Awkwafina appeared as a host on Saturday Night Live alongside Travis Scott a couple of weeks back.
Video: courtesy QQ Video
Crazy Rich Asians' overwhelming reception raised the question as to whether or not it would be granted release in the world's second largest film market: China. Rumours were circling as why it might not make it to Chinese cinemas; according to Variety some argued that the conspicuous consumption and blatant elitism displayed by ethnically Chinese characters in the film wouldn't fly in the Mainland, and elsewhere others pointed out that a homogeneously Asian cast would hold no significance in a country where that is the norm. But, as The Hollywood Reporter and others suggest, the delayed release date may just have been due to backlog and recent approval process changes.
The Chinese box office has been lagging of late, which Variety states as one potential reason that Crazy Rich Asians ultimately secured a Mainland release date. The film grossed 171 million USD in North America so it is understandable why Chinese markets and media outlets would want a piece of the pie.
Of course, the film will be subject to censorship restrictions, but we're still holding onto our crazy, rich expectations.
Plus, the news also came with other box-office blessings, including the release dates for Venom (Nov 9), Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (Nov 16) and Aquaman (Dec 7).
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