‘Tom and Jerry’ set as first foreign film to release in China

Authorities impose an unofficial blackout on imported films during the period as a protectionist measure to ensure strong sales for local content.

Warner Brothers’ live-action-animation hybrid film titled ‘Tom and Jerry’ is slated to release in China on February 26, which will make it the first foreign film to hit the big screens post-Chinese New Year. As per Variety, the lunar new year public holiday, which this year ran from February 11 to 17, is typically the most lucrative movie-going week of the year, and thus one of the most competitive.

Authorities impose an unofficial blackout on imported films during the period as a protectionist measure to ensure strong sales for local content. Most years, the major Chinese New Year tent poles hold sway over the box office for weeks after their holiday debut, meaning that other strong local titles tend to hold off on premiering until those sales have crested.

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Seven big blockbusters debuted on February 12, the first day of the lunar new year, with Wanda Film’s ‘Detective Chinatown 3’ and Beijing Culture’s ‘Hi, Mom’ quickly emerging as the two frontrunners this year. ‘Tom and Jerry’ will go up against those films on Friday, which marks the Lantern Festival celebrated at the end of the Chinese New Year period.

Directed by Tim Story and written by Kevin Costello, the $50 million budgeted slapstick comedy reboots the classic frenemy cat and mouse pair first introduced in 1946. It tells the story of what happens after mouse Jerry takes up residence at a posh New York hotel, where a new staffer played by Chloe Grace Moretz is tasked with getting rid of him before an important celebrity wedding and ends up employing the help of the cat Tom.

Michael Pena, Colin Jost, Rob Delaney, and Ken Jeong also star. The film was initially set to premiere in North American cinemas on March 5 but moved its date up to February 26 in late December. It will release simultaneously on HBO Max. ‘Tom and Jerry,’ film become the latest of the ‘Tom and Jerry’ projects with the first shots dating back to 1940. There are 164 animated shorts, several TV series, and many movies to the ‘Tom and Jerry’ name.