The biggest movie in Chinese history is getting ready to invade the United States, with the first trailer and poster forMonster Hunt.Varietyreported earlier this week thatMonster Huntwill get a North American theatrical release, with domestic distributor FilmRise setting a January 22release date. The 3D action fantasy movie will be going up againstThe 5th Wave,The BoyandDirty Grandpa.
The story centers on a baby monster named Huba, the child of a human man and a monster queen. This newborn creature is threatened by both monster-hating humans and monsters attempting to capture the new-born in an ancient world based on medieval China. The cast includesWei Tang, Baihe Bai, Eric Tsang, Wu Jiang, Wallace Chung, Boran Jing, Chen Yao, Elaine Jin, Xiaodong Guo and Ni Yan. Here’s what FilmRise CEODanny Fisherhad to say in a statement.
“We have carefully edited the English language version to be the equivalent of a PG rating, and we believe North American kids and their parents will embrace the film in the same way as Chinese audiences have.”
FilmRise will be releasing both anEnglish-languageversion and a Chinese-language version, with the company teaming with Asian specialty distributor Asia Releasing to release thelive-action/CGI hybrid film in all major North American markets.Deadlinereports that the Chinese version will include 13 minutes of footage that isn’t in the English version. The film marks the feature-length directorial debut of Raman Hui, who previously served as a character designer and supervising animator onShrek. He was also an animation director onDreamWorks Dragons.
Monster Huntearned a whopping $380.9 million (2.428 billion yuan) in China last year, overtakingFurious 7as the highest-grossing movie in Chinesebox officehistory. In the 21 years since China re-opened its market to allow foreign movies,Monster Huntis the only Chinese-made film to become the highest-grossing movie of the year. Take a look at the first footage and poster, and stay tuned for more onMonster Hunt.
