UPDATE #2: On Thursday, Well Go USA signaled its own tentative delay of their U.S. release of animated Ne Zha sequel, Jiang Ziya. The movie was to premiere this weekend in China, with the Planos-based Texas distributor slating a February 7 release. The move falls in line with other planned releases overseas from China for Lunar New Year titles as China continues to mitigate its ongoing crisis with the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Well Go USA has issued the following statement:
Because of contractual obligations, Well Go USA must postpone our release of the film as well. We understand that this will be frustrating but we will keep our fans up to date. We ask that you stay patient, and keep the Chinese community in your thoughts during this time.
UPDATE #1: On Thursday, Warner Bros. Pictures and CMC Pictures have shelved their respective North American releases of Detective Chinatown 3 and The Rescue. The move comes as the recent coronavirus outbreak has reportedly ensued a quarantine of up to 20 million people within three cities in Central China, including Wuhan. (THR, Michael Selby)
**official statement below**
EARLIER: As the result of a devastating coronavirus outbreak in China, reportedly more than a half-dozen Chinese New Year titles were tentatively delayed ahead of what was supposed to be a promising weekend at the box office, according to multiple online reports on Thursday. Rescheduling updates are pending for titles such as animated Ne Zha sequel, Jiang Ziya, threequel action comedy Detective Chinatown 3, Dante Lam’s disaster epic, The Rescue, as well as Jackie Chan actioner, Vanguard, Peter Chan’s Leap, and Zheng Xu’s Lost In Russia.
Deadline reports the news – via Global Times – with focus on the city of Wuhan, ground zero for the virus, which has locked down all transportation, while ticketing venues such as Tiaopiaopiao and Maoyan work to process refunds. The outbreak is having a definite affect on markets outside China, where Clover Films and GSC had to pull their respective releases in Singapore and Malaysia, as noted by Variety.
Several of the aforemtioned titles are slated for U.S. release, with Detective Chinatown 3 and The Rescue both scheduled to open this weekend from Warner Bros. Pictures and CMC Pictures, respectively. Jiang Ziya – known locally as Legend Of Deification in China – is currently scheduled for February 7 in the states. Announcements from either distributors are still pending.
This article will be updated…