CMC Pictures is making it official this week with release plans for director Dante Lam’s explosive Chinese action epic, The Rescue. The film is now slated to open on January 24 in the U.S. and Canada in time for the Chinese Lunar New Year, playing in all major markets ahead of its China, Australia, New Zealand and UK rollouts.

Billed as one of the most expensive Chinese films ever made, costing $100 million dollars to produce, The Rescue stars Eddie Peng (Rise Of The Legend, Operation Mekong, Immortal Demon Slayer) as the maverick captain of a Chinese rescue team that must quell its internal upheaval, and embark on death-defying land, sea and air mission to save survivors of a fiery offshore catastrophe.

The Rescue marks the first cinematic venture to showcase the China Rescue & Salvage (CRS), a lesser-known division of the Chinese Coast Guard. Founded in 1951, the unit is charged with responding to all maritime emergencies on Chinese waters, which range from shipwreck salvage missions to marine firefighting.

Lam reportedly became determined to translate the stories of these unsung heroes for moviegoing audiences after learning about the CRS five years ago. Production locations included China, as well ad additional filming at Mexico’s Baja Studios, utilizing the same facilities as James Cameron’s milestone romantic epic, Titanic.

“CMC Pictures is proud to release The Rescue in North America where we believe there’s an underserved audience for expertly-crafted action movies made by masters of the genre,” said Su Jia, CEO of CMC Pictures. “From the film’s breathtaking aerial stunts to its jaw-dropping underwater scenes, connoisseurs of action cinema will be blown away by Dante Lam’s breakneck direction and spectacular set pieces.”

Production boasts an A-list Hollywood crew including the likes of Academy Award-winning cinematographer Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Forbidden Kingdom), production designer Martin Laing (Titanic, Clash of the Titans), special effects supervisor John Frazier (Spider-Man, Transformers), and leading digital effects companies like Scanline VFX (Avengers, Godzilla), Digital Domain (Avengers: Endgame, Ready Player One) and Macrograph VFX (The Wandering Earth, Operation Red Sea).

The film reportedly earned positive feedback at advanced screenings to which CMC credits for its choice to present The Rescue with a wide global release. The film will be presented in Chinese audio with English subs while select theaters will offer an English-dubbed presentation.

The Rescue will open in the following North American cities:

United States

Albany
Atlanta
Baltimore
Birmingham
Boston
Buffalo
Champaign, IL
Charlotte, NC
Chattanooga
Chicago
Cincinnati
Cleveland
Colorado Springs
Columbus
Corpus Christi
Dallas
Denver
Des Moines
Detroit
Eugene, OR
Fort Smith, AK
Greensboro, NC
Greenville, SC
Harlingen, TX
Harrisburg, PA
Hartford
Houston
Huntsville, AL
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas
Knoxville
Lansing, MI
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Madison
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York
Norfolk
Orlando
Palm Beach
Pensacola
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Pittsburgh
Raleigh, NC
Roanoke
Sacramento
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Sioux Falls, SD
Springfield, IL
St. Louis
Stillwater, OK
Tallahassee
Tampa
Terre Haute
Tulsa
Tyler, TX
Washington DC
Wilmington

Canada

Brandon
Edmonton
Halifax
Kanata
Kelowna
Kingston
London
Montreal
Nanaimo
New Westminster
Ottawa
Saskatoon
Toronto
Vancouver
Victoria
Waterloo
Whitby
Winnipeg