(Shanghai) Marvel’s superheroes returned to the big screen in China on Tuesday after a nearly four-year hiatus, with the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The films of Marvel Studios, owned by the American giant Disney, had disappeared from Chinese dark rooms after the release in July 2019 of Spider-Man: Far from Home.
China only authorizes the theatrical release of a few dozen foreign feature films each year.
For Marvel’s mega-productions, immensely popular in the Asian country, this market is crucial: the release in Chinese cinemas of the first film in the Black Panther series generated $105 million.
“I’m so excited,” said a viewer queuing Monday night in Shanghai for the film’s premiere, scheduled for midnight.
“I had to use the streaming sites to watch the two previous films […]but I hope I can watch Marvel movies more often in theaters from now on,” she added, giving only her last name, Chen.
The end of this apparent blocking of Marvel films in China comes as the country has just lifted its anti-COVID-19 health restrictions, which have dealt a severe blow to entertainment venues in the country.
PHOTO HECTOR RETAMAL, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
“Because of COVID-19, it’s been a really long time since we went to the cinema,” said Kun, 25, a hospital worker who came to see the film with friends.
“We have to work tomorrow, but the opportunity is so rare that we came”.
Lin Fan, who came with her 13-year-old son, Jiang Xiaoyi, is delighted to reconnect with a family tradition: “(Xiaoyi) has always been a Marvel fan, and during the Avengers series, we always went to see the premiere at midnight. “.
Next step for Chinese fans: the February 17 release of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Chinese authorities have never explained why Marvel movies suddenly disappeared from screens since 2019.
During this period, Disney had refused to obey the censors who demanded the removal of any reference to homosexual relations in Marvel films, in particular The Eternals in 2021 and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022.
But the American giant has also been accused of collaborating too much with Beijing.
Calls for a boycott, particularly in the West, had been launched against his new version of Mulanbecause some scenes were shot in the Xinjiang region, long hit by deadly attacks and where the Chinese security campaign is accused of violating the human rights of the Muslim population.
Two episodes of simpsons have meanwhile been removed from the Disney+ streaming service in Hong Kong. One referred to the crackdown on the 1989 Tiananmen protests and the other referred to “forced labor camps” in China.