Just three days ago, we ran an article lamenting the fact that only five major releases were scheduled to hit theaters before the end of 2020, and since then, another two have already been pulled from the calendar. Ryan Reynolds was adamant that Free Guy landed on the big screen before the end of the year, but was clearly overruled by the studio, while Kenneth Branagh’s Murder on the Orient Express sequel Death on the Nile was also quietly shelved indefinitely.
That leaves just animated sequel The Croods: A New Age, Paul W.S. Anderson’s video game adaptation Monster Hunter and blockbuster superhero sequel Wonder Woman 1984 as the only thee big budget movies left on the 2020 calendar, and based on the latest flurry of activity, there’s virtually no chance at this stage that Gal Gadot’s return as Diana Prince will release on Christmas Day.
However, not only did Monster Hunter move forward from April 2021 to the end of December, but it will premiere in China and the United Kingdom almost four weeks before it hits domestic screens. The Chinese box office is the only territory that’s shown any signs of recovery, and big budget spectacle-driven Hollywood movies always tend to perform well there. As the only one that’s been seen in months, then, it could realistically pull in some big numbers.
In any case, a new Chinese poster has been revealed as the movie’s December 4th bow gets closer, and you can check it out in the gallery down below.
Even Monster Hunter fans aren’t particularly enthusiastic about the big screen version given the reaction to the first trailer, but at this point, audiences will take anything they can get in what’s already gone down as a year to forget for the theatrical industry.