Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is heading to China.
The jukebox rom-com sequel will descend on Chinese cinemas on Aug. 3, at the tail end of Beijing’s usual summer blackout on Hollywood film imports.
It will be the franchise’s first trip to the massive Chinese marketplace. The orginal Mamma Mia! (2008) was never distributed theatrically in China, although it has a respectable 7.5/10 rating on leading local reviews aggregator Douban.
Musicals were once thought to underperform in China, but Damien Chazelle’s La La Land — perhaps benefitting from Oscar glow — broke that precedent in 2017, earning $36 million.
Several major Hollywood tentpoles have yet to be scheduled for release in China. Marvel and Disney’s Ant-Man and the Wasp is expected to open sometime in August, but still doesn’t have a date.
Universal and Legendary Entertainment’s Dwayne Johnson action romp Skyscraper landed a rare mid-July release, however, perhaps thanks to Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, which owns Legendary. The film, which disappointed in its U.S. debut, will be looking to make up ground in the Middle Kingdom, where Johnson and pyrotechnic VFX are both big draws.
