Hong Kong is the place to be right now for superhero movie fans with Marvel Studios the latest company to join the rerelease bandwagon.
Marvel is set rerelease The Avengers and Iron Man 3 in Hong Kong cinemas from May 28 until June 10 as the industry attempts to lure back still wary customers after virus-related lockdowns were lifted earlier this month. Although only two titles have been announced so far, The Hollywood Reporter understands more Marvel films could be rereleased in the coming months.
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The move by Marvel in Hong Kong to rerelease iconic blockbusters from the recent past follows a pattern that is being repeated across Asian countries that have tamed the novel coronavirus and have reopened cinemas. Warner Bros. is rereleasing Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight trilogy in Hong Kong and Taiwan this summer, including in Imax theaters. Warners also rereleased a 4K remastered version of The Matrix in Hong Kong.
In China, all four of Marvel's Avengers movies are being rereleased in the country and Hollywood blockbusters including Avatar and Warner Bros.' Nolan films Inception and Interstellar are also getting a second outing on the big screen.
In Japan, Toho Cinemas, the country's largest multiplex chain, has decided to lean heavily on the classics. Among the titles the company has brought back to the big screen are Ben-Hur (1959), The Wizard of Oz (1939), East of Eden (1955), Bonnie and Clyde (1969) and Blade Runner (1982). Westside Story (1961) and Rio Bravo (1959) also were playing at several locations, along with other favorites of the 1980s and 90s, like E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994).
