Solo Coming to China

So it was announced yesterday that Solo: A Star Wars Story will be released day-and-date with the United States on 25th May 2018.  It makes sense to release it on the same date.  As we know, Star Wars as a brand is not in China what it is in the States, so leaving it until later will make no difference (it didn't for The Force Awakens or The Last Jedi), so the studio is obviously trying to give Chinese moviegoers a different hook to see it, and, due to time zones, that's to see it before any other country in the world.  I don't think this will make any difference, but I can only assume that's why they're doing it.

But I wonder if they will actually market the film like a blockbuster this time.  This is a brand that Disney really wants Chinese people to flock to, but with the last two Star Wars movies there was a significant dearth of marketing power.  Back at the end of 2015, you could see Star Wars pretty much everywhere for the upcoming early January 2016 release of The Force Awakens.  It was on billboards, bus wraps, pretty much everywhere, including some nice partnerships with, among others, yoghurt and milk producers. 

But I've not seen anything for Rogue One or The Last Jedi, and I fear Solo will also be left in the cold.  It is commendable, though, that Disney is not blatantly pandering to the Chinese market.  Sure, they included Donnie Yen and Jiang Wen in Rogue One, but apart from that ... nothing.  It looks as if (and this cannot be true) Disney is content with the diminishing returns of the franchise.  It is fascinating that the grosses match exactly with the level of marketing exposure I've witnessed while living here.  The Force Awakens made over $120m in China.  Rogue One made $70m.  The Last Jedi didn't even crack $50m.  Not sure that Solo will halt this trend, but we'll see.