China releases for 'Dolittle', '1917' cancelled as coronavirus crisis escalates

Many Oscar-nominated Hollywood films were scheduled to release in China in the month of February. But due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, most of the 70,000 theatres in the country remained closed. The bulk of movie releases have been scrapped. Many sources that are in contact with Beijing's film regulators confirmed the same. All of the local Chinese films that were scheduled to release in the first half of February have also been postponed. 

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Fox Searchlight's Jojo Rabbit was all set to release on February 12. Sony's Little Women was originally scheduled to release on February 14 and Universal's Dolittle was set to release on February 21. All the theatrical releases for China got postponed because of Coronavirus epidemic. Reportedly, Sam Mendes' best picture contender 1917, that was earlier slated to release on February 21, had to give up on these ambitions. 

The cancellations of these films came as bad news for particular films. Universal's Dolittle which was produced for a hefty $175 million, failed to impress the audience in North America. The film has earned just $126 million worldwide to date. There was a possibility of a big save from the Chinese market, where the audience was drawn to the movies that featured Robert Downey Jr. mainly because of his Marvel movies. It was assumed that the film would do well in the Chinese market and the makers would escape a huge loss. But those hopes of the makers were also dashed because of Coronavirus.

Also, the theme parks in China, including the Shanghai Disney Resort remained close across the country. Many major film and television production facilities remained shut. On Tuesday afternoon, the special administrative region of Macau which is commonly referred to as China's Las Vegas announced that all of its Casinos would remain shut for two weeks. 

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