It’s not often that we share a Chinese trailer for a film, but the one for Monster Hunter is a bit special as it shows a ton more content than we’ve seen in the U.S. and comes with a new release date. The film, which is an adaptation of the popular Capcom gaming series, has been moved up five days from its Dec. 30 release date to Dec. 25. It’s going to open even earlier in China, with a Dec. 4 landing date.
https://youtu.be/OJDAJTx9evo
The Chinese trailer may appease a lot of fans who thought the previously released domestic trailer looked more like an American action film than something out of the Monster Hunter series. There’s a ton of weird weaponry in here and Palico’s cooking meals. The focus of the trailer definitely shifts away from the U.S. military people getting stuck in another world and over to, you know, the actual monsters. The film might still look cheesy, but at least in this Chinese trailer, it feels a bit more like Monster Hunter.
China will obviously be the key market for the Monster Hunter film with U.S. cinemas still closed down and audiences far from returning; the film needs to do well there to succeed. That explains the early release date there as they will want to get their money’s worth before any other major films land over December.
Unlike Wonder Woman 1984, the movie is releasing solely in theaters and the shift in date will set up an interesting battle between the two films as WW84 releases both theatrically and digitally on HBO Max. Screen Gems may be gambling on people not showing up to WW84 in theaters since it is landing digital and instead choosing to head to Monster Hunter because that’s the only place they can see it. Theaters are also nearly empty of new films, so it’s just not that big of a competition anyway.
