‘Pirates’ rolls out red carpet for rare China premiere
SHANGHAI (Reuters) — Walt Disney’s latest outing of “Pirates of the Caribbean” rolled out the red carpet in Shanghai on Thursday in a rare world premiere in China for a Hollywood blockbuster as US producers look to woo moviegoers in the Middle Kingdom.
In the shadow of Disney’s newest theme park that opened last year, hundreds of “Pirates” fans lined up to catch a glimpse of stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and Javier Bardem ahead of an afternoon viewing.
Despite a slowdown in box office sales in the Chinese market, US studios are increasingly looking to it to boost global revenues, though they face issues from a local quota system for imported films to questions over censorship.
The China premiere of “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” puts it among a small number of US films to screen for the first time in China. Films like “Point Break” and “Iron Man 3” have premiered or opened earlier in China.