Coming off its successful premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Paramount announced that the Tom Cruise action sequel MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING has secured a theatrical release in China beginning on May 30th.
This came as somewhat of a surprise, since last month, Chinese authorities stated their intention to bar Hollywood movies from their local market as a response to the recently announced U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports. The decision to allow MISSION IMPOSSIBLE and other Hollywood releases would appear to be a about-face, and may indicate that the crop of Chinese-produced movies may not be sufficient to turn out enough moviegoers to their local theatres.
In early April, following President Trump’s “Liberation Day” announcement of import tariffs, Chinese officials responded by saying that they would be “reducing or banning the import of U.S. films” to the Chinese market. However, the Chinese box office has shown uneven results in the years since COVID, falling by over 20% in 2024 compared with results from 2023.
And while ticket sales in 2025 have improved, fueled by the record-setting performance of the animated hit NE ZHA 2, the long-term outlook for theatres is still uncertain. In addition to Paramount’s MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING, the Chinese Film Administration has also granted theatrical release dates for Disney’s LILO & STITCH and Universal’s HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON, indicating that the announced “ban” on Hollywood movies may be somewhat limited.