China Clears LILO & STITCH, ELIO, And Live-Action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON To Play In Theaters

China Clears LILO & STITCH, ELIO, And Live-Action HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON To Play In Theaters

China has greenlit the live-action Lilo & Stitch remake, Elio, and the live-action How to Train Your Dragon to head to cinemas as the country becomes more strict on US films playing in theaters.

By GabeReisinger - May 01, 2025 10:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Movies
Source: Kidscreen

A trio of upcoming flicks, have been greenlit to release in China following the country's retaliation to president Donald Trump's 148% tariff on Chinese goods. The three, those being Elio, the live-action Lilo & Stitch, and the semi-controversial live action remake of How to Train Your Dragon, will release without much fuss. That said, the country will continue to be more selective on what films do come to the country.

This comes with China Film Administration's decision to "follow the law of the market" and reduce the number of US films importanted as payback for the heavy trade war, in particiular the large tariffs. Basically, instead of outright banning US films, the country will just be more selective in what flicks can head to the country's cinemas, with the demand for the films playing a large factor.

"We will follow the law of the market, respect the audience's choice, and moderately reduce the number of U.S. films imported. China is the second largest movie market in the world, and we have always insisted on opening up to the outside world at a high level, and we will introduce excellent movies from more countries in the world to meet the market demand."

Lilo & Stitch is heading to theaters here in the States on May 23 while Elio will hit theaters June 20. For Universal, the live-action How to Train Your Dragon will fly to theaters on June 13, putting it at the heels of Disney's upcoming animated flick.

It's important to note how vital the Chinese filmgoers are to the overall success of films, with films often finding greater success overseas than in the States, last year's Despicable Me 4, for example, was a hit in China, netting Universal over $58 million in gross sales, per Box Office Mojo.

Now, all three of the films will certainly be hits, though, considering the brief bout of controversy kicked up around How to Train Your Dragon casting Nico Parker to play Astrid, with the director stepping in to remind people that they are "crafting fantasy, not historical fact," it'll be interesting to see what comes of the film as it actually hits theaters in June.

Meanwhile, Lilo & Stitch's live action CGI hybrid remake has quite the rep to hold up, with the original film being considered one of Disney's laundry list of greats. 

As for Elio, it's shaping up to be a solid film new Disney flick following a boy who's mistaken by some aliens as the ambassador for the entirety of Earth to the whole universe.

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