In what could turn out to be very good news for both movies, Denis Villeneuve's Dune and Cary Joji Fukunaga's No Time to Die have been approved for release in China, as per Variety. The country has been stricter than usual in allowing Hollywood blockbusters past the notoriously strict censorship board this year, so it's a huge bonus for the sci-fi epic and globetrotting espionage thriller.
Villeneuve hasn't been shy in admitting that any hopes for a Dune sequel hang on the first installment performing at the box office, and the filmmaker has been vocal in his criticisms of a simultaneous HBO Max debut, either. As for No Time to Die, the 25th installment in the James Bond franchise is one of the pandemic era's longest-delayed movies, having originally been scheduled for April 2020, so any boost for the coffers will be most welcome.
Dune will come to Chinese theaters on October 22, followed by No Time to Die one week later, which at least gives them some breathing room. Very few American productions have released in the country since the pandemic first took hold, but Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy's Free Guy did top the local box office a couple of weeks back, while epic fantasy and broad actioners always tend to play well.
Skyfall and Spectre combined to earn over $140 million in China, so No Time to Die could be in for a sizeable windfall, especially when the National Day holiday will be over by the time 007 and Dune land, meaning the path should be clear for the Hollywood efforts to draw in the largest possible audience.