Civil War

Source: A24

‘Civil War’

Alex Garland’s Civil War has secured a theatrical release in mainland China, making it the first A24 production to land distribution in the country’s cinemas.

Huahua Media acquired the film for China and will release the film on June 7, partnering with tech giant Alibaba on the rollout.

Huahua was founded by veteran producer Kefei Wang in 2014 and is known as one of China’s biggest investors in overseas films. The total global box office of films in which Huahua has participated exceeds $10bn. With a total investment of more than $100m in overseas films, the company’s production credits include Godzilla: King Of The Monsters, Transformers: The Last Knight, Xxx: Return Of Xander Cage and Star Trek Beyond.

Civil War premiered at SXSW and debuted in the US on April 12, scoring A24’s highest opening weekend in the US with $25.7m. It has gone on to top $100m at the global box office, opening top of the box office in territories including Brazil, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Finland.

The film stars Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny as photojournalists caught up in a brutal internecine conflict in the United States. Jesse Plemons, Nick Offerman, and Wagner Moura also star. It is understood to be A24’s most expensive production to date and reportedly cost in the region of $50m.

US productions are securing an increasing number of releases in China, but imported titles took just 16.2% of the country’s box office in 2023.