Mainland hopes to win American hearts and minds through cinema

When hit theatres in China last May, the same weekend it opened in the US, moviegoers there were bombarded with advertisements featuring Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. Chinese audiences packed cinemas, buying some US$90 million worth of tickets and helping make the superhero movie the top-grossing film worldwide in 2012.

This weekend, the most successful Chinese film of 2012 will arrive in American theatres - but more than six weeks after its Chinese debut, and with a great deal less fanfare.

The comedy follows two young men on a mission to find their boss in the Southeast Asian country.

The film, which has grossed US$201 million in China and is the second-highest grossing film there, behind was released yesterday in just 29 AMC theatres in the US. AMC Entertainment was bought in May by China's largest movie theatre circuit, Dalian Wanda Group.

In an unusual move, AMC arranged the distribution deal itself, announcing the film's opening less than a week ago. But the company seems to have little hope that the movie can cross over beyond Mandarin-speaking moviegoers to a mainstream American audience; there are no plans for traditional advertising, just promotions via AMC's website, YouTube and Facebook. AMC did not arrange for advance screenings for American critics.

AMC is seeking to lure in patrons looking to see a film over the Chinese New Year weekend.