Image: Pathé Distribution
Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom is among Netflix Original releases scheduled for May 2023 following its theatrical release earlier this year.
Directed by Guillaume Canet, this live-action comedy family film tells the story of a daughter of a Chinese emperor who escapes and seeks help from the Gauls and two brave warriors named Asterix and Obelix.
The characters are based on the classic cartoon comic strip and books that have sold nearly 400 million copies and first appeared in 1959.
Canet alongside Gilles Lellouche, Vincent Cassel, Jonathan Cohen and Marion Cotillard star.
The film also features a cameo from soccer legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who also recently appeared in the Netflix animated feature, soccer football movie.
When it was released theatrically in France in February 2023, the film didn’t exactly set the world on fire given that it currently has a Score of 2.4 on Allocine from critics and 1.9 from the public. On IMDb, the film has a 4.9 out of 10 with 2.5k reviews.
Despite the criticism, the film was supposedly in open strong in French theaters.
Netflix first tackled the rights in April 2021 with plans to release the film later. Regions carrying the film include the United States and the United Kingdom.
It will be available with the original French audio plus dubbing for English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. Multiple subtitle options will also be available, including English. The film is rated 12 in the UK and TV-PG in the US.
In particular, the following countries are unlikely to release the film: France, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Greece, and the Baltics, as other distributors own the rights there.
Of course, Netflix is investing in Asterix IP (or universe, if you will), given that the streamer is still on board for a new animated series that is scheduled to arrive sometime in 2024.
Alain Chabat directs the new series, with Alain Goldman as producer.
For more on what’s coming soon to Netflix in May 2023, keep it locked here at What’s on Netflix.
Will you be watching the new Asterix and Obelix movie on netflix? Let us know in the comments below.