At long last, China’s first big-budget asteroid disaster movie is coming to the U.S.
On January 12 of next year, Screen Media Films is bringing director Simon West’s (Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) Disney World-meets-Dante’s Peak crossover film Skyfire to digital and on-demand platforms across the U.S. The description, from Screen Media:
A young scientist (Hannah Quinlivan; Skyscraper) invents a cutting-edge volcanic warning system and returns to the tropical island where her mother tragically died, hoping she can prevent future deaths. The island is now home to the world’s only volcano theme park and resort, the brainchild of its reckless owner Jack (Jason Isaacs; Star Trek: Discovery, The Patriot). Chaos soon erupts when the once-dormant volcano starts to rumble. It’s a battle with nature to get off the island while fiery death and destruction rains down from the mountain.
Since its debut in China in December 2019, the movie has grossed $24,310,900 worldwide, and that’s only the beginning. Meridian Entertainment CEO Jennifer Dong told Variety last year that Skyfire represents the first in a planned trilogy of movies, along with merchandise and theme-park attraction tie-ins. “Just as The Wandering Earth was the breakout film for the sci-fi genre, we hope Skyfire can do the same for the disaster genre,” Dong said. The script for the sequel is already in progress, she went on to add.
The screenplay is from Wei Bu (his debut feature) and Sidney King (Pearl Diver). The large cast also includes Xueqi Wang (Iron Man 3), Shawn Dou (On Wings of Eagles), and Liang Shi (Blackhat, Silence). Production companies include Meridian Entertainment, Base FX, Gosdom Entertainment, and Production Capital.
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