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