With China increasingly becoming a major growth market for Hollywood, Paramount's upcoming Transformers spinoff prequel Bumblebee has officially landed a release date in the East Asian country.

Chinese audiences will be able to ring in the new year with the eponymous Autobot on January 4, 2019, two weeks after the wide release for North American audiences.

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The Transformers franchise has been a strong hit with Chinese audiences, with the last two films performing better in China than they did at the North American box office. Last year's Transformers: The Last Knight earned $229 million at the Chinese box office compared to $130 million domestic haul while 2014's Transformers: Age of Extinction earned a staggering $320 in China, outperforming its $245 million domestic total.

In the United States, audiences can still buy tickets at select locations to see the film at 7 pm this Saturday, two weeks ahead of its wide release.

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Directed by Travis Knight (Kubo and the Two Strings) from a script by Christina Hodson (Birds of Prey), Bumblebee stars Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Pamela Adlon, Jason Drucker, Abby Quinn, Rachel Crow, Ricardo Hoyos, and Gracie Dzienny. The film arrives on December 21.

(via Variety)