Universal Pictures Partners With TheaterEars To Offer First Ever Chinese-Audio Capability For U.S. Release Of Dreamworks Animation And Pearl Studio's ABOMINABLE
Moviegoers can watch the China-set animated adventure in Mandarin
at any U.S. movie theater through the free TheaterEars app
LOS ANGELES, CA, September 23, 2019 – Universal Pictures has partnered with audio tech company TheaterEars to offer Chinese-speaking moviegoers and their families the chance to experience DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s Abominable in Mandarin. By using the TheaterEars app, users will be able to go into any of the 4,000+ U.S. theaters showing the China-set animated adventure and listen to the Mandarin dubbed audio track, produced by Pearl Studio, in their earbuds while the English-language film plays on screen— all in real time and at no additional cost. The partnership marks the first time ever that a nationally released Hollywood movie has offered a Chinese audio option. Additionally, Universal and TheaterEars will also offer Spanish audio for the film.
Written and directed by Jill Culton, Abominable is the first global animated film to feature a modern Chinese family. The film takes audiences on an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of a modern Chinese city to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes. Originally written and produced in English, the film’s U.S. voice cast includes Chloe Bennet, Tenzing Norgay Trainor, Albert Tsai, Eddie Izzard, Sarah Paulson, Tsai Chin and Michelle Wong. Universal Pictures will release Abominable nationwide on September 27. Pearl Studio will release the film in China beginning on October 1.
The Mandarin dubbed audio track available through TheaterEars will be the same version featured in the film’s theatrical release in China and features an all-star Chinese cast that includes Zhang Zifeng, Chen Feiyu, Wan Qian and Cai Ming. Much more than a literal translation of the U.S. version, this Mandarin adaptation of Abominable was guided by the film’s China-based co-producer Pearl Studio, which went to great lengths to adapt the film to better serve a Chinese-speaking audience. The Chinese dub was overseen by renowned Chinese writer/director Shu Huan (Lost in Thailand, Lost in Hong Kong), who worked with a specialized team of Chinese writers and creative consultants to adapt and localize the film’s dialogue, humor and pop culture references to reflect the language and sensibility of the film’s modern day Chinese teens. Additionally, the music soundtrack was localized as well.
How TheaterEars works
Step 1 - Download the App
Download the Theater Ears from the App Store or Google Play and follow the on-screen prompts to set up an account
Step 2 - Select Movie, Language and Showtime
Select movie and showtime directly from the home screen in the app. From there, the user’s default language will be selected, and they will be able to download the movie audio onto their phone.
Step 3 - Plug in Your Earphones, Play and Enjoy
After arriving at the movie theater, press the play button located at the bottom of the screen prior to the start of the film. Allow up to 30 seconds from the start of the movie for the Theater Ears app to sync.
“Universal celebrates the diversity of today’s moviegoers, and our partnership with TheaterEars underscores our ongoing commitment to these important audiences,” said Fabian Castro, SVP, Multicultural Marketing at Universal Pictures. “Given the setting of Abominable, we felt this was the perfect film with which to introduce a Chinese-audio option. We hope to make this beautiful film accessible to a whole new audience of multigenerational families in the language of their choosing.”
“TheaterEars is proud to partner with Universal to launch our first Chinese-language offering with Abominable,” said Dan Mangru, CEO at TheaterEars. “We’ve seen tremendous success with our Spanish-language efforts and look forward to exploring this new and growing market.”
“One of the central themes of Abominable is the importance of family, and we would be remiss if certain U.S. families were unable to experience the film together,” said Peilin Chou, Chief Creative Officer at Pearl Studio and one of the film’s producers. "Pearl is proud to contribute to a pioneering initiative that makes the film more accessible to diverse audiences."
Quick facts about Chinese Americans
Asian Americans go the cinema an average of 4.5 times per year, the second highest attendance per capita among all groups (Hispanics are first with 4.7).
There are more than 5 million Chinese Americans living in the United States, which comprises a quarter of the overall Asian American population.
63% of Chinese Americans are foreign-born.
Among foreign-born Chinese Americans, 34% have lived in America for 10 years or less.
59% of Chinese Americans are English proficient.
25% of Chinese Americans reside in a multigenerational household.
The top five U.S. metropolitan areas by Chinese population are New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and Boston.
Sources: MPAA, US Census, Pew Research Center
About Abominable
DreamWorks Animation and Pearl Studio’s co-production Abominable takes audiences on an epic 2,000-mile adventure from the streets of a Chinese city to the breathtaking Himalayan snowscapes.
When teenage Yi (Chloe Bennet, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) encounters a young Yeti on the roof of her apartment building, she and her friends, Jin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) and Peng (Albert Tsai), name him “Everest” and embark on an epic quest to reunite the magical creature with his family at the highest point on Earth.
But the trio of friends will have to stay one-step ahead of Burnish (Eddie Izzard), a wealthy man intent on capturing a Yeti, and zoologist Dr. Zara (Sarah Paulson) to help Everest get home.
Abominable is written and directed by Jill Culton (Open Season, Monsters, Inc., Toy Story 2) and is produced by Suzanne Buirgy (Kung Fu Panda 2, Home). Peilin Chou of Pearl Studio also produces. The film is executive produced by Tim Johnson (Over the Hedge, Home, ANTZ), Frank Zhu (Checked In, Lotus Code) and Li Ruigang (Kung Fu Panda 3, The Taking of Tiger Mountain) and is co-directed by Todd Wilderman (Trolls, The Croods).
About TheaterEars
TheaterEars is a free app to use and download (TheaterEars.com/Download) on the App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) that empowers moviegoers to experience a movie in Spanish at the cinema in real time.
To date, TheaterEars has close to half a million users, been ranked in the top 50 Entertainment Apps on the App Store, granted 3 patents, and has released over 70 major studio films on the app including blockbuster hits like Marvel Studios' Avengers: Endgame, Disney's Aladdin, Warner Bros.' IT Chapter 2, Paramount’s Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Sony's Spider-Man: Far From Home, Universal Studios' Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, and STX’s Second Act and Hustlers.
For more information about TheaterEars, visit TheaterEars.com and follow TheaterEars on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation (DWA), a division of the Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, within NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, is a global family entertainment company with feature film and television brands. The company’s deep portfolio of intellectual property is supported by a robust, worldwide consumer products practice, which includes licensing, and location-based entertainment venues around the world. DWA’s feature film heritage includes many of the world’s most beloved characters and franchises, including Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Trolls and The Boss Baby, and have amassed more than $15 billion in global box office receipts. DreamWorks Animation’s television business has quickly become one of the world’s leading producers of high-quality, animated family programming, reaching consumers in more than 190 countries. Creating a diverse array of original content in a variety of formats and delivering deep, fully immersive worlds served up with compelling characters, the prolific studio has garnered 25 Emmy awards since inception in 2013.
About Pearl Studio
Pearl Studio is one of the world’s leading creators of animated entertainment for the global family market and has recently completed Abominable, a co-production with DreamWorks Animation, directed by Jill Culton, which will be released worldwide through Universal Pictures in September 2019. The studio is also currently producing Over The Moon, an animated musical feature film event directed by legendary animator and Academy Award-winning filmmaker Glen Keane. The film will be distributed theatrically in China by Pearl Studio and worldwide by Netflix in 2020.
Headquartered in Shanghai with branches in New York and Los Angeles, Pearl Studio is a CMC Company. Pearl Studio is focused on Animation Film Production, Copyright Operations, Ancillary Businesses (Merchandising, Joint Promotion, Interactive Entertainment and Location Based Entertainment) and Digital Content. The company was previously operated as a Joint Venture known as Oriental DreamWorks, which co-produced the first American-Chinese animated co-production Kung Fu Panda 3, which generated more than $500M in Worldwide Box Office revenues and was one of the most successful animated films ever released in China.
About Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures is a division of Universal Studios (www.universalstudios.com). Universal Studios is part of NBCUniversal. NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production and marketing of entertainment, news and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group and world-renowned theme parks. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.