Audiences look at a poster of "Scare Out," a contemporary espionage thriller directed by Zhang Yimou, at a cinema in Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Feb. 17, 2026. Multiple Chinese films are set for release in North America during the period of Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, including two highly-anticipated blockbusters premiering Tuesday, the Chinese Lunar New Year's Day. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- Multiple Chinese films are set for release in North America during the period of Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, including two highly-anticipated blockbusters premiering Tuesday, the Chinese Lunar New Year's Day.

"Scare Out," a contemporary espionage thriller directed by Zhang Yimou, will be opened by CMC Pictures in nearly 200 select theaters in dozens of cities across the United States and Canada on the first day of the Year of the Horse.

Featuring a star-studded cast including Jackson Yee, Zhu Yilong and Song Jia, the project marks Zhang's fourth Spring Festival release in five years and fuses a major political theme with a faster-paced, youth-oriented cinematic language. The first contemporary national security-themed film directed by Zhang centers on a leakage of classified military aviation data and follows a Chinese counterintelligence team as it navigates shifting loyalties and hidden betrayals.

"This film has a tight plot with many twists and turns, making it extremely engaging and captivating," a moviegoer surnamed Long from local Chinese community told Xinhua after watching the film at an AMC theater in Monterey Park, California, on Tuesday night.

"In recent years, Chinese films have made remarkable progress in both production quality and screenplay development. Being able to enjoy latest Chinese blockbuster films simultaneously in North American theaters during the Spring Festival brings great joy to overseas Chinese communities," she noted.

The film enjoyed a 276 million-yuan (39.95 million U.S. dollars) debut day in Chinese mainland, according to Maoyan, a Chinese movie-ticketing and film data platform.

Another Chinese New Year tentpole, "Blades of the Guardians," adapted from a cult-favorite comic, is set for release by Well Go USA Entertainment on Tuesday in around 220 select theaters across North America.

Directed by legendary action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping and features a multigenerational lineup of martial arts stars, such as Jet Li and Wu Jing, the film is about a mysterious escort mission -- escorting the "most wanted fugitive," to Chang'an, the capital city of several ancient Chinese dynasties.

"Blades of the Guardians" has garnered over 156 million yuan (22.58 million dollars) after opening day at the box office in Chinese mainland, Maoyan data showed.

In addition, several other popular box office hits from China's Spring Festival period will also be released in North American theaters in succession.

"Pegasus 3," the latest installment in Han Han's blockbuster car racing comedy franchise, is set to be released in North America on Feb. 27. The film stars Shen Teng, one of China's most bankable comedic actors.

The first two films in the series, released during the 2019 and 2024 Spring Festival seasons, brought in a combined 5 billion yuan (723.7 million dollars).

Another sequel film, "Panda Plan: The Magical Tribe," starring Jackie Chan, is scheduled for a limited release in North America on March 13.

All those Chinese-language films will be released in North America with English subtitles, targeting cities with a large overseas Chinese population such as Los Angeles and New York. ■

A moviegoer walks past a poster of "Blades of the Guardians," a film directed by legendary action choreographer Yuen Woo-ping, at a cinema in Monterey Park, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, Feb. 17, 2026. Multiple Chinese films are set for release in North America during the period of Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, including two highly-anticipated blockbusters premiering Tuesday, the Chinese Lunar New Year's Day.(Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)