Tom Hanks' new movie set to hit China's arthouse cinema alliance

A Man Called Otto, a US remake of one of the all-time highest-grossing movies in Sweden, will hit Chinese mainland theaters on March 24.

Originally adapted from a best-selling novel by Swedish author Fredrik Backman, the movie stars Tom Hanks as Otto Anderson, a 63-year-old cranky widower who barely tolerates any violation of his self-made rules. Terribly, he attempts to kill himself due to missing his beloved late wife. However, when a young and energetic family moves in next door, Otto's attitude begins to change.

According to the American tracer Box Office Mojo, the movie first released in Mexico in December of last year has grossed nearly $109 million worldwide. Given its themes and how they target older audiences, it has become an unexpected box office hit, according to some media outlets.

With more than 12,000 Chinese netizens marking that they have already watched the movie on Douban, it has received a high score of 7.6 points out of 10 on the review aggregating site.

One viewer, whose net name is "houtouchong", commented that Hanks delivers a powerhouse performance in the heartfelt healing tale film, adding that Hanks is a genius actor whose capability enables him to hold up a whole movie, as his talents are also exemplified by other iconic movies such as Forrest Gump, Cast Away and Finch.

The film will be shown on around 3,500 screens of the over 2,900 theaters at the Nationwide Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas, the country's first such alliance that specializes in screening artistic works.