DISNEY’S “Encanto” and Paramount’s “PAW Patrol: The Movie” are set to be released Jan. 7 and Jan. 14, respectively, in China. “Encanto” was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard and features original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The voice cast includes Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo and Wilmer Valderrama. Despite its positive reviews, the film has underperformed at the box office, grossing US$88 million in the United States and US$194 million globally so far. It ran for a month in U.S. cinemas from Nov. 24 before its release on Disney Plus on Dec. 24. “Encanto” has room to be a hit in China, however, following in the footsteps of comparable titles like “Zootopia” and “Coco,” which grossed US$236 million in 2016 and US$189 million in 2017, respectively, in the world’s largest film market. The “PAW Patrol” animated series was first launched in China in 2015, and has been relatively popular over the years. The film version came out in August and grossed US$130 million globally.(SD-Agencies) | 