Bilal Lashari's The Legend of Maula Jatt is heading to China on May 21

The filmmaker says it is the first Pakistani film to break into the Chinese film market.

11 May, 2026

The Legend of Maula Jatt, the blockbuster film starring Fawad Khan and Mahira Khan, is making its debut in China, filmmaker Bilal Lashari announced on Saturday.

“The Legend of Maula Jatt has broken into one of the most exclusive film quotas in the world — the first Pakistani film ever to do so,” he wrote on X. The film will be in cinemas across the country from May 21.

Lashari dubbed this “a huge moment for Pakistani cinema and a new door opening for our stories on the world stage”.

He also shared a film poster in Mandarin and a dubbed version of the trailer.

The film stars Fawad and Mahira, Humaima Malick, Hamza Ali Abbasi, Gohar Rasheed, Faris Shafi and Ali Azmat, and is a reboot of the 1979 cult classic Maula Jatt, reimagining Punjab’s own superhero for a world audience.

The movie made Rs1 billion at the domestic box office and $10 million at the worldwide box office, as of January 2023, making it one of, if not the highest performing Pakistani films ever.

In 2024, the film was supposed to release in India, but did not due to opposition from hardline nationalist parties. Had it released in India, The Legend of Maula Jatt would have been the first Pakistani movie in Indian cinemas in over a decade, after Shoaib Mansoor’s 2011 Bol.