 Paramount opted against altering the American @-@ centric title when distributing to foreign territories , instead offering international markets a choice between the official title and the alternative The First Avenger . Many international distributors chose to retain the original title , believing the franchise name to be more identifiable than the alternative , and that the latter would risk losing ticket sales . Three countries chose the alternative title : Russia , South Korea , and Ukraine . An " insider " speaking to The New York Times explained that the name change in these countries stemmed from cultural and political concerns , though Marvel and Paramount both declined to state an official reason . In July 2011 , it was thought that the film would not be released in China because of a policy limiting the number of foreign films screened there each year , but it eventually opened there in the second weekend of September . 
