China Pulls Avatar From Theaters Despite Huge Ticket Sales

China is pulling out the blockbuster film Avatar from theaters across China in the next few days despite its record breaking sales. The futuristic sci-fic movie will be removed from theaters without 3-D technology to give way for a locally produced movie about the life of Confucius according to reports from state-controlled media.

 

The futuristic movie can be viewed in 2-D and 3-D versions. China limits the number of foreign films permitted to be shown in the country to 20 a year, and it also regulates the amount of time each of those films can be shown. Officials ban any foreign films deemed unfriendly to the Communist Party but it also wants to ensure that any foreign imports deemed acceptable do not dominate the market and smother local film producers.

 

The film made $76 million since it was shown last January 4 in 2,500 theaters across China, making it the most successful foreign movie shown in China. The blockbuster movie is directed by famous Canadian director James Cameron .

 

In Avatar, Cameron broke new ground in combining live-action, digitally-enhanced performances, visual effects and 3D presentation to immerse viewers in a futuristic tale of humans and aliens on a distant moon.

 

Cameron is a Canadian film director, producer, screenwriter, editor, and inventor. His major works include:The Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), True Lies (1994), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009).

 

Cui Weiping, a film critic and a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, said: “So many people are dying to see it, including me. ‘Avatar’ is driving people crazy right now. The government makes these decisions whenever it wants to, with no consideration for the market or the desires of the audience.”

 

 

(original article appeared @ Digital Journal )