Chinese audiences who waited months to see Django Unchained, Quentin Tarantino's Oscar-winning western, in theaters may have a longer wait than originally anticipated after the movie has been abruptly pulled from theaters in China on its release date.
The official reason given for the cancellation of screenings, according to the New York Times, was "unspecified technical problems" with the film, some reports stating that theaters played one minute of footage before the film was shut down. In a statement released to Deadline Hollywood, Sony Pictures spokesman Steve Elzer said that the studio "regret[s] that Django Unchained has been removed from theaters and [is] working with the Chinese authorities to determine whether the film can be rescheduled."
It's unclear what, exactly, happened to cause the (potentially permanent) delay in release. The movie had already been approved for release by Chinese authorities, after making adjustments that reportedly lessened the amount of onscreen violence. Zhang Miao, head of Sony's Chinese division, told the Southern Metropolis Daily that "slight adjustments" had been made to the movie with Tarantino's approval, including "turning the blood to a darker color [and] lowering the height of the splatter of blood."
Chinese film critic Jiang Guangchao told the NYT that "like all Chinese films, [Django] has gone through a censorship process and has been edited for a Chinese audience. Because it has gone through this process, it doesn't make sense that it would be halted all of a sudden on the night of its premiere."
As we reported last month, China has become the second largest international market for U.S.-made movies in the last year, with the growing appetite for American movies in the country expected to mean that it will overtake even America as the primary audience for American films within the next decade.
The sudden removal of Django from Chinese theaters may cause concern for American filmmakers hoping to penetrate the Chinese market. As the special Chinese version of next month's Iron Man 3 demonstrates, filmmakers are willing to make significant changes in order to appeal to--or reach--Chinese audiences. If there's a chance that films could still be pulled without advance notice or explanation, will those sorts of edits, additions and self-censorship continue to seem like they're worth it?
