Harrison Ford escaped from the law in "The Fugitive." But the film couldn't evade Chinese culture czars nervous about Western influence on their country's movie industry.
Filmgoers hoping to see the Hollywood box office smash were turned away this week after officials told Beijing theaters to stop showing the movie. It opened Nov. 12 and was playing to packed houses.The film was canceled because some officials who oversee the film industry believed showing it would allow foreign distributors to "invade" China's movie market, the official China Business Times reported Saturday.
That, officials believe, could muscle domestic films out of the market.
U.S. filmmakers want not only profit but also to "influence future generations of Chinese with Western thinking," the newspaper said.
Although billboards for "The Fugitive" still adorned several Beijing cinemas Saturday, notices outside said it had been canceled.
Showing instead were several older, more obscure U.S. films. When the ticket taker in one theater tried to convince disappointed moviegoers to see one of those films, she drew only shrugs and turned backs.
"Those are all old," one young man murmured to his girlfriend before they walked away.
It was unclear exactly when the theaters were forced to stop showing the film or how many people had seen it.
The China Business Times said it looked into the matter after receiving many phone calls from readers.
In recent years, Chinese theaters have been allowed to show only older, cheaper films with a political content acceptable to the most powerful Communist Party officials.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Radio, Film and Television announced that it would allow 10 "excellent" foreign films to be imported and shown by theaters around the country each year.
These films were expected to have a positive influence on China's struggling film industry, it said.
The decision also would give foreign film distributors access to one of the world's largest viewing audiences. China has a population of 1.2 billion people.
Still, all levels of the movie industry, from production to cinemas, complain of low profits. Chinese movie critics say lack of financing is a major reason behind the poor quality of domestic films.